Want to Get Ahead at Work? Be a Mindreader

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Watch Right Now

NBC via Getty Images Looking to get ahead in your career? Then try this. At work, think of yourself like a CIA agent: Gather intelligence wherever and whenever you can, and get inside the mind of your boss. I'm not talking about feeding the gossip machine that most workplaces are. But gathering as much information as you can about what your boss is thinking and working on can only make you a better employee, and help you on the job. Here are a few sneaky ways you can pick up that intel and stay a step ahead of your peers: Learn to Read Upside Down What's on your boss' desk? What's he working on today? This can be a great clue as to what he's thinking about, and perhaps tip you off to your company's next big project. I learned to read upside down. There were many times I talked to my boss while standing in front of his desk. Sometimes he'd be looking at me. Other times, he'd be multitasking, checking email, and doing a host of other tasks as we spoke. I never failed scan his desk while waiting for his full attention. A person's desk is a glimpse into their world. If something is visible on it, it likely relates to their current hot-button issues. By using that fact, not only will you be helping yourself, but you'll also be helping your boss. Is there a project that he's struggling with? Maybe you can help -- and earn a feather in your cap. Like GI Joe always said, "Knowing is half the battle." Does Your Boss Blog or Tweet? I once had a boss who considered himself a strategic thinker in our industry. My coworkers considered him a little crazy. Whether either of those opinions were true or not is another issue. But he had a blog where he would share his grandiose ideas, and I regularly read it. That meant I knew what was on his mind and what direction he wanted to take us, which gave me a leg up on my coworkers. I went to meetings ready to discuss the topics he thought were important. I was never caught by surprise. You don't have to agree with all of your manager's ideas, or even comment on them. But if you have a boss who posts his thoughts on social media, taking advantage of that is an easy way to find out what's in his head before he gets around to telling his staff. Napkins and Whiteboards: How Does Your Boss Think? How does your boss think? How does he absorb information? Is he a visual learner? Is he always writing ideas on a whiteboard? I had another boss who was a real visual learner. He loved "mind maps" and diagramming ideas on the whiteboard in his office. I made it a habit to look around his office anytime I was in it. It's true what they say: We all learn differently. If your boss writes his brilliant ideas down on a napkin at lunch, take note. If he diagrams things on a whiteboard, pay attention. If he dictates his strategy to the group over email, you should save those messages. Understand how your boss thinks and communicates, and you can adapt to meet his expectations. Equally important is understanding your manager's strengths and weaknesses -- because recognizing them will allow you to help him compensate for his weakness and blind spots. A Word of Caution Remember that you gather intelligence on your boss at your own risk though. Like a "Mission: Impossible" agent, you'll potentially be disavowed and disowned if you're caught using some of these methods. It often depends on your relationship with your boss. Would he be upset if he caught you reading notes from his desk or whiteboards when he wasn't looking? Would he view it as an invasion of his privacy? You have to balance the risks versus the rewards. In the end, though, it's often not what you know or who you know. It's what you know who you know.

Can the Magic Kingdom Outduel a Boy Wizard?

AP Photo/Universal OrlandoAn artist's rendering of the new Diagon Alley area at Universal Orlando Resort this summer. Harry Potter is the boy wizard who keeps on giving for the Universal Orlando resort in Florida. The theme park operator -- owned by Comcast (CMCSK) -- hosted "A Celebration of Harry Potter" this past weekend, inviting guests to interact with actors from the popular movie series. Attendees were also treated to an exhibit showcasing movie props and received training in wand dueling. There was even a "Sorting Hat" experience. However, the highlight of the experience may have taken place on the eve of the three-day affair when Universal hosted a celebrity-backed webcast detailing the ambitious expansion of its Potter-themed attractions. Two Parks Are Better Than One It's been four years since Universal opened The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure theme park. Debuting at a time when J.K. Rowling's franchise was still near the peak of its frenzied fandom, some guests had to wait more than 10 hours to get into richly themed section of the park fashioned after the series' Hogsmeade Village. It was a hit. Attendance at the park spiked a whopping 30 percent in 2010. That's an unheard of increase for the theme park industry, but the appeal of sipping Butterbeer, stepping into Ollivander's for a magic wand demonstration, and hopping on a thrill ride inside Hogwarts was too tempting for tourists to pass up. Later this year, Universal will recreate London's Diagon Alley at the adjacent Universal Studios Florida theme park. An ride aboard the Hogwarts Express will connect the two areas. Beyond exploring the shops and watering holes that Rowling originally imagined, a thrill ride awaits inside Gringotts Bank, the cornerstone of the new land that's even topped by a fire-breathing dragon. Disney Fights Back The jump in attendance wasn't contagious through Central Florida when the Potter attraction first opened. Sure, Universal Studios Florida benefited with a 6 percent increase, but the turnstiles clicked more slowly at three of Disney's (DIS) four Florida theme parks. Disney's Magic Kingdom suffered a nearly 2 percent dip in attendance in 2010. But the House of Mouse will be ready this time. Realizing that Universal Orlando is going to be a big draw for Florida-trekking travelers this summer, Disney isn't standing still. It's opening a new Snow White-themed mine coaster in a few months to go along with 2012's New Fantasyland makeover. Universal Orlando's push for a licensed franchise to breathe new life into its operations also inspired Disney to look outside of its deep bench of characters. It turned to James Cameron's "Avatar" franchise for a new area at Animal Kingdom that will open by 2017. Disney had spent billions on Pixar and Marvel and it would go on to shell out billions for Lucasfilm after the expansion was announced. However, Universal's spare-no-expense push to bring guests into Potter's world was a game changer. Disney had been neglecting its parks, often settling for ho-hum additions. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter changed that. It made Disney realize that it couldn't phone it in anymore. It invested heavily in the well-received "Cars" Land expansion in California, and it's just getting started in Florida with the New Fantasyland debut. There's no lack of chatter about what Disney's working on to improve Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida which has become the media giant's least visited park in Florida after being overtaken by Animal Kingdom. Disney is unlikely to concede that its aggressive spending is a direct response to what's happening at Universal Orlando. However, if 2014 plays out the way that 2010 did -- with Universal experiencing big gains in attendance at the expense of Disney's nearby attractions -- there will be little doubt that an arms race in attractions is just getting started.

United States

Walt Disney (DIS)

Attendance:

2008: 118,000,000

2009: 119,100,000

2010: 120,600,000

1) Walt Disney Parks and Resorts

United Kingdom 

Attendance:

2008: 35,200,000

2009: 38,500,000

2010: 41,000,000

2) Merlin Entertainments Group

United States

Attendance:

2008: 25,700,000

2009: 23,700,000

2010: 26,300,000

3) Universal Studios Recreation Group

Spain

Attendance:

2008: 24,900,000

2009: 24,800,000

2010: 25,800,000

4) Parques Reunidos

United States

Six Flags, Inc. (SIX)

Attendance:

2008: 25,300,000

2009: 23,800,000

2010: 24,300,000

5) Six Flags Inc.

United States

Attendance:

2008: 23,000,000

2009: 23,500,000

2010: 22,400,000

6) SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment

United States

Cedar Fair, L.P. (FUN)

Attendance:

2008: 22,700,000

2009: 21,100,000

2010: 22,800,000

7) Cedar Fair Entertainment Company

 People's Republic of China

Attendance:

2008: 13,400,000

2009: 15,800,000

2010: 19,300,000

8) OCT Parks China

United States

Attendance:

2008: 8,300,000

2009: N/A

2010: 9,600,000

9) Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation

France

EMC Corporation (EMC) Q3 Earnings Preview: What To Expect?

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) would publish its third-quarter 2013 financial results on October 22, 2013. The company is also expected to hold a conference call for investors on the same day at 8:30 a.m. ET on to review the results.

EMC continues to act as the leader in storage technology, offering solutions from small to large enterprise businesses, and remains positioned for long-term revenue growth of 10 percent plus and EPS growth in the high teens.

Wall Street expects EMC to earn 45 cents a share, up 12.5 percent from 40 cents a share in the same quarter last year. EMC's earnings have managed to top Street view only once in the past four quarters while missing on two occasions.

Over the past 90 days, the consensus estimate has decreased from 46 cents while two analysts have cut their earnings view in the past 30 days.

Quarterly revenues are expected at $5.80 billion, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. The consensus estimate implies growth of 9.8 percent from $5.28 billion revenue generated in the year-ago period.

EMC is the market leader (about 30 percent share) in storage and the company's revenue projections are primarily linked to IT spending trends. Investors may look for comments on IT spending especially in EMEA and Federal, implications from public cloud and further updates on the Pivotal Initiative.

The Pivotal Initiative is looking to build a complete and integrated Big Data ecosystem that features the assets of both EMC and its majority owned subsidiary VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW), which will report its quarterly numbers on Oct.21.

EMC's performance is tied to the overall decline or rise of the storage hardware, software and services markets. EMC increased its lead in the external disk storage systems market with 31.3 percent revenue share in the second quarter, according to IDC. EMC continued to maintain its leadership in the total open networked storage market with 34.1 percent revenue share, followed by NetApp with 15.2 percent rev! enue share.

In the Open SAN market that slid 0.6 percent, EMC was the leading vendor with 29.7 percent revenue share, followed by IBM with 15 percent market share and HP with 13 percent.

The market may be keen on knowing how the XtremIO suite of flash products (PCIe cards, flash software, and all-flash arrays) based on its acquisition of XtremIO last year are faring.

Investors would also look for some color on the recent VNX refresh and traction with the customers. The performance gains of the new VNX are impressive and leverage several technological advances (multi-core CPUs, virtualization and flash).

"We expect the raw performance and flexibility attributes of VNX to drive a significant refresh / upgrade cycle for multiple quarters. After several Qs of slow VNX growth, we expect the refreshed VNX to drive a significant reacceleration in upcoming quarters," Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore wrote in a note to clients.

The Street could be focused on the company's outlook for the full year as easier comparisons and product refreshes may benefit earnings. EMC sees GAAP earnings of $1.37 for 2013 and non-GAAP earnings $1.85 a share for 2013. Consolidated revenues are expected to be $23.5 billion for 2013. Analysts expect earnings of $1.86 a share on revenue of $23.44 billion.

Investors might look for an update on returning cash to shareholders. EMC has recently increased its authorization to repurchase common stock from $1 billion in 2013 to $6 billion over the three-year period ending December 31, 2015.

It also initiated a quarterly cash dividend of 10 cents a share. Since, the dividend yield is only 1 percent and the payout ratio is 16 percent, EMC can easily raise it for years to come.

EMC generated year-to-date operating cash flow of $2.9 billion and free cash flow of $2.3 billion and ended the second quarter with $17.6 billion in cash and investments. EMC expects to repurchase an aggregate of $3.5 billion of the company's common stock in 2013 and th! e first h! alf of 2014.

For the second quarter, EMC reported that its second-quarter net income attributable to company increased to $701 million, or 32 cents a share, from $650 million, or 29 cents a share, last year. Adjusted net income was 42 cents a share. Revenues increased to $5.61 billion from $5.31 billion last year.

EMC shares, which currently trade at 12 times its 2014 consensus EPS estimate, traded between $21.45 and $27.34 during the past 52-weeks.

3 Things IPOs Can Teach You About Investing

Initial public offerings have always been popular among investors, as they offer the chance for some amazing and quick gains. Yet after the Facebook (NASDAQ: FB  ) IPO, many investors swore off initial public offerings forever, seeing them as a rigged game that they couldn't win. Now, some new and successful IPOs have those investors wondering what they should do next.

In the following video, Dan Caplinger, the Fool's director of investment planning, looks at three lessons that you can take from the IPO market. First, Dan notes that you can't count on the big gains many expect from IPOs. Facebook is the obvious example, with lots of hype before the initial public offering building high expectations that the company couldn't deliver on for more than a year after the shares went public. Some companies never recover from their IPOs. For instance, Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA  ) trades well below its IPO price and is still struggling to find a viable business model in a rapidly evolving and highly competitive industry.

Second, Dan observes that you also can't count on being able to get in on a stock at cheaper prices after its initial public offering. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) and MasterCard (NYSE: MA  ) are two examples Dan mentions, with Google having jumped just about from its outset because of its immense popularity and its success in growing its profits quickly. Similarly, MasterCard managed to stay above its IPO price even in the midst of the financial crisis, largely because its card-network model didn't involve the credit risk that other financial companies took on.

Finally, Dan reminds investors that you can't expect to be 100% sure about any company going public, as most IPOs involve new and untested businesses. By the time you're comfortable with a company, it has often already produced huge gains that you've missed out on.

Don't wait for great IPOs to invest
Facebook's IPO debacle only added fuel to the fire that the financial crisis started, leading millions of Americans to stay out of the market and thereby miss the huge gains that stocks have posted in recent years. By doing so, they've put their financial futures in jeopardy. To learn more about why investing is so important and what you need to do to get started, read our brand-new special report, "Your Essential Guide to Start Investing Today." Inside, Dan walks you through the basics to help you move forward with your financial life. Click here to get your copy today -- it's absolutely free.

OK, Now It's Safe to Dive Into Sutor Technology Group (SUTR)

To tell the truth, I had almost forgotten about Sutor Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:SUTR) after posting my "right stock, wrong time" speech back on the 9th. While I loved the way SUTR had broken past a horizontal ceiling at $1.83 after several weeks' worth of trying, the bullish move itself was a little overheated and looked like it was setting up a near-term pullback. Only after that dip would the stock be a healthy buy again.

As it turns out, though SUTR ended up gaining another 18% (+$0.38) after the 9th before reaching its high of $2.42 on the 16th, the stock did finally end up doling out that pullback. Good news though...that pullback was more than enough for Sutor Technology Group shares to hit the proverbial "reset" button on the rally, making it safe to wade back into a position. In fact, given the subtle clues behind the pullback's bars, it would be surprising if SUTR didn't rekindle the rally here.

For starters, Sutor Technology Group Ltd. simply brushed that former floor at $1.83 with yesterday's deep low, and immediately rebounded into what ended up being a gain for the day. When former ceilings turn into floors - as $1.83 did - they should be taken seriously... they're likely for real. That being said, even without the brush of the $1.83 level on Wednesday, the shape of the bar from yesterday still screams upside reversal. The open and the close were at or near the high for the day (a day with a very tall high/low range). That's, for the most part, a doji bar, which when they materialize after a sharp pullback generally indicate the transition from a net-bearish environment to a net-bullish one. Take a look.

All of that aside, if nothing else you can see how all of Sutor Technology Group's moving average lines are now sloped upward, confirming the trend is bullish in all the key timeframes.

Bottom line: SUTR may still be a little wobbly for a few more sessions, but the heavy lifting's been done; shares are above and beyond the big line in the sand at $1.83. And, Sutor Technology Group shares were already above a key resistance line in the weekly timeframe. There's still an element of risk to any small cap stock, but from a technical perspective, there's not a lot of risk left with this chart.

For more trading ideas and insights like this one, sign up for the free SmallCap Network daily newsletter. It's chock full of stock picks, market calls, and more. Subscribe today.

Top Japanese Stocks To Invest In Right Now

This is the telecom drama that never ends... except the end really does seem to be in sight now.

Just one week ago, it seemed nearly certain that the four-way bidding war over wireless network operators Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR  ) and Sprint� (NYSE: S  ) would end up with a split pot. Sprint's board had approved an updated offer from Japanese telecom SoftBank while Clearwire recommended shareholders accepting a raised bid from satellite broadcasting veteran DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH  ) .

Blink and you'd miss it: DISH�missed a deadline to raise its Sprint offer and then officially dropped out of the Sprint battle altogether, leaving SoftBank's win down to mere formalities such as a successful approval vote among Sprint shareholders. But Sprint then turned around and raised its own bid for Clearwire to 47% above Sprint's previous bid, or 14% beyond DISH's best offer -- and immediately gained the support of Clearwire's board of directors. Money talks, you know.

Top Japanese Stocks To Invest In Right Now: RSC Holdings Inc.(RRR)

RSC Holdings Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rental of construction and industrial equipment primarily in the United States and Canada. It offers approximately 900 categories of equipment, including backhoes, forklifts, air compressors, scissor lifts, aerial work platform booms, and skid-steer loaders; and smaller items, such as pumps, generators, welders, and electric hand tools. The company also provides safety equipment, which comprise hard hats and goggles; consumables that include blades and gloves; tools comprising ladders and shovels; and other ancillary products. In addition, it sells new equipment; and used rental equipment, merchandise, and other related items. The company sells its products to industrial or non-construction related companies, and construction companies. As of December 31, 2011, it operated through a network of 440 rental locations in 43 states in the United States; and 3 Canadian provinces. The company is headquartered in Sc ottsdale, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon] s a machinery rental service for construction, industrial, petrochemical, governmental and manufacturing businesses in the U.S. and Canada. RSC tends to benefit in economic downturns, as more businesses turn to renting rather than buying equipment to cut costs. Rented equipment rose 20.7% percent (the sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth) and rental revenue increased 27% in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to last year.

  United Rentals (URI), one of RSC�� largest competitors, had a rental revenue increase of 18.5% in the fourth quarter compared to last year, which included a 6.7% increase in rental rates.

  The company�� fleet utilization also increased to 69% for 2010, up 510 bps from 2010, and it spent $616 million in gross rental capital expenditures to keep up with demand.

  Part of the growth is a result of management�� decision in 2006 to expand beyond the cyclical construction market to the largely untapped non-construction and industrial markets that need machinery for mining and oil and gas drilling.

  RSC Holdings has a market cap of $2.26 billion; its shares were traded at around $22.15 with a P/E ratio of 197.91 and P/S ratio of 1.49.

  Magma Design Automation Inc. (LAVA)

  Magma Design Automation is a Silicon-Valley company that develops electronic design automation software products and solutions, from concept to completion. It has had relatively flat free cash flow growth for the last ten years and an average annual earnings growth of 1.8%.

  On November 30, it announced it was going to be acquired by Synopsys Inc., for $7.35 per share, or $507 million net of cash and debt. Shareholders sued the company on December 1 saying that the sell price was too low, as it closed as high as $8.50 per share in July 2011 and analysts had set price targets at up to $11.00 per share.

  Grantham bought 1,663,500 shares of the company at an average price of $5.70 in the fourth quarter.

  Gold Fields Ltd.

Top Japanese Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Twoco Petroleums Ltd. (TWO.V)

Twoco Petroleums Ltd., an oil and gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas reserves in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The company�s core areas include the Andrew/Willingdon/Tofield area covering approximately 62,164 net acres of mineral rights and the Steele/Bolloque/Grassland area comprising 13,948 net acres of mineral rights located in Alberta, Canada. As of December 31, 2011, it had an interest in 30.75 net producing and 52.20 net non-producing oil and natural gas wells. The company was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

5 Best Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Own Right Now: Biostar Pharmaceuticals Inc.(BSPM)

Biostar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription pharmaceutical products, and health supplement products for various diseases and conditions in the People?s Republic of China. Its primary product includes the Xin Ao Xing Oleanolic Acid Capsule, an OTC medicine for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. The company?s products also include Ganwang compound paracetamol and amantadine hydrochloride capsule for the relief of common cold, runny nose, sore throat pain, headache, and fever; and Tianqi Dysmenorrhea capsule, a traditional Chinese medicine used for the treatment of pain and other symptoms associated with menstruation. Its prescription pharmaceutical products comprise Danshen granule for the treatment of coronary heart disease, myocarditis, and angina pectoris; and Taohuasan pediatric medicine for the treatment of bronchial congestion and coughs in children. The company also manufactures hernia belt; and five h ealth supplements. Biostar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. sells its products through distributors and a network of dedicated sales people in approximately 22 provinces. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Xianyang, the People?s Republic of China.

Top Japanese Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Appleton Exploration Inc (AEX.V)

Cornerstone Metals Inc. operates in the mining industry. It owns the Dora gold project that is located near Merritt, British Columbia. The company was formerly known as Appleton Exploration Inc. and changed its name to Cornerstone Metals Inc. in May 2012. Cornerstone Metals Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

Top Japanese Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Starcore Intl Mines Ltd(SAM.TO)

Starcore International Mines Ltd., through its subsidiary, Compa�a Minera Pe� de Bernal, S.A. de C.V., engages in exploring, extracting, and processing gold and silver in Mexico. The company is also involved in owning, acquiring, exploiting, exploring, and evaluating mineral properties. It holds interests in the San Martin mine consisting of mining concessions covering 12,992 hectares, including 7 underground mining units and 4 exploration units located in Queretaro, Mexico. The company was formerly known as Starcore International Ventures Ltd. and changed its name to Starcore International Mines Ltd. in February 2008. Starcore International Mines Ltd. is based in Vancouver, Canada.

Top Japanese Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited(CLWT)

Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited, through its subsidiaries and associated companies, engages in marketing and trading air, water, and waste water related process control, analytical, and testing instruments, as well as disinfection equipment and related automation systems. The company distributes a range of advanced air and water pollution control equipment, chlorination equipment, laboratory instruments, analyzers, test kits, and related supplies; and power generation related equipment, including recorders and power quality analyzers. It also manufactures air and water analytical instruments and testing equipment, as well as undertakes air, water, and waste-water treatment engineering projects. Euro Tech primarily sells its products through its retail shops and representative offices, as well as through independent sub-distributors to commercial customers, governmental agencies, or instrumentalities in Hong Kong and the People?s Republic of China. The company was found ed in 1971 and is headquartered in Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  If you're like most investors, you've probably never heard of Euro Tech Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ:CLWT). I have a confession to make - until a few days ago, I hadn't heard of it either. Yet, in just the few short days I've had to get to know CLWT, I've come to the conclusion that if you're the kind of person who would be just as comfortable taking an extra $1000 to the casino as you would be in putting that money into a brokerage account and putting into a crazy stock, then Euro Tech Holdings may be worth a shot to you.

Top Japanese Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Templeton Dragon Fund Inc.(TDF)

Templeton Dragon Fund, Inc. is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Templeton Asset Management Ltd. It invests in the public equity markets of China. The fund invests in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It invests in value stocks of companies. The fund typically employs fundamental analysis focusing on factors like growth prospects, competitive positions in export markets, technologies, research and development, productivity, labor costs, raw material costs and sources, profit margins, returns on investment, capital resources, government regulation and management. Templeton Dragon Fund, Inc was formed on September 20. 1994 and is domiciled in Singapore.

Top Japanese Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Internet Initiative Japan Inc.(IIJI)

Internet Initiative Japan Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides Internet connectivity, WAN, outsourcing, and systems integration services to customers primarily in Japan. Its Internet connectivity services include services for corporate use, such as IP services and data center connectivity services, broadband Internet connectivity services, dial-up access services, IIJ mobile services, and IIJ ISDN/F and IIJ line management/F services; and connectivity services for home use consisting of IIJ4U, IIJmio, and hi-ho. The company?s outsourcing services comprise security-related outsourcing services that protect customer network systems from unauthorized access and secure remote connections to internal networks; network-related outsourcing services, such as Internet-virtual private network, and router rental; server-related outsourcing services, including Web hosting, e-mail hosting, document storage, and streaming; data center-related outsourcing services consisting o f data center facility, and management and monitoring; and customer support and help desk solutions, and IP phone services. It also provides systems integration services, which include consulting, project planning, systems design, and development of network systems, primarily focusing on Internet business systems, and Intranet and Extranet corporate information systems; and systems operation and maintenance services. In addition, the company sells network-related equipment, as well as provides automated teller machine (ATM) services. As of June 30, 2011, it operated 9 points of presence (POPs) for dedicated access and 1 POP for nationwide dial-up access. The company also operates approximately 280 ATMs and 16 Internet data centers. Internet Initiative Japan Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

Top Japanese Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Menika Mining Ltd. (MML.V)

Menika Mining Ltd., an exploration stage company, engages in the sourcing, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Canada. It holds a 100% interest in the Reliance gold property that consists of approximately 977.7 hectares located to the east of the town of Goldbridge, British Columbia. The company also holds interest in the AVA property claims with approximately 2,336.479 hectares located in the Deadman valley of British Columbia. Menika Mining Ltd. was incorporated in 1974 and is based in Langley, Canada.

Top Japanese Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Cinemark Holdings Inc(CNK)

Cinemark Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries engage in the motion picture exhibition business. As of June 30, 2011, it operated 436 theatres with 4,983 screens in 39 states of the United States, as well as in Brazil, Mexico, and 11 other Latin American countries. The company is headquartered in Plano, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sue Chang]

  Cinemark Holdings Inc. (CNK) : The movie theater company is well positioned to capitalize on the film�� popularity with movie goers with operations both in the U.S. and Latin America. Shares of Cinemark are up 26% so far this year.

• [By Rich Smith]

  As movie-theater operator Cinemark (NYSE: CNK  ) exits the Mexican market, another "gringo" is expanding to fill the gap -- from even farther north of the border.

• [By John Udovich]

  The shares of small cap IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX) have slipped more than 10% this week on growth concerns - meaning it might be a good idea to take a closer look at the stock plus its performance�verses other cinema stocks like Carmike Cinemas, Inc (NASDAQ: CKEC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) along with the PowerShares Dynamic Leisure & Entertainment ETF�(NYSEARCA: PEJ).

Top Japanese Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Anglo Pacific Group Plc(APY.TO)

Anglo Pacific Group PLC, together with its subsidiaries, engages in securing natural resources royalties by acquisition and through investment in mining interests primarily in coal, iron ore, gold, and uranium principally in Australia, North America, South America, and Africa. It holds 50% of the coking coal royalty entitlement on the Kestrel and Crinum underground mines located in Queensland, Australia; a 1% gross revenue royalty (GRR) on the Amapa iron ore system in Brazil; a 1% GRR on iron ore and non-precious metals, other than copper, on the Tucano project in the Amapa region of Brazil; a 2% net smelter royalty (NSR) on the Jogjakarta iron sands project in Indonesia; a 1.5% GRR on various exploration licenses, including the Railway iron ore deposit in Western Australia; and a 1% GRR over the Isua iron ore project in Greenland. The company also holds a 2.5% NSR on the El Valle-Boinas/Carles gold mines in Spain; a 2.5% NSR on the Malartic-Midway and McKenZie Break gold projects in Quebec, Canada; a 3% GRR on the Bulqiza chromite project in Albania; a 1% NSR on the Black Thor, Black Label, and Big Daddy chromite projects in northern Ontario, Canada; a 1% NSR over the Four Mile uranium project in south Australia; and a 1% NSR over the Salamanca uranium project in Spain. In addition, it holds an option to acquire a 2% NSR on Creso Exploration Inc?s Duggan gold project in Ontario, Canada; a 1.5% NSR on the Araguaia nickel project in Brazil; and a 1% NSR on the Highbank Lake and Eastbank PGE exploration properties in Ontario, Canada. Further, the company owns mineral licenses in the Groundhog and Peace River coal deposits in British Columbia, Canada. Anglo Pacific Group PLC is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Top Japanese Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Pacific Environment Ltd (PEH.AX)

Pacific Environment Limited engages in the provision of environmental consulting and technology services primarily in Australia. The company offers EnviroSuite that provides end to end managed environmental services, which include identifying emissions sources, collection and measurement of emissions, and managing emissions data; and environmental management and reporting systems to organizations for simplifying environmental reporting. It also provides various consulting services in areas, including air quality modeling and impact assessment; odor assessments; acute release incident modeling; applied meteorology; forensic meteorology; compliance reporting; works approvals, licensing, and regulatory compliance support; development of air quality and dust management plans; development and management of mitigation strategies; and design and management of monitoring programs. In addition, the company offers consulting services in noise, vibration, and acoustics areas that com prise of environmental noise impact assessments, operational noise predictions, building vibration and ground borne noise, transportation noise assessment, and occupational noise assessments; and in occupational and community health areas, including development of occupational health and safety programs, toxicological and human health risk assessments, indoor air quality assessments, monitoring programs for the workplace and community, and health and environmental risk assessment in indoor and outdoor environments. Further, it provides reports, advice, and reviews in toxicology, risk assessment, hazardous substance classification, exposure assessment, chemical registration, and litigation support. Pacific Environment Limited was incorporated in 2006 and is based in North Sydney, Australia.

Top Japanese Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Lincoln Educational Services Corporation(LINC)

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation provides post-secondary education services in the United States. The company offers degree and diploma programs for recent high school graduates and working adults in the areas of studies, such as health science, automotive technology, skilled trades, business and information technology, and hospitality services. As of December 31, 2011, it had 19,204 enrolled students. The company operates 46 schools in 17 states under Lincoln Technical Institute, Lincoln College of Technology, Lincoln College of New England, Nashville Auto-Diesel College, and Euphoria Institute of Beauty Arts and Sciences brand names, as well as offers online programs. Lincoln Educational Services Corporation was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in West Orange, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Teradyne will replace Scholastic Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHL) in the S&P MidCap 400, and Scholastic will replace Lincoln Education Services Corp. (NASDAQ: LINC) in the S&P SmallCap 600. Lincoln Education Services currently ranks 600th in the S&P SmallCap 600 and is no longer representative of the small cap market space.

Top Japanese Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Tatmar Ventures Inc. (TAT.V)

Highway 50 Gold Corp., an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition and exploration of mineral resource properties in Canada and the United States. The company explores primarily for gold and silver ores. It owns interests in the Golden Brew property located in Lander County, Nevada; and the Lookout Property situated in Fort Steele Mining Division, British Columbia. The company was formerly known as Tatmar Ventures Inc. and changed its name to Highway 50 Gold Corp. in July 2011. Highway 50 Gold Corp. was incorporated in 2004 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

Top Japanese Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Bioquell(BQE.L)

Bioquell PLC engages in the design, manufacture, and supply of bio-decontamination equipment and services for the life sciences, healthcare, and defense sectors in the United Kingdom and internationally. The company operates in two divisions, Bio-decontamination and TRaC. The Bio-decontamination division develops, designs, and manufactures specialist surface sterilization and filtration technology used in the life sciences, healthcare, and defense sectors. It also offers room bio-decontamination services; chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear filtration equipment; and Microflow and Astec laboratory filtration and containment equipment. The TRaC division provides specialist testing services, including environmental testing, telecoms testing, radio testing, EMC testing, safety testing, and CE mark testing, as well as finite element analysis and seismic testing services. It also provides regulatory and compliance services to companies and organizations. The company is based in Andover, the United Kingdom.

Top 5 Heal Care Stocks To Own Right Now

It might not be obvious to the casual observer, but right now, today, Kroger (NYSE: KR  ) stock offers one of the best values available in the supermarket industry. Why?

Three reasons.

Kroger is cheap
When you stack up Kroger stock against a couple of its smaller, faster-growing rivals -- Harris Teeter (NYSE: HTSI  ) and The Fresh Market (NASDAQ: TFM  ) , it's clear that Kroger is the cheapest of the three. Its 12.0 price-to-earnings ratio is barely half the price Harris Teeter stock-shoppers pay, and less than a third of the price of a share of Fresh Market.

Now as I just mentioned, both Harris Teeter and Fresh Market are growing faster than Kroger. Analysts have Kroger pegged for a bit more than 7% annual earnings growth over the next five years, while Harris is expected to grow a bit less than twice as fast, and Fresh Market a bit less than three times as fast. Emphasis on "a bit less" -- as in, the disparities in growth rates aren't big enough to justify the discounts on Kroger stock: about two times versus Harris, and more than three times versus Fresh Market.

Top 5 Heal Care Stocks To Own Right Now: Ellsworth Convertible Growth and Income Fund Inc.(ECF)

Ellsworth Fund Ltd. is a close ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Davis-Dinsmore Management Company. It invests in equity markets of the United States. The fund primarily in convertible securities. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Merrill Lynch All Convertibles Index, the S&P 500 Index and the Lehman Aggregate Bond Total Return Index. The was formerly known as Ellsworth Convertible Growth and Income Fund, Inc. Ellsworth Fund Ltd. was formed on April 30, 1986 and is domiciled in the United States.

Top 5 Heal Care Stocks To Own Right Now: Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC)

Henry Schein, Inc. distributes healthcare products and services primarily to office-based healthcare practitioners. It operates in two segments, Healthcare Distribution and Technology. The Healthcare Distribution segment offers consumable dental products, dental laboratory products, and small equipment, including X-ray products, infection-control products, handpieces, preventatives, impression materials, composites, anesthetics, teeth, dental implants, gypsum, acrylics, articulators, and abrasives; and large dental equipment comprising dental chairs, delivery units and lights, X-ray equipment, equipment repair, and high-tech equipment. It also provides medical products, including branded and generic pharmaceuticals, vaccines, surgical products, diagnostic tests, infection-control products, and vitamins; and animal health products, such as branded and generic pharmaceuticals, surgical and consumable products and services, and equipment. The Technology segment offers softwar e and related products, and value-added products that primarily include practice management software systems for dental and medical practitioners, and animal health clinics. Its services also consist of financial services and continuing education services for practitioners. Henry Schein, Inc. primarily serves dental practitioners and laboratories, physician practices, and animal health clinics, as well as government and other institutions. It operates in the United States, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Melville, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Charles Mizrahi]

  Several stocks in our portfolio will benefit from this trend: Drugstore chain Walgreens (WAG), healthcare products distributor Henry Schein (HSIC), and pharmaceutical maker AstraZeneca (AZN)

Top High Tech Stocks For 2014: Shell Refining Company (FED OF MALAYA)

Shell Refining Company (Federation of Malaya) Berhad is principally engaged in refining and manufacturing of petroleum products. The Company operates primarily in Malaysia. Its operations also include the gas to liquids (GTL) plant of its kind in Bintulu, Sarawak, and a refinery in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan. Its upstream operations focus on the development and extraction of crude oil and natural gas offshore Sarawak and Sabah. In downstream its main activity is in refining, supply, trading and shipping of crude oil and petroleum products through the sales and marketing of transportation fuels, lubricants, specialty products and technical services. The Company is also a partner in two joint ventures that convert natural gas to liquefied natural gas. Royal Dutch Shell plc is its holding company.

Top 5 Heal Care Stocks To Own Right Now: Asia Power Corp Ltd (A03.SI)

Asia Power Corporation Limited, an investment holding company, engages in the ownership, management, and operation of hydro-power plants in the People�s Republic of China. It is involved in the provision of power related business consultancy and management services; and power automation system and instruments. The company also engages in the development and investment in electrical energy industry; development and sale of electrical equipment; and investment in information and services relating to the electrical energy industry. In addition, it is involved power related information system development; trade of power equipment; and development of wind power. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Singapore.

Top 5 Heal Care Stocks To Own Right Now: Cardero Resource Corporation(CDY)

Cardero Resource Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Mexico, Peru, Argentina, the United States, and Canada. The company holds a 75% interest in the Carbon Creek deposit, a metallurgical coal development project located in the Peace River Coal Field of northeast British Columbia, Canada. It also has an option to acquire 100% interest in the Pampa El Toro project, an iron sands deposit, located in southern Peru; option to acquire up to an 85% interest in the Longnose property in St. Louis county, northeastern Minnesota; and 100% leasehold interest in the Titac property, located in St. Louis county, northeastern Minnesota. The company was formerly known as Sun Devil Gold Corp. and changed its name to Cardero Resource Corp. in May 1999. Cardero Resource Corp. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

How to outperform using boring old index funds

One of the most common knocks against index funds is that they guarantee you average returns minus fees and, by golly, clients need above average returns or else they're going to start looking for a new adviser.

But it's silly to think that the only way an adviser can add alpha to a client's portfolio is by finding the next hot fund manager, sector or stock.

In fact, for advisers, adding alpha is as simple as making savvy tax moves and as stopping clients from making classic investing mistakes like buying high, selling low and thinking short-term instead of long-term. These are all basic things that mom-and-pop investors probably aren't thinking about on their own. And these are things that an adviser can actually control, unlike, say, the market's returns.

So even by using index funds, which are designed to give investors the market's return, minus fees, an adviser can add performance to a client's portfolio that they likely wouldn't get on their own.

“Advisers are the alpha,” said Martha King, managing director of The Vanguard Group Inc.'s financial adviser services division.

5 Best Safest Stocks To Buy Right Now

“It's not about stock picking anymore,” she said. “Advisers can make a difference through their coaching and their guidance. They add value through building the relationship and helping clients be clear about their life goals.”

The shift is already well under way within the financial advice industry, but becoming comfortable with pitching themselves as the alpha to clients, rather than promising to kick the pants off the market, is one of the biggest challenges advisers face this year, Ms. King said.

“Many advisers are still in the midst of that turn,” she said.

Some major institutions also are in deeply involved in helping advisers make that turn as well. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, for example, is in the middle of a five-year strategic plan to shift its focus to goals-based wealth management.

Of course, this doesn't mean active management has no room in a portfolio. Focusing on long-term planning will also benefit advisers using actively managed funds, since research has shown that finding above-average long-term outperformance from an active manager requires a great deal of patience.

Two-thirds of the 275 actively managed stock funds that outperformed over the 15-year period ended Dec. 31, 2012, suffered at least three consecutive years of underperformance, for example, according to Vanguard.

So really, thinking about yourself as alpha rather than spending time and resources trying to find it in the market, is a win for you and for your clients.

Supreme Court Backs Mandatory Arbitration; NASAA Calls for Action

State securities regulators are up in arms over the Supreme Court’s recent decision upholding American Express’ right to bar customer class-action suits and are pressing Congress to stop forced arbitrations.

The Supreme Court on June 20 issued its opinion in American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant, which held that a group of merchants were bound by individual arbitration agreements with American Express "even if a class action is the only way to make the claim economically viable," NASAA says.

According to The Washington Post, a group of California restaurants led by Italian Colors had a dispute with American Express, over fees and other matters, from which each restaurant hoped to recover $40,000 or less. But the analysis necessary to prove their case would have cost the restaurants up to $1 million.

“The Supreme Court’s ruling effectively invites large corporations to use arbitration agreements to disregard effective vindication of consumer claims through class actions,” said Heath Abshure (right), NASAA President and Arkansas securities commissioner, in a statement.

“It is disappointing that the Supreme Court would turn a blind eye to the injustice of allowing large corporate interests to deny small businesses and individuals their day in court,” Abshure said. “It is now up to Congress to restore some vestige of consumer protection by prompt remedial legislation to restore the scales of justice to balance.”

In a 5-3 opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia, the Court held that a contractual provision mandating individual arbitration by means of a class-action waiver is enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), even if the costs of individual arbitration outweigh the potential recovery, according to attorneys Michael Miller and Adam Hunt of the law firm Morrison Foerster.

Top 5 High Tech Stocks For 2014

“Plaintiffs had argued that the costs of individual arbitration were so high that they would not be able to ‘effectively vindicate’ their federal statutory rights under the antitrust laws,” the two lawyers say. “But the Supreme Court shut the door on plaintiffs’ repeated efforts to push for the application of this ‘effective vindication’ exception that had been crafted by lower courts (including those in the Second Circuit).”

NASAA notes that it has been urging Congress to explore amending federal law to ensure that all investors, especially those investing small amounts, have a reasonable avenue to seek recovery.

“Arbitration should not be the sole forum available to aggrieved investors," Abshure said. "They should be able to seek relief in any forum and not be forced into an expensive arbitration that could foreclose the ability to obtain relief.”

---

Check out Schwab Backs Off on Class-Action Ban—for Now on AdvisorOne.

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now

Popular Posts: 9 Biotechnology Stocks to Buy Now6 Oil and Gas Stocks to Buy Now16 Oil and Gas Stocks to Sell Now Recent Posts: 10 Best “Strong Buy” Stocks ��STZ MGAM CSGP and more 8 Biotechnology Stocks to Sell Now 7 Semiconductor Stocks to Sell Now View All Posts

This week, these ten stocks, all currently earning A’s (“strong buy”) on Portfolio Grader, have the best year-to-date performance. Since the beginning of the year, the Nasdaq 10.9%, the Dow is up 13.2%, and the S&P is up 12.1%.

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Shell Refining Company (FED OF MALAYA)

Shell Refining Company (Federation of Malaya) Berhad is principally engaged in refining and manufacturing of petroleum products. The Company operates primarily in Malaysia. Its operations also include the gas to liquids (GTL) plant of its kind in Bintulu, Sarawak, and a refinery in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan. Its upstream operations focus on the development and extraction of crude oil and natural gas offshore Sarawak and Sabah. In downstream its main activity is in refining, supply, trading and shipping of crude oil and petroleum products through the sales and marketing of transportation fuels, lubricants, specialty products and technical services. The Company is also a partner in two joint ventures that convert natural gas to liquefied natural gas. Royal Dutch Shell plc is its holding company.

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: MPLX LP (MPLX)

MPLX LP, incorporated on March 27, 2012, is a fee-based limited partnership formed by Marathon Petroleum Corporation to own, operate, develop and acquire crude oil, refined product and other hydrocarbon-based product pipelines and other midstream assets. The Company�� assets consist of a 51% indirect interest in a network of common carrier crude oil and product pipeline systems and associated storage assets in the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions of the United States.

The Company generates revenue by charging tariffs for transporting crude oil, refined products and other hydrocarbon-based products through its pipelines and at its barge dock and fees for storing crude oil and products at its storage facilities. The Company is also the operator of additional crude oil and product pipelines owned by Marathon Petroleum Corporation and its subsidiaries (MPC) and third parties, for which it is paid operating fees.

The Company�� assets consist of a 51% partner interest in Pipe Line Holdings, an entity which owns a 100.0% interest in Marathon Pipe Line LLC (MPL) and Ohio River Pipe Line LLC (ORPL), which in turn own: a network of pipeline systems, which includes approximately 962 miles of common carrier crude oil pipelines and approximately 1,819 miles of common carrier product pipelines extending across nine states. This network includes approximately 153 miles of common carrier crude oil and product pipelines, which it operates under long-term leases with third parties; a barge dock located on the Mississippi River near Wood River, Illinois, and crude oil and product tank farms located in Patoka, Wood River and Martinsville, Illinois and Lebanon, Indiana; and a 100.0% interest in a butane cavern located in Neal, West Virginia, which serves MPC�� Catlettsburg, Kentucky refinery.

Crude Oil Pipeline Systems

The Company�� crude oil pipeline systems and related assets are positioned to support crude oil supply options for MPC�� Midwest refineries, whic! h receive imported and domestic crude oil through a range of sources. Imported and domestic crude oil is transported to supply hubs in Wood River and Patoka, Illinois from a range of regions, including Cushing, Oklahoma on the Ozark pipeline system; Western Canada, Wyoming and North Dakota on the Keystone, Platte, Mustang and Enbridge pipeline systems, and the Gulf Coast on the Capline crude oil pipeline system.

The Company�� Patoka to Lima crude system is comprised of approximately 76 miles of 20-inch pipeline extending from Patoka, Illinois to Martinsville, Illinois, and approximately 226 miles of 22-inch pipeline extending from Martinsville to Lima, Ohio. This system also includes associated breakout tankage. Crude oil delivered on this system to MPC�� tank farm in Lima can then be shipped to MPC�� Canton, Ohio refinery through MPC�� Lima to Canton pipeline, to MPC�� Detroit refinery through MPC�� undivided joint interest portion of the Maumee pipeline, and its Samaria to Detroit pipeline, or to other third-party refineries owned by BP, Husky Energy, and PBF Energy in Lima and Toledo, Ohio.

The Company�� Catlettsburg and Robinson crude system is consisted of the pipelines: Patoka to Robinson and Patoka to Catlettsburg. Its Patoka to Robinson pipeline consists of approximately 78 miles of 20-inch pipeline, which delivers crude oil from Patoka, Illinois to MPC�� Robinson, Illinois refinery. Its Patoka to Catlettsburg pipeline consists of approximately 140 miles of 20-inch pipeline extending from Patoka, Illinois to Owensboro, Kentucky, and approximately 266 miles of 24-inch pipeline extending from Owensboro to MPC�� Catlettsburg, Kentucky refinery. Crude oil can enter this pipeline at Patoka, and into the Owensboro to Catlettsburg portion of the pipelines at Lebanon Junction, Kentucky, from the third-party Mid-Valley system.

The Company�� Detroit crude system is consisted of Samaria to Detroit and Romulus to Detroit. Its Samaria to Detroit pi! peline co! nsists of approximately 44 miles of 16-inch pipeline that delivers crude oil from Samaria, Michigan to MPC�� Detroit, Michigan refinery. This pipeline includes a tank farm and crude oil truck offloading facility located at Samaria.

The Company�� Romulus to Detroit pipeline consists of approximately 17 miles of 16-inch pipeline extending from Romulus, Michigan to MPC�� Detroit, Michigan refinery. Its Wood River to Patoka crude system is consisted of two pipelines: Wood River to Patoka and Roxanna to Patoka. Its Wood River to Patoka pipeline consists of approximately 57 miles of 22-inch pipeline, which delivers crude oil received in Wood River, Illinois from the third-party Platte and Ozark pipeline systems to Patoka, Illinois.

The Company�� Roxanna to Patoka pipeline consists of approximately 58 miles of 12-inch pipeline, which transports crude oil received in Roxanna, Illinois from the Ozark pipeline system to its tank farm in Patoka, Illinois.

Product Pipeline Systems

The Company�� product pipeline systems are positioned to transport products from five of MPC�� refineries to MPC�� marketing operations, as well as those of third parties. These pipeline systems also supply feedstocks to MPC�� Midwest refineries. These product pipeline systems are integrated with MPC�� expansive network of refined product marketing terminals, which support MPC�� integrated midstream business.

The Company�� Gulf Coast product pipeline systems include Garyville products system and Texas City products system. The Company�� Garyville products system is consisted of approximately 70 miles of 20-inch pipeline, which delivers refined products from MPC�� Garyville, Louisiana refinery to either the Plantation Pipeline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana or the MPC Zachary breakout tank farm in Zachary, Louisiana, and approximately two miles of 36-inch pipeline that delivers refined products from the MPC tank farm to Colonial Pipeline in Zachary.

The Company�� Texas City products system is comprised of approximately 39 miles of 16-inch pipeline that delivers refined products from refineries owned by MPC, BP and Valero in Texas City, Texas to MPC�� Pasadena breakout tank farm and third-party terminals in Pasadena, Texas. The system also includes approximately three miles of 30- and 36-inch pipeline that delivers refined products from MPC�� Pasadena breakout tank farm to the third-party TEPPCO and Centennial pipeline systems.

The Company�� Midwest product pipeline systems include Ohio River Pipe Line (ORPL) products system, Robinson products system and Louisville Airport products system. The Company�� ORPL products system is consisted of Kenova to Columbus, Canton to East Sparta, East Sparta to Heath, East Sparta to Midland, Heath to Dayton, and Heath to Findlay.

The Company�� Kenova to Columbus pipeline consists of approximately 150 miles of 14-inch pipeline that delivers refined products from MPC�� Catlettsburg refinery to MPC�� Columbus, Ohio area terminals. Its Canton to East Sparta pipeline consists of two parallel pipelines, which connect MPC�� Canton, Ohio refinery with its East Sparta, Ohio breakout tankage and station. The first pipeline consists of approximately 8.5 miles of six-inch pipeline that delivers products (distillates) from Canton to East Sparta. The second pipeline consists of approximately 8.5 miles of six-inch bi-directional pipeline, which can deliver products (gasoline) from Canton to East Sparta or light petroleum-based feedstocks from East Sparta to Canton.

The Company�� East Sparta to Heath pipeline consists of approximately 81 miles of eight-inch pipeline that delivers products from its East Sparta, Ohio breakout tankage and station to MPC�� terminal in Heath, Ohio. The Company�� East Sparta to Midland pipeline consists of approximately 62 miles of eight-inch bi-directional pipeline, which can deliver products and light petroleum-based feedstocks betwe! en its br! eak-out tankage and station in East Sparta, Ohio and MPC�� terminal in Midland, Pennsylvania. MPC�� Midland terminal has a marketing load rack and is able to connect to other Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-area terminals through a pipeline owned by Buckeye Pipe Line Company, L.P. and a river loading/unloading dock for products and petroleum feedstocks. This pipeline can also transport products to MPC�� terminals in Steubenville and Youngstown, Ohio through a connection at West Point, Ohio with a pipeline owned by MPC.

The Company�� Heath to Dayton pipeline consists of approximately 108 miles of six-inch pipeline, which delivers products from MPC�� terminals in Heath, Ohio and Columbus, Ohio to terminals owned by CITGO and Sunoco Logistics Partners, L.P. in Dayton, Ohio. This pipeline is bi-directional between Heath and Columbus for product deliveries. Its Heath to Findlay consists of approximately 100 miles of eight- and 10-inch pipeline, which delivers products from MPC�� terminal in Heath, Ohio to MPC�� pipeline break-out tankage and terminal in Findlay, Ohio. Robinson products system is consisted of Robinson to Lima, Robinson to Louisville, Robinson to Mt. Vernon, Wood River to Clermont, Dieterich to Martinsville and Wabash Pipeline System.

The Company�� Robinson to Lima pipeline consists of approximately 250 miles of 10-inch pipeline, which delivers products from MPC�� Robinson, Illinois refinery to MPC terminals in Indianapolis, Indiana, as well as to MPC terminals in Muncie, Indiana and Lima, Ohio. Its Robinson to Louisville pipeline consists of approximately 129 miles of 16-inch pipeline, which delivers products from MPC�� Robinson, Illinois refinery to two MPC and multiple third-party terminals in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition, these products can supply MPC and Valero terminals in Lexington, Kentucky through the Louisville to Lexington pipeline system owned by MPC and Valero.

The Company�� Robinson to Mt. Vernon pipeline consists of ap! proximate! ly 79 miles of 10-inch pipeline that delivers products from MPC�� Robinson, Illinois refinery to a MPC terminal located on the Ohio River in Mt. Vernon, Indiana. It leases this pipeline from a third party under a long-term lease. The Company�� Wood River to Clermont pipeline consists of approximately 153 miles of 10-inch pipeline extending from MPC�� terminal in Wood River, Illinois to Martinsville, Illinois, and approximately 156 miles of 10-inch pipeline extending from Martinsville, Illinois to Clermont, Indiana. This pipeline also includes approximately 9.5 miles of pipelines utilized for the local movement of products in and around Wood River, Illinois, and Clermont, Indiana.

The Company�� Dieterich to Martinsville pipeline consists of approximately 40 miles of 10-inch pipeline, which delivers products from the termination point of Centennial Pipeline to Martinsville, Illinois. From Martinsville, these products (including refinery feedstocks) can be distributed to MPC�� Robinson, Illinois refinery or to other destinations through our other pipeline systems. Its Wabash Pipeline System consists of three interconnected pipeline pipelines: approximately 130 miles of 12-inch pipeline extending from MPC�� terminal in Wood River, Illinois to Champaign, Illinois (the West leg); approximately 86 miles of 12-inch pipeline extending from MPC�� Robinson, Illinois refinery to Champaign (the East leg), and approximately 140 miles of 12- and 16-inch pipeline extending from the junction with the East and West legs in Champaign to MPC�� terminals in Griffith, Indiana and Hammond, Indiana. This pipeline system delivers products to MPC�� tanks at Martinsville, Champaign, Griffith and Hammond. This pipeline system also delivers products to tanks owned by Meier Oil Company at Ashkum, Illinois. The Wabash Pipeline System connects to other pipeline systems in the Chicago area through a portion of the system located beyond MPC�� Griffith terminal. The Company�� Louisville airport product! s system ! consists of approximately 14 miles of eight- and six-inch pipeline, which delivers jet fuel from MPC�� Louisville, Kentucky refined product terminals to customers at the Louisville International Airport.

Other Major Midstream Assets

The Company�� butane cavern is located in Neal, West Virginia, across the Big Sandy River from MPC�� Catlettsburg, Kentucky refinery. This storage cavern has approximately 1.0 million barrels of storage capacity and is connected to MPC�� Catlettsburg refinery. Rail access to the storage cavern is also available through connections with the refinery.

The Company�� barge dock is located on the Mississippi River in Wood River, Illinois and is used both for crude oil barge loading and products barge unloading. The barge dock is connected to its Wood River tank farm by approximately two miles of 14-inch pipeline, which transfers crude oil from the tank farm to the dock, and two 10-inch pipelines, which are each approximately two miles long and transfer products and feedstocks from the dock to the tank farm. This dock generates revenue through a FERC tariff, which is collected for the transfer and loading/unloading of crude oil and products. It also owns tank farms located in Patoka, Martinsville and Wood River, Illinois and Lebanon, Indiana, which it uses for storing both crude oil and products. These storage assets are integral to the operation of its pipeline systems in those areas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  In Marathon's quarterly report, watch for how the refiner's relationship with spun-off midstream pipeline operator MPLX (NYSE: MPLX  ) is faring. With Marathon holding a majority stake in MPLX, its pipeline assets will play an increasingly important role in bringing midcontinent energy products to its refineries.

• [By Aimee Duffy]

  Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX  ) and its master limited partnership Phillips 66 Partners (NYSE: PSXP  ) have made the headlines recently, because of how high PSXP climbed during its first day of trading. It isn't the first refiner to find success with an MLP spinoff -- Marathon Petroleum's (NYSE: MPC  ) spinoff�MPLX (NYSE: MPLX  ) is up more than 16% year to date -- and it doesn't look as if it will be the last. In this video, Fool.com contributor Aimee Duffy looks at Valero's (NYSE: VLO  ) recent affirmation of its plan to convert its logistics assets into an MLP.

• [By Robert Rapier]

  Two things PSXP has going for it are that it has no debt, and is likely to be able to grow future distributions. But there are other midstream MLPs that have little or no debt and are also in position to grow distributions, but with a higher yield than PSXP. Marathon Petroleum’s (NYSE: MPC) midstream affiliate MPLX (NYSE: MPLX) also has essentially no debt, but a slightly higher yield of 2.9 percent.

5 Best Medical Stocks To Watch Right Now: Eagle Rock Energy Partners LP (EROC)

Eagle Rock Energy Partners, L.P. (Eagle Rock) is a limited partnership engaged in the business of gathering, compressing, treating, processing and transporting natural gas; fractionating and transporting natural gas liquids (NGLs); crude oil logistics and marketing; natural gas marketing and trading, known as Midstream Business, and developing and producing interests in oil and natural gas properties, known as Upstream Business. On May 3, 2011, the Company acquired CC Energy II, L.L.C and outstanding membership interests of Crow Creek Energy. On May 20, 2011, it sold the Wildhorse Gathering System in its East Texas and Other Midstream Segment.

Midstream Business

The Company�� Midstream Business is located in four natural gas producing regions: the Texas Panhandle; East Texas/Louisiana; South Texas, and the Gulf of Mexico. As of December 31, 2011, these working interest properties included 591 gross operated productive wells and 1,197 gross non-operated wells with net production to the Company of approximately 87.7 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and proved reserves of approximately 234.0 Bcf of natural gas, 11.5 million barrels of crude oil or other liquid hydrocarbons of crude oil, and 11.3 million barrels of crude oil or other liquid hydrocarbons of natural gas liquids, of which 76% are proved developed. As of December 31, 2011, its Midstream Business consisted of Panhandle Segment and East Texas and Other Midstream Segment.

The Company�� Texas Panhandle Segment covers 10 counties in Texas and two counties in Oklahoma. Through the systems within this segment, the Company offers midstream wellhead-to-market services, including gathering, compressing, treating, processing and selling of natural gas, and fractionating and selling of NGLs. As of December 31, 2011, approximately 213 producers and 2,072 wells and central delivery points were connected to the systems in its Texas Panhandle Segment. The Texas Panhandle Segment averaged gathered volumes fo! r 2011 of approximately 155.1 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. As of December 2011, Chesapeake Energy and BP America Production represented 14% and 11%, respectively, of the total volumes of its Texas Panhandle Segment. The Texas Panhandle Segment consists of approximately 3,963 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines, ranging from two inches to 24 inches in diameter; seven natural gas processing plants with an aggregate capacity of 210 million cubic feet of natural gas per day; a propane fractionation facility with capacity of 1.0 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, and two condensate collection and stabilization facilities.

Eagle Rock�� systems in the East Panhandle (northern Wheeler, Hemphill and Roberts Counties, Texas) gather and process natural gas produced in the Morrow and Granite Wash reservoirs of the Anadarko basin. In the Panhandle Segment, natural gas is contracted at the wellhead primarily under percent-of proceeds (which includes percent-of-liquids) fixed recovery, percent-of-index and fee-based arrangements that range from one to five years in term. During the year endede December 31, 2011, it produced over 2,600 equity barrels per day of condensate in the Texas Panhandle Segment. During 2011, it stabilizes approximately 2,000 barrels per day combined at its Superdrip and Cargray Stabilizers.

The Company�� East Texas and Other Midstream Segment operates within the natural gas producing regions, such as East Texas/Louisiana, South Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. Through its Texas/Louisiana region, it offers producers natural gas gathering, treating, processing and transportation and NGL transportation across 21 counties in East Texas and seven parishes in West Louisiana. Its operations in the South Texas region primarily gather natural gas and recover NGLs and condensate from natural gas produced in the Frio, Vicksburg, Miocene, Canyon Sands and Wilcox formations in South Texas. Its operations in the Gulf of Mexico region are non-operated owne! rship int! erests in pipelines and onshore plants which are all located in southern Louisiana. The Gulf of Mexico region also provides producer services by arranging for the processing of producers��natural gas into third-party processing plants, known as Mezzanine Processing Services.

As of December 31, 2011, approximately 705 wells and central delivery points were connected to its systems in the East Texas and Other Midstream Segment. As of December 31, 2011, the East Texas and Other Midstream Segment provides gathering and/or marketing services to approximately 140 producers. During 2011, the East Texas and Other Midstream Segment averaged gathered volumes of approximately 319.9 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. As of December 31, 2011, Stone Energy Corporation and Anadarko Petroleum Company represented 18% and 9%, respectively, of the total volumes of its East Texas and Other Midstream Segment. Residue gas pipelines include Houston Pipeline Company, Natural Gas Pipeline Company, Tennessee Gas Pipeline, Crosstex Energy L.P. and Southern Natural Pipeline.

Upstream Business

The Company�� Upstream Business located in four regions within the United States, such as Southern Alabama, which includes the associated gathering, processing and treating assets; Mid-Continent, which includes areas in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas Panhandle and North Texas; Permian, which includes areas in West Texas, and East/South Texas/Mississippi assets. As of December 31, 2011, these working interest properties included 591 gross operated productive wells and 1,197 gross non-operated wells with net production of approximately 87.7 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and proved reserves of approximately 234.0 Bcf of natural gas, 11.5 million barrels of crude oil or other liquid hydrocarbons of crude oil, and 11.3 million barrels of crude oil or other liquid hydrocarbons of natural gas liquids, of which 76% are proved developed.

The Southern Alabama region includes the! Big Esca! mbia Creek, Flomaton and Fanny Church fields located in Escambia County, Alabama. These fields produce from either the Smackover or Norphlet formations at depths ranging from approximately 15,000 to 16,000 feet. The Big Escambia Creek field encompasses approximately 11,568 gross and 7,334 net Eagle Rock operated acres. It operates 18 productive wells with an average ownership of 60% working interest and 51% net revenue interest in the Big Escambia Creek field. The Fanny Church field is located two miles east of Big Escambia Creek. Its ownership includes approximately 1,284 gross and 999 net operated acres that include three productive operated wells with an average ownership of 86% working interest and 66% net revenue interest. The Flomaton field is adjacent to and partially underlies the Big Escambia Creek field. The field encompasses approximately 1,280 gross and 1,256 net Eagle Rock operated acres and produces from the Norphlet formation at depths from approximately 15,000 to 16,000 feet. It operates three productive wells with an approximate average 91% working interest and 78% net revenue interest. The Smackover and Norphlet reservoirs are sour, gas condensate reservoirs which produce gas and fluids containing a high percentage of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide.

The Mid-Continent region consists of operated and non-operated properties across the Golden Trend Field, Cana Shale play, Verden Field, and other western Oklahoma fields located in the Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma, the Mansfield Field and other various fields in the Arkoma Basin in Arkansas and Oklahoma, various fields in the Texas Panhandle, and the Barnett Shale in north Texas. Productive depths range from approximately 2,500 feet in the Arkoma fields of western Arkansas to greater than 18,000 feet in the Springer formation in certain western Oklahoma fields. Its producing field is the Golden Trend field that extends across Grady, McClain and Garvin counties in Oklahoma. It has 14,621 net acres in the Cana Shale play exte! nding acr! oss Canadian, Blaine and Dewey counties, Oklahoma. The Cana Shale produces from horizontal wells drilled to vertical depths of 11,000 - 13,000 feet and extended with horizontal lateral lengths of approximately 5,000 feet. In the total Mid-Continent region, it operate 316 productive wells and own a working interest in an additional 1,054 non-operated productive wells. The average working interest in these productive operated and non-operated wells is 83% and 9%, respectively. The net production averaged approximately 53.2 million cubic feet of natural gas per day during 2011, of which approximately 77% was produced from wells it operated.

The Permian region contains numerous fields, including Block 27, Estes Block 34, H.S.A., Heiner, Monahans N., Payton, Running W., Ward S, and Ward-Estes N. located mainly in Ward, Pecos, and Crane Counties, Texas. These fields are located in the Central Basin Platform which extends from central Lea County in New Mexico to central Pecos County in Texas and encompasses hundreds of individual fields with multiple productive intervals from the Yates-Seven Rivers-Queen through the Ellenburger formations. The Ward County fields contains two major properties, the Louis Richter and the American National Life Ins. Co. leases, and encompasses approximately 10,285 gross and 10,215 net Eagle Rock acres. It operate multiple fields consisting of stacked multi-pay horizons that produce from depths of 2,300 feet (Yates) to 9,100 feet (Pennsylvanian). The Southern Unit is located in the Running W Waddell field and produces predominantly oil at depths from approximately 5,750 to 5,900 feet. It operates approximately 5,875 net acres in this area.

The East/South Texas/Mississippi region includes the Aker, Birch, Edgewood, Eustace, Fruitvale, Ginger and Wesson fields in East Texas, the Jourdanton field in South Texas, and the Chicora W, High Road, and Stafford Springs fields in Mississippi. The East Texas fields produce primarily from the Smackover Trend at depth! s from 12! ,000 to 12,700 feet and encompass approximately 18,991 gross and 15,872 net Eagle Rock acres. It operates 32 productive wells, which produce gas that contains between approximately 30% to 69% of impurities (hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide). The Edgewood field also contains two productive gas wells in the Cotton Valley at depths of 11,500 to 11,600 feet which produce sweet natural gas. The East Texas production, with the exception of a single well, is delivered to the third party owned Eustace Plant for separation of condensate, removal of impurities, and extraction of natural gas liquids and sulfur for a combination of fees and percentage of proceeds.

In South Texas, it operates wells in the Jourdanton field in Atascosa County, Texas. It operates nine productive wells with 100% working interest and 88% net revenue interest. Its production from the field is primarily from the Edwards carbonates (7,300 to 7,400 feet). On December 31, 2011, the Company had under operation 290 gross (261 net) productive oil wells and 301 gross (251 net) productive natural gas wells. On December 31, 2011, Eagle Rock owned non-operated working interests in an additional 148 gross (18 net) productive oil wells and 1049 gross (72 net) productive natural gas wells.

The Company competes with DCP Midstream, LLC and Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P., Crosstex Energy, L.P., Energy Transfer Partners, LP and Enterprise Products Partners, L.P.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Rapier] Most MLP investors have two main concerns: the preservation of capital and reliable income — in that order. These two objectives are, of course, closely linked. An MLP that treats its investors to negative distribution surprises is likely to be an MLP that does a poor job of preserving capital. For example, Eagle Rock Energy Partners (Nasdaq: EROC) has lost 25 percent of its value since announcing a distribution cut in late October.
  

  But how does an investor judge whether an MLP is at risk of a surprising distribution cut? As we discussed recently in The Unkindest Cut for MLPs, some classes of MLP are more susceptible to cuts than others. For variable distribution MLPs, it’s par for the course. Distributions go up, and they go down — depending on market conditions. MLPs focused on upstream oil and gas operations are also at greater risk of a distribution cut during periods of softening oil and gas prices.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Eagle Rock Energy Partners (EROC) has advanced 3.9% to $6.60 after it was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Raymond James.

  United Parcel Service (UPS) and FedEx (FDX) blamed bad weather and a glut of packages for delayed holiday deliveries. So far, the market response has been muted: Shares of United Parcel Service are unchanged in pre-open trading, while FedEx has gained 0.4% to $142.50.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Eagle Rock Energy Partners (Nasdaq: EROC  ) reported earnings on May 1. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Eagle Rock Energy Partners whiffed on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Eagle Rock Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ: EROC) dipped 17.55% to $6.06 in the pre-market session after the company lowered its quarterly distribution to $0.15 from $0.22 per unit.

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: ONEOK Partners L.P.(OKS)

ONEOK Partners, L.P. engages in the gathering, processing, storage, and transportation of natural gas in the United States. The company?s Natural Gas Gathering and Processing segment gathers and processes natural gas produced from crude oil and natural gas wells located in the Mid-Continent region; and gathers natural gas in the Williston Basin, which spans portions of Montana and North Dakota, and the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. Its Natural Gas Pipelines segment primarily owns and operates regulated natural gas transmission pipelines, natural gas storage facilities, and natural gas gathering systems for non-processed gas. It also provides interstate natural gas transportation and storage services. This segment?s interstate natural gas pipeline assets transport natural gas through FERC-regulated interstate natural gas pipelines in North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. In addition, it transports intra state natural gas through its assets in Oklahoma; and owns underground natural gas storage facilities in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. Its Natural Gas Liquids segment gathers, fractionates, and treats natural gas liquids (NGLs), as well as stores NGL products primarily in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. This segment owns FERC-regulated natural gas liquids gathering and distribution pipelines in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Wyoming, and Colorado; terminal and storage facilities in Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois; and FERC-regulated natural gas liquids distribution and refined petroleum products pipelines in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana that connect its Mid-Continent assets with Midwest markets, including Chicago, Illinois. ONEOK Partners GP serves as the general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as Northern Border Partners, L.P. and changed its name to ONEOK Partners, L.P. in May 2006. The company was founded in 1993 and is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Oneok Partners L.P(OKS). on Tuesday said it planned to invest $650 million to $780 million on Bakken Shale projects in North Dakota, including a new natural-gas processing plant. The spending plan is set to run through the second quarter of 2016. Oneok has already announced $6 billion to $6.4 billion in total investments through 2016.

• [By David Dittman]

  Answer: ONEOK is running wild in anticipation of its completion of transactions that will make it essentially a general partner, with interests in ONEOK Partners LP (NYSE: OKS) and the soon-to-be-spun-out ONE Gas Inc (NYSE: OGS). ONEOK already has an admirable record of dividend growth, and these moves will drive acceleration in 2014 payout growth.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  ONEOK Partners (NYSE: OKS  ) is expected to report Q1 earnings on April 30. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict ONEOK Partners's revenues will expand 4.7% and EPS will decrease -35.2%.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Oneok Partners LP(OKS) issued guidance for 2014 that surpasses its estimate for the current year, citing growth in natural-gas volumes.

  QEP Resources Inc.(QEP) plans to separate its midstream business, QEP Field Services Co., into a separate entity, including its interest in QEP Midstream Partners LP(QEPM).

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Sunoco Inc.(SUN)

Sunoco, Inc., through its subsidiaries, refines and markets petroleum products in the United States. Its Logistics segment operates refined product and crude oil pipelines and terminals; and acquires and markets crude oil and refined products. As of December 31, 2011, this segment owned and operated approximately 5,400 miles of crude oil pipelines and approximately 2,500 miles of refined product pipelines. It also operates 42 active terminals that receive refined products from pipelines and distribute them to third parties. The company?s Retail Marketing segment engages in the retail sale of gasoline and middle distillates; and operation of convenience stores. This segment operates outlets primarily in Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Its Refining and Supply segment offers petroleum products, including gasoline and residual fuel oil, as well as middle distillates, such as jet fuel, heating oil , and diesel fuel; and commodity petrochemicals comprising propylene-propane, benzene, and cumene. This segment offers its products to wholesale and industrial customers. The company was founded in 1886 and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: ATP Oil And Gas Corp (AOB)

ATP Oil & Gas Corporation, incorporated in 1991, is engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas properties. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had estimated net proved reserves of 118.9 Million barrels of crude oil equivalent (MMBoe), of which approximately 75.9 MMboe (64%) were in the Gulf of Mexico and 42.9 MMBoe (36%) were in the North Sea. The reserves consisted of 78.6 Million barrels (MMBbls) of oil (66%) and 241.5 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas (34%). Its proved reserves in the deepwater area of the Gulf of Mexico account for 62% of the Company�� total proved reserves and its proved reserves on the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf account for 2% of its total proved reserves. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company acquired three licenses in the Mediterranean Sea covering potential natural gas resources in the deepwater off the coast of Israel (East Mediterranean). On August 17, 2012, ATP Oil And Gas Corp filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The Company�� natural gas reserves are split between the Gulf of Mexico (57%) and the North Sea (43%). Of its total proved reserves, 8.3 MMBoe (7%) were producing, 19.0 MMBoe (16%) were developed and not producing and 91.6 MMBoe (77%) were undeveloped. The Company�� average working interest in its properties at December 31, 2011, was approximately 81%. The Company operates 92% of its platforms. At December 31, 2011, in the Gulf of Mexico, it owned leasehold and other interests in 38 offshore blocks and 49 wells, including 23 subsea wells. The Company operates 43 (88%) of these wells, including 100% of the subsea wells. In the North Sea, it also had interests in 13 blocks and two Company-operated subsea wells. As of March 15, 2011, the Company owned an interest in 13 platforms, including two floating production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, the ATP Titan at its Telemark Hub and the ATP Innovator at its Gomez Hub. It operates the ATP Innovator and the ATP Titan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Emerson]

  Most of the Chinese companies that I purchased now reside on the Pink Sheets or have disappeared altogether, but at one time they all traded on major US exchanges. One of them (AOB), even received the honor of ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in 2007, and people say that crime does not pay.

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Carnival Corporation(CCL)

Carnival Corporation operates as a cruise and vacation company. It provides cruises to various vacation destinations with a portfolio of cruise brands comprising Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn in North America; and AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Ibero Cruises, and P&O Cruises in Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company also involves in operation of hotels, as well as offers tour and transportation services. It operates approximately 98 ships, as well as owns and operates 15 hotels or lodges that include 3,420 guest rooms; 395 motorcoaches; and 20 domed rail cars. The company sells its cruises through travel agents, including wholesalers and tour operators. Carnival Corporation was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Cruise ship operator�Carnival (NYSE: CCL  ) (NYSE: CUK  ) �announced today its third-quarter dividend of $0.25 per share, the same rate it's paid since 2011.

• [By Geoff Gannon] ns how the cruise business really works. But all of the companies in the industry (CCL, RCL and NCL) freely discuss the economics of their business in great detail. They break out costs before and after fuel. They give you per-passenger prices of how much newly built ships cost. They give you lots and lots of details. They explain how they price their product (the way airlines do) and so on. There is an extreme level of detailed explanation of the business in the various conference calls, 10-Ks, etc.

  A great source for this information is going back to the time the company went public or at least finding the S-1 of a competitor. When a company goes public it often gives much more detail into product economics, etc., than it will later on when it reports annual results.

  That is also a good place to learn about market share, competitors, etc. It is very important to know who a company's customers are. And to think about the circumstances under which they make purchases.

  In many businesses, you will find at least two kinds of "customers." You will have the middlemen (distributors) and the end user (consumer). For Hanes Brands (HBI) the middlemen are Wal-Mart, Target, the dollar stores, etc.

  And the end user (consumer) is really the female head of the household. This is complicated somewhat in almost all situations by the possibility ��as we have with Hanes ��where the user is not always the purchaser. Plenty of underwear purchases are not made by the person who will use the product. But they are obviously an influencer of the purchase decision.

  The strongest example of this is kids' toys. Kids do not buy toys. Parents buy toys. But kids influence the parents.

  For many companies, sales are first made to distributors, then go from distributors to retailers, then from retailers to households. And even within the household the buyer may not be the user.

  It is helpful to make these distinctions. And not to be overly technical

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley. The cruise line operator also was�downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  After a year of ups and downs that have seen Carnival Corp. (CCL) swing from a 52-wek high to a 52-week low and back again, Carnival is looking to break out. And it’s getting a little help from a UBS upgrade today.

  Norwegian Cruise Line/Associated

  UBS analysts Robin Farley and Arpine Kocharyan explain why they upgraded Carnival Corp. to Buy from Neutral:

  We are upgrading Carnival to Buy from Neutral based on higher conviction in the forward outlook…We had anticipated EPS guidance to fall below consensus, but came in ahead and at high end of guidance at $1.8 above our previous $1.71, which some had viewed as too high. This higher 2014 base of EPS underpins 2015 outlook as the market has been looking past 2014 as a year of recovery. We are willing to pay for 2015 today now that we are seeing very visible signs of recovery, and thus we are removing the ~15% discount we had included in our valuation methodology.

  And what’s good for Carnival should also be good for Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL), which also got an upgrade, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings�(NCLH), which Farley and Kocharyan label their top pick. They explain:

  “Holding price” strategy for Carnival brand is working, as close-in Q4 booking for the brand drove upside in Q4. “Hold price” strategy benefits [Royal Caribbean Cruises] and [Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings] since Carnival, as largest brand in Carib, significantly affects price environment. We are upgrading [Royal Caribbean Cruises] to Buy from Neutral based on unchanged 2015 est of $3.66 discounted back 10% to be our forward 12 mo price target, raising target to $50 from $45, as we have rolled over our valuation basis to 2015 given the improved outlook. [Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings] remains our top pick.

  Shares of Carnival Corp. have gained 1.6% to $38.65–just 2.4% away from a new 52-week high–while Royal Caribbean Cruises has risen 1.7% to $46.71 and No

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Shell Refining Company (SHELL)

Shell Refining Company (Federation of Malaya) Berhad is principally engaged in refining and manufacturing of petroleum products. The Company operates primarily in Malaysia. Its operations also include the gas to liquids (GTL) plant of its kind in Bintulu, Sarawak, and a refinery in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan. Its upstream operations focus on the development and extraction of crude oil and natural gas offshore Sarawak and Sabah. In downstream its main activity is in refining, supply, trading and shipping of crude oil and petroleum products through the sales and marketing of transportation fuels, lubricants, specialty products and technical services. The Company is also a partner in two joint ventures that convert natural gas to liquefied natural gas. Royal Dutch Shell plc is its holding company.

Warner Chilcott Still in Neutral Lane - Analyst Blog

We recently maintained our Neutral recommendation on Warner Chilcott (WCRX). Our target price is $21.00 per share.

Why the Reiteration?

Warner Chilcott's first quarter 2013 earnings (excluding special items) of 92 cents per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 85 cents. Lower selling, general & administrative costs boosted earnings in the reported quarter. The company earned $1.16 per share in the first quarter of 2012.

Revenues in the first quarter of 2013 declined 13.4% to $593 million. The decline was primarily attributable to lower sales of its osteoporosis drug, Actonel due to generic competition. Moreover, reduced sales of dermatological product Doryx and gastroenterology product Asacol hurt revenues in the first quarter of 2013. Revenues, however, beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $589 million.

Warner Chilcott will be acquired by Actavis, Inc. (ACT) by year-end. The successful completion of the deal will create a leading global specialty pharmaceutical company with combined annual revenues of about $11 billion.

We believe that the creation of the combined entity will be beneficial for Warner Chilcott, which is facing declining revenues as a standalone entity due to genericization of key drugs. We see limited upside from current levels and hence retain our Neutral stance on the stock.

Stocks That Warrant a Look

While we expect Warner Chilcott to perform in line with its peers and industry levels in the coming months and advice investors to wait for a better entry point before accumulating shares, one can look at Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AUXL) as a good buying opportunity. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Another favorably placed company is Jazz Pharmaceuticals Public Limited Company (JAZZ) with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).