September 16, 2013: U.S. markets opened higher Monday morning after an announcement on Sunday by Larry Summers that he was withdrawing his name from consideration as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve. Summers was seen as more likely to end the Fed�� asset purchase program quickly than is Janet Yellen, who is now the betting favorite to be the new Fed chair. U.S. markets closed mixed as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) dragged the tech sector and the Nasdaq Composite down. Longer term, though, Apple might not look so bad.
Asian and European markets closed mostly higer today, while Latin American markets closed mixed.
Tuesday�� calendar includes the beginning of the two-day FOMC meeting and the following data releases and events (all times Eastern):
8:30 a.m. – Consumer price index 9:00 a.m. – Treasury international capital (TIC) data 10:00 a.m. – Housing market index 11:30 a.m. – 4- and 52-week bill auctionsHere are the closing bell levels for Monday:
Best Healthcare Equipment Companies To Invest In 2016: The Finish Line Inc.(FINL)
The Finish Line, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mall-based specialty retailer in the United States. It operates Finish Line stores that offer performance and athletic casual footwear, apparel, and accessories for men, women, and kids. The company also sells merchandise through its Web site, finishline.com. As of September 22, 2011, it operated 646 stores in the United States. The company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Garrett Cook]
Finish Line (NASDAQ: FINL) reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings.
Finish Line’s quarterly profit surged to $12.4 million, or $0.25 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $5.1 million, or $0.10 per share. Excluding certain items, it earned $0.28 per share.
- [By Marc Bastow]
Mall-based specialty retailer Finish Line (FINL) raised its quarterly dividend 14% to 8 cents per share, payable March 17 to shareholders of record Feb. 28.
FINL Dividend Yield: 1.19% - [By Ben Levisohn]
In our opinion, this was a fine quarter with no surprises; however, as we expected expenses are accelerating resulting in guidance that implies a meaningful reduction to Q3 and Q4 estimates. Also, gross margin headwinds are mounting as the favorability from raw materials has turned and supply chain disruptions in Mexico will persist for two Q��. Given NKE�� premium 25x multiple, we prefer to play its strength through its retail partners ([Foot Locker (FL) and Finish Line (FINL)]).
- [By Garrett Cook]
Finish Line (NASDAQ: FINL) reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings.
Finish Line’s quarterly profit surged to $12.4 million, or $0.25 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $5.1 million, or $0.10 per share. Excluding certain items, it earned $0.28 per share.
Top Asian Stocks To Own For 2015: Electronic Arts Inc (EA)
Electronic Arts Inc., incorporated in 1982, develops, markets, publishes and distributes game software content and services that can be played by consumers on a variety of video game machines and electronic devices (platforms). Its offers products, such as video game consoles, such as the Sony PLAYSTATION 3, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii; personal computers, including the Apple Macintosh (the Company refers to personal computers and the Macintosh together as PCs); mobile devices, such as the Apple iPhone and Google Android compatible phones; tablets and electronic readers, such as the Apple iPad and the Amazon Kindle, and Internet, including social networking sites, such as Facebook. In August 2011, it acquired PopCap Games Inc. (PopCap), a developer of casual games for mobile devices, tablets, PCs, and social networking sites.
The Company has created, licensed and acquired a portfolio of brands, which span a diverse range of categories, including action-adventure, casual, family, fantasy, first-person shooter, horror, science fiction, role-playing, racing, simulation, social, sports, and strategy. The Company�� portfolio of brands includes wholly owned brands, such as Battlefield, Mass Effect, Need for Speed, The Sims, Bejeweled, and Plants v. Zombies. Its portfolio also includes sports-based brands, such as Madden NFL and FIFA, and titles-based on other brands, such as Star Wars: The Old Republic. It provides a variety of online-delivered products and services, including through its Origin platform. Its packaged goods products are also available through direct online download through the Internet. The Company also offers online-delivered content and services that are add-ons or related to its packaged goods products, such as additional game content or enhancements of multiplayer services. It provides other games, content and services that are available only via electronic delivery, such as Internet-only games and game services, and games for mobile devices.
The Comp! any operates development studios (which develop products and perform other related functions) in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. It also engages third parties to assist with the development of its games at their own development and production studios. Internationally, the Company conducts business through its international headquarters in Switzerland and has wholly owned subsidiaries worldwide, including offices in Europe, Australia, Asia and Latin America. The Company�� studios and development teams are organized around its Label structure. Each Label operates globally with dedicated game development and marketing teams. These Labels are supported by the Company�� Global Publishing Organization that is responsible for the distribution, sales, and marketing of its products, including planning, operations, and manufacturing functions.
EA Games
EA Games is home to a number of the Company�� studios and development teams, which together create a portfolio of games and related content and services marketed under the EA brand in categories, such as action-adventure, role playing, racing and first-person shooter games. The EA Games portfolio includes a number of franchises, such as Battlefield, Dead Space, Medal of Honor and Need for Speed. EA Games titles are developed primarily at the following EA studios, Criterion, DICE, EA Los Angeles, Visceral, and EA Montreal. EA Games also contracts with external game developers, to provide these developers with a variety of services, including development assistance, publishing, and distribution of their games.
EA SPORTS
EA SPORTS develops a collection of sports-based video games and related content and services marketed under the EA SPORTS brand. EA SPORTS games range from simulated sports titles with realistic graphics based on real-world sports leagues, players, events and venues to more casual games with arcade-style gameplay and graphics. The Company�� EA SPORTS franchises include FIFA, Fig! ht Night,! Madden NFL, NCAA Football, NHL Hockey, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour. EA SPORTS games are developed primarily at the Company�� EA Canada studio in Burnaby, British Columbia, and its EA Tiburon studio located in Orlando, Florida.
BioWare
BioWare develops role-playing games, focused on stories, characters and worlds to discover. BioWare�� portfolio includes the MMO role-playing game Star Wars: The Old Republic and the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises. BioWare operates in Texas, California, Canada and Ireland.
Maxis
Maxis (formerly EA Play) are focused on creating games and related content and services for a mass audience. Maxis products include wholly owned franchises, such as The Sims, SimCity, MySims, and Spore. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012 (fiscal 2012), the Company released titles in The Sims 3 franchise, and together with Playfish, The Sims Social game on Facebook. Maxis oversees internal studios and development teams located in California, Utah, Beijing, China and Guildford, England, and works with third-party developers.
PopCap
PopCap develops easy-to-learn games. PopCap games, including Bejeweled, Plants vs. Zombies, Zuma, Peggle, and Bookworm are gameplays. PopCap games are developed primarily in Seattle, Washington.
Social/Mobile Studios
The Company�� Social/Mobile studios is focused on developing interactive games for play on mobile devices and Internet platforms, including social networking sites, such as Facebook. Through EA Mobile, the Company is a global publisher of games for mobile devices. Its customers purchase and download the Company�� games through a mobile carrier�� e-commerce service and mobile application storefronts accessed directly from their mobile devices. EA Mobile develops games for mobile devices at studios located in the United States, Canada, Romania, Australia, India and Korea. Through Playfish, it offers free-to-play social games, in! cluding T! he Sims Social, Pet Society, EA Sports FIFA Superstars and Madden NFL Superstars that can be played on platforms, such as Facebook, Google, iPhone and Android. Playfish generates revenue through sales of digital content and Internet-based advertising.
The Company, through its Pogo online service, offers games, such as card, puzzle and word games on www.pogo.com, as well as on Facebook and other platforms. In addition to paid subscriptions, Pogo also generates revenue through Internet-based advertising and sales of digital content. In addition, it has a licensing agreement with Hasbro, which provides the Company with the rights to create digital games for all platforms based on most of Hasbro�� toy and game intellectual properties, including MONOPOLY, SCRABBLE (for United States and Canada), YAHTZEE (excluding the Nordic countries), NERF, and LITTLEST PET SHOP. Hasbro games are developed by its EA Mobile, Pogo and Social studios.
The Company competes with Activision Blizzard, Take-Two Interactive, THQ, Ubisoft, Disney, Capcom Mobile, DeNA, Gameloft, Glu Mobile, Gree, Rovio, Zynga, Big Fish, Nexon, Tencent and Facebook.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Wallace Witkowski]
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) �shares declined 2.3% to $24.31 on heavy volume after the video game publisher cut its revenue outlook.
- [By Tim Beyers]
An 8-bit departure from the likes of Sim City, which has caused trouble for Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA ) in recent weeks, or Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT ) megahit Halo series, Minecraft is a throwback that includes the sorts of in-app purchasing features that fueled Zynga's (NASDAQ: ZNGA ) earnings in years past.
- [By Steve Symington]
But given that he was said to also be in line for the top spot�at Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA ) , or could have even stayed at Microsoft to at least see through the launch of its new Xbox One console, why did Mattrick decide to join the struggling social-game maker?
Top Asian Stocks To Own For 2015: Fibria Celulose SA (FBR)
Fibria Celulose S.A. (Fibria), formerly Votorantim Celulose e Papel S.A., incorporated on July 25, 1941, is a producer of market pulp. During the year ended December 31, 2010, Fibria produced 5,054 kilotons of eucalyptus pulp (including 50.0% of the pulp production of Veracel). The Company also produces coated and uncoated paper, carbonless paper and thermal paper at its Piracicaba paper mill, located in the State of Sao Paulo with an annual production capacity of 190 kilotons. During 2010, it produced 115 kilotons of paper products and recorded consolidated net revenues. Fibria produces bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp at three pulp mills, the Aracruz pulp mill located in the State of Espirito Santo, which has an annual production capacity of 2.3 million tons; the Tres Lagoas pulp mill located in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, which has an annual production capacity of 1.3 million tons, and the Jacarei pulp mill located in the State of Sao Paulo, which has an annual production capacity of 1.1 million tons. The Company has a 50% interest in Veracel, which owns and operates a pulp mill in the municipality of Eunapolis, State of Bahia, with an annual production capacity of 1.1 million tons.
Pulp
Fibria produces bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp from planted eucalyptus trees. Bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp is a range of hardwood pulp. Eucalyptus is a hardwood tree, and its pulp has short fibers and is generally suited to manufacturing tissue, coated and uncoated printing and writing paper and coated packaging boards. Short fibers are optimal for manufacturing wood-free paper with good printability, smoothness, brightness and uniformity. Market pulp is the pulp sold to producers of paper products. Kraft pulp is pulp produced in a chemical process using sulphate. During 2010, it produced 5,054 kilotons of pulp (including 50.0% of the pulp production of Veracel).
Paper
During 2010, Fibria produced 115 kilotons of paper. The Company produced coated printing an! d writing paper, which is a coated woodfree paper used for promotional materials, folders, internal sheets and cover of magazines, books, tabloids, inserts and mailing; uncoated printing and writing paper, which is a uncoated woodfree paper in reels and sheets; carbonless paper, which is used to produce multi-copy forms, POS, invoices and other applications in place of traditional carbon paper, and thermal paper, which is traditionally used in fax machines; POS, bar code labels, toll tickets, water and gas bills and receipts for automated teller machines (ATMs) and credit card machines. It manufactures thermal paper products with technology licensed byOji Paper Co., Ltd (Oji Paper).
The Company competes with APRIL, Arauco, APP, Georgia Pacific, CMPC, Sodra, Stora Enso, Weyerhaeuser and Suzano.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Fibria Celulose (NYSE: FBR ) reported earnings on July 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Fibria Celulose met expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.
Top Asian Stocks To Own For 2015: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ)
WisdomTree Japan Total Dividend Fund (The Fund) is a non-diversified fund. It seeks investment results that closely correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the WisdomTree Japan Dividend Index (The Index).
The Index is a fundamentally weighted Index that measures the performance of dividend-paying companies incorporated in Japan, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and that meet other requirements necessary to be included in the WisdomTree DEFA Index. The Fund is managed by WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By KIPLINGER]
Investors seeking to cash in on the Japanese stock market face a Catch-22. The government is trying to goose the economy by, among other things, lowering the value of the yen, a move designed to make Japanese exporters more competitive (see Japan�� Rebound Is for Real). But a falling yen harms U.S. investors because money they have in Japanese securities translates back into fewer bucks. Enter WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity (DXJ), an exchange-traded fund that invests in the stocks of dividend-paying Japanese firms that have a market value of at least $100 million.
- [By Jayson Derrick]
Investors were treated to news of a surprise stimulus expansion from the Bank of Japan. The Japanese central bank increased its yearly target for monetary expansion to 80-trillion yen ($724 billion) from a previous 70-trillion yen target. Shares of the WisdomTree Japan Equity ETF (NYSE: DXJ) hit new 52-week highs of $54.03 in trading today.
- [By Tom Aspray]
The recent plunge in China (FXI) puts it down 8% and even the hedged Yen Japan ETF (DXJ) has lost almost 5% in just a week or so.
In last week's column, Souring Sentiment Will Help Stocks, I discussed how the sentiment needed to become more negative in order to create a good buying opportunity. Last week's action is a step in the right direction as despite the market bullishness in December, I thought that the risk was high and that only selective buying was warranted.
- [By Will Ashworth]
Anyone who follows ETFs likely knows about WETF. That�� because its WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ) gathered $9.5 billion in 2013, making it the second-most-popular fund next to the SPY. I recently gave it kudos for being one of the best funds in 2013 and although the DXJ is responsible for a considerable amount of WisdomTree�� growth in 2013, there are other reasons why I think this is one of the best asset managers anywhere.
Top Asian Stocks To Own For 2015: Guggenheim CurrencyShares Australian Dollar Trust (FXA)
Guggenheim CurrencyShares Australian Dollar Trust, formerly The CurrencyShares Australian Dollar Trust, is a grantor trust. The Trust issues shares (the Shares) in blocks of 50,000 (a Basket) in exchange for deposits of Australian Dollars and distributes Australian Dollars in connection with the redemption of Baskets. The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the price of Australian Dollars plus accrued interest, if any, less the expenses of the Trust�� operations. The Shares are intended to offer investors an opportunity to participate in the market for the Australian Dollar through an investment in securities. The Shares are bought and sold on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Arca like any other exchange-listed security.
The Trust holds Australian Dollars and, from time to time, issues Baskets in exchange for deposits of Australian Dollars and distributes Australian Dollars in connection with redemptions of Baskets. The Sponsor of the Trust oversees the performance of the Trustee and the Trust�� principal service providers. The Sponsor is Rydex Specialized Products LLC. The Sponsor is responsible for payment of administrative and marketing expenses. The Bank of New York Mellon serves as the Trustee. The Trustee is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Trust, including keeping the Trust�� operational records. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., London Branch is the Depository.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dr. Duru]
So, the slight change of wording in the first sentence of the statement is important in that it could be a precursor to other upside adjustments in the RBA's language. If this happens, the Australian dollar (FXA) could take off…exactly what the RBA does not want. In fact, its desire to contain the currency must underlie the strained attempts to contain enthusiasm over the economy.
Top Asian Stocks To Own For 2015: Plexus Corp.(PLXS)
Plexus Corp., together with its subsidiaries, provides electronic manufacturing services to original equipment manufacturers and other technology companies. The company offers product development and design services, including program management, feasibility studies, product conceptualization, specification development, circuit design, field programmable gate array design, printed circuit board layout, embedded software design, mechanical design, development of test specifications, and product verification testing. It also provides value-added services, such as engineering change-order management, cost reduction redesign, component obsolescence management, product feature expansion, test enhancement, and component re-sourcing. In addition, the company offers prototyping and new product introduction services comprising assembly of prototype products, materials management, analysis of the manufacturability and testability of a design, test implementation, and pilot productio n. Further, it provides test equipment development; material sourcing and procurement; agile manufacturing; fulfillment and logistic; after-market support; and regulatory requirements services. The company serves the wireline/networking, wireless infrastructure, medical, industrial/commercial, and defense/security/aerospace markets in the United States, Malaysia, China, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Romania. Plexus Corp. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Plexus (Nasdaq: PLXS ) reported earnings on July 17. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 29 (Q3), Plexus beat slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share. - [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Equities Trading UP
Plexus (NASDAQ: PLXS) shares shot up 6.98 percent to $42.09 after the company reported its Q2 earnings of $0.60 per share on revenue of $557.60 million. The company also issued a strong Q3 outlook. - [By Evan Niu, CFA]
What: Shares of Plexus (NASDAQ: PLXS ) have jumped today by as much as 13% after the company reported earnings results.
So what: Revenue in the fiscal third quarter totaled $571.9 million, well ahead of the Street consensus of $565 million. Earnings per share were $0.68, similarly topping expectations of just $0.58 per share. CEO Dean Foate said the strong results were driven by the networking and communications as well as the health care and life sciences sectors.
Top Asian Stocks To Own For 2015: F5 Networks Inc.(FFIV)
F5 Networks, Inc. provides application delivery networking technology that optimizes the delivery of network-based applications, and the security, performance, and availability of servers, data storage devices, and other network resources in the Americas, EMEA, Japan, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers BIG-IP, an application delivery controller; VIPRION, a chassis-based application delivery controller; and FirePass, an appliance that provides SSL VPN access for remote users of Internet protocol networks, and applications connected to the networks from Web browser on any device. It also offers Application Security Manager, an application firewall; WebAccelerator that speeds Web transactions by optimizing individual network object requests, connections, and end-to-end transactions from browser to databases; WAN Optimization Manager, which integrates application delivery with WAN optimization technologies; Access Policy Manager that provides secure, granular, and contex t-aware control of access to applications; Edge Gateway, a remote access product, which offers context-aware, policy controlled, and remote access to applications at LAN speed; Enterprise Manager that allows customers to discover and view company?s products in a single window; and ARX product family, a series of high performance and enterprise-class intelligent file virtualization devices. In addition, F5 Networks provides Data Manager, a software product, which interfaces with file storage devices; iControl, an application programming interface that allows customers to control their products in the network; iRules, a programming language embedded in TMOS architecture; and consulting, training, maintenance, and other technical support services. The company sells its products to enterprise customers and service providers through various channels, including distributors, value-added resellers, and systems integrators. F5 Networks, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Evan Niu, CFA]
Shares of networking giant Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO ) are particularly weak today, having lost as much as 5% today and lagging the broader market. The reason for the pessimism is that networking peer F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV ) announced preliminary figures last night that left a lot to be desired and have negative implications for the broader sector.
- [By Monica Gerson]
F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $1.19 per share on revenue of $384.61 million.
US Airways Group (NYSE: LCC) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.12 per share on revenue of $3.84 billion.
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