Best Wireless Telecom Stocks To Own Right Now

Social Security is based on a simple idea: pay for retirement benefits through payroll taxes levied on workers and employers.

But that’s where the simplicity ends. Prospective retirees need to consider how to maximize their benefits and those of their spouses. Even the age when benefits are first collected has a great impact on how much is received each month.

Here are a few tips from the Social Security Administration website and Shepherd Financial Partners, a Winchester, Mass., firm, that spotlight some of the points an advisor needs to communicate to clients planning retirement.

1. Choose a Date

How much a retiree receives each month varies greatly depending on what age Social Security benefits start. The longer one waits, up to age 70, the larger each check will be. The agency says that as a general rule, the total benefits a person receives will be the same no matter what age benefits begin.

Top 10 Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now: Stream Group Ltd (SGO)

Stream Group Limited, formerly LongReach Group Limited, is an Australia-based company operating in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. The Company is engaged in the design, integration, installation and maintenance of integrated information and communications technology based products and services to the defense, public safety and security sectors, as well as for government, telecommunications and corporate customers, both locally and internationally. The Company together with its subsidiaries is also engaged in the provision of consulting services to certain key defense organizations. In January 2013, the Company sold its C4i business. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Morgan]

  Saint-Gobain (SGO) dropped 3.7 percent to 36.87 euros. Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the stock to underweight, similar to a sell recommendation, from equal weight, saying it doesn�� see a recovery yet in the European building industry and the contribution from emerging markets will slow.

Best Wireless Telecom Stocks To Own Right Now: KDDI Corp (KDDIF)

KDDI CORPORATION is a telecommunications company. The Mobile Telecommunication segment is engaged in the provision of mobile communications services, including voice and data services, and mobile WIMAX services, as well as the sale of mobile communication terminals and the provision of contents. The Fixed-line Telecommunication segment provides broadband services, including fiber to the home (FTTH) and cable television (TV) services, as well as domestic and overseas communication services, data center services and information and communication technology (ICT) solution services. The Others segment is involved in the operation of call centers and the development of research and advanced technology. On December 2, 2013, it transferred all shares of a wholly owned subsidiary, JAPAN CABLE NET LIMITED to another subsidiary. In December 2013, the Company acquired the entire share capital in Yugen Kaisha Cosmos. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Daniel Inman]

  In Tokyo, telecoms firm KDDI Corp. (JP:9433) � (KDDIF) �rose 2% after a Nikkei report said that the firm will likely report a record first-half group operating profit, with a 50% on-year increase. TDK Corp. (JP:6762) � (TTDKF) , however, dropped 0.2% after a separate Nikkei report said that the electronics-component producer will report an 8% increase in operating profit over the same period.

Best Wireless Telecom Stocks To Own Right Now: T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS)

T-Mobile US, Inc., formerly MetroPCS Communications, Inc., incorporated on March 10, 2004, is a wireless telecommunications carrier, which offers wireless broadband mobile services primarily in metropolitan areas in the United States, including the Atlanta, Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando/Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco and Tampa/Sarasota metropolitan areas. Its flagship brands include T-Mobile and MetroPCS. As of December 31, 2012, it held licenses for wireless spectrum suitable for wireless broadband mobile services covering a total population of 144 million people in and around many of the metropolitan areas in the United States. It provides its services using code division multiple accesses (CDMA) networks using 1xRTT technology and evolution data optimized (EVDO) and fourth generation long term evolution (4G LTE).

The Company has roaming agreements with other wireless broadband mobile carriers that allow them to offer its customers service in many areas when they are outside its service area. These roaming agreements, together with the area it serve with its own networks, allows its customers to receive service in an area covering over 280 million in total population under the Metro USA brand. The Company sells products and services to customers through its Company-owned retail stores, as well as indirectly through relationships with independent retailers and third party dealers. Its service allows its customers to place unlimited local calls from within its local service area and to receive unlimited calls from any area while in its service area, for a flat-rate monthly service fee. For additional usage fees, it also provide certain other value-added services. All of these plans require payment in advance for one month of service. If no payment is made in advance for month of service, service is suspended at the end of the month that was paid for by the customer and, if the customer does not pay within 30 day! s, the customer is terminated. It believes its service plans differentiate them from the more complex plans and long-term contract requirements of traditional wireless carriers.

The Company voice services allow customers to place voice calls to, and receive calls from, any telephone in the world, including local, domestic long distance, and international calls. Its voice services also allow customers to receive and make calls while they are located in areas served by its networks and in those geographic areas served by the networks of certain other wireless broadband mobile carriers with whom it has roaming arrangements. The Company�� data services include text messaging services (domestic and international); multimedia messaging services; mobile Internet access; mobile instant messaging; location-based services; social networking services; push e-mail; multimedia streaming and downloads; and services provided, depending on the network and locale, through the Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless, or BREW, Blackberry, Windows, and the Android platforms, such as ringtones, ring back tones, games, content, and applications.

The Company�� Custom calling features offers custom calling features, including caller ID, call waiting, three-way calling and voicemail. Its Advanced handsets sells a variety of feature phones, and increasingly, smartphones, predominately manufactured by nationally recognized manufacturers for use on its network, including models that have cameras, include HTML browsers, play music, play streaming audio, display streaming video and downloaded video, and have other features facilitating digital data. It sells a variety of handsets using vendor or handset specific operating systems, such as BREW, Blackberry, Windows, and the Android operating system.

The Company provides its wireless broadband mobile services using paired personal communications services (PCS), spectrum and advanced wireless services, or AWS, spectrum. In addition, it holds a! license ! for 12 MHz of paired 700 MHz Lower Band A spectrum in the Boston-Worcester, MA/NH/RI/VT basic economic area (BEA), which, unless it receives a waiver from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), of the four year construction requirements, it plans to construct in the first half of 2013. In each of its metropolitan areas where irt provides service. As of December 31, 2012, it holds between 10 mega hertz (MHz) and 60 MHz of paired spectrum and on average it has approximately 22 MHz of paired spectrum in the metropolitan areas it serves. In the aggregate, as of December 31, 2012, it offers wireless broadband mobile services using its own network.

The Company operates 1xRTT CDMA networks in all of the metropolitan areas it serves and it has upgraded its networks to 4G LTE in all of metropolitan areas. It also has deployed EVDO at selected high use sites in its CDMA network to increase network data capacity to meet the growing data needs of iy customers. Its network includes a mobile switching center (for CDMA), enhanced packet core (for 4G LTE), and IP core. These serve several purposes, including routing traffic, managing call handoffs, and managing access to the public switched telephone network (for CDMA) or the Internet (CDMA and 4G LTE). These network elements also provide access to voicemail and other value-added services, base stations (for CDMA) or eNodeBs (for 4G LTE), cell sites or distributed antenna system (DAS), nodes, and backhaul facilities, which carry traffic to and from its cell sites and its switching or enhanced packet core facilities, consisting of a combination of dedicated circuits, cable, fiber, and microwave facilities.

Its cell sites in the network are co-located, meaning its equipment is located on leased facilities that are owned by third parties who retain the right to lease the locations to additional carriers and in many cases other wireless broadband mobile service providers already have facilities at such locations. The switching centers and na! tional op! erations center provide around-the-clock monitoring of its network. Its switches connect to the public switched telephone network through fiber rings leased from third-parties, which transmit originating and terminating traffic between its equipment and local exchange and long distance carriers. It also has negotiated interconnection agreements with relevant local exchange carriers, or LECs, in its service areas. It uses third-party providers for domestic and international long distance services, international SMS interconnection with the public switched network and other carriers, roaming services, and the majority of its backhaul services.

The Company competes with AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA , Deutsche Telekom, Clearwire, Dish Network , Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Cox Communications, Cricket Communications, Leap Wireless International and Google.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  Price�� new buys in the quarter were Oenok (OKE), Dolby Labs (DLB) and T-Mobile (TMUS). I don�� find any of those particularly exciting at current levels, but I�� willing to acknowledge that Michael Price is a lot smarter than I am and probably sees value I am missing in these stocks. What I find much more interesting was that Price was doing a lot more selling than buying in the third quarter.

Best Wireless Telecom Stocks To Own Right Now: Vodafone Group PLC (VOD)

Vodafone Group Plc (Vodafone), incorporated in 1984, is a mobile communications company operating across the globe providing a range of communications services. The Company offers a range of products and services, including voice, messaging, data and fixed-line solutions and devices to assist customers in meeting their total communications needs. Vodafone has a global presence, with equity interests in over 30 countries and over 40 partner markets worldwide. It operates in three geographic regions: Europe, Africa and Central Europe; Asia Pacific, and the Middle East, and has an investment in Verizon Wireless in the United States. In October 2010, Vodafone Global Enterprise, the business within Vodafone, announced the acquisition of two telecom expense management (TEM) companies, Quickcomm and TnT Expense Management. In November 2011, the Company sold 24.4% interest in Polkomtel in Poland. In March 2012, Verizon Wireless, which is a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone, purchased the operating assets of Cellular One of Northeast Pennsylvania from the Company. In April 2012, its Netherlands-based division, Vodafone Libertel BV, acquired Telespectrum-DJ. On October 31, 2012, the Company acquired TelstraClear Limited. In May 2013, Vodafone Group Plc announced launch of its carrier services business unit.

In Europe, the Company�� mobile subsidiaries and joint venture operate under the brand name Vodafone. Its associate in France operates as SFR and Neuf Cegetel, and its fixed-line communication businesses operate as Vodafone, Arcor, Tele2 and TeleTu. Vodafone�� subsidiaries in Africa and Central Europe operate under the Vodafone brand, or in the case of Vodacom and its mobile subsidiaries, the Vodacom and Gateway brands. Its joint venture in Poland operates as Polkomtel and its associate in Kenya operates as Safaricom. The Company�� subsidiaries and joint venture in Fiji operate under the Vodafone brand, and its joint venture in Australia operates under the brands V! odafone and 3. The Company�� associate in the United States operates under the brand Verizon Wireless.

Vodafone has an international customer base with 370 million mobile customers across the world as of March 31, 2011. Vodafone also caters to all business segments ranging from small-office-home-office (SoHo) and small-medium enterprises (SMEs) to corporates and multinational corporations. Through its subsidiaries, Vodafone directly owns and manages approximately 2,200 stores around the world. The Company also has around 10,300 Vodafone-branded stores run through franchise and exclusive dealer arrangements.

The Company�� range of handsets covers all its customer segments and price points, and is available in a variety of designs. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011 (fiscal 2011), 14 new handsets were released under its own brand and it shipped 5.8 million. In addition to handsets, it supplies a range of connected smart devices. It supplies the iPhone in 19 markets. During fiscal 2011, the Company launched its USB stick based on 4G/LTE technology in Germany and Verizon Wireless launched in the United States.; Vodafone WebBox; a smartphone roaming data plan that allows the European customers to use their home data plan abroad for only 2 a day to access the Internet, emails and applications; the Android-powered Vodafone 845 and 945 devices; Vodafone TV services; Vodafone 252, which comes pre-loaded with Vodafone M-Pesa for mobile payment services and a prepaid balance indicator that helps customers to keep track of their phone credit to avoid overspending; Vodafone M-Pesa in South Africa, Qatar and Fiji; 3G services in India, and LTE services by acquiring LTE spectrum in Germany.

The Company is a carrier of mobile voice traffic in the world providing domestic, international and roaming voice services to more than 370 million customers. Its networks sent and received over 292 billion text, picture, music and video messages during fiscal 2011. The Company ! serves mo! re than 75 million customers with data services, which allow access to the Internet, email and applications on their phones, tablets, laptops and netbooks. The Company provides a range of data products, including Machine-to-machine (��2M�� connections, which allow devices to communicate with one another via built-in mobile SIM cards; Third party billing; Financial services; Near field communication (��FC��, and Mobile advertising. The Company, as of March 31, 2011, served 5.3 million M2M connections around the world. NFC allows communication between devices when they are touched together or brought within a few centimetres of each other. The Company has mobile advertising business in 18 countries with a range of capabilities. Over six million customers use its fixed broadband services in 13 markets to meet their total communications needs. In addition, through Gateway, it provides wholesale carrier services to more than 40 African countries. Other service revenue includes business managed services, such as secure remote network access, and revenue from mobile virtual network operators generated from selling access to its network at the wholesale level. The Company�� enterprise customers range from small-office-home-office (��oHo�� businesses and small to medium-sized enterprises (��MEs��, through to domestic and multinational companies. The Company has 34 million enterprise customers accounting for around 9% of all customers and around 23% of service revenue. The Company focuses on SoHos and SMEs to provide customers with integrated fixed and mobile communications solutions. Vodafone Global Enterprise manages the communication needs of over 560 of the multinational corporate customers. It provides a range of managed services, such as Central Ordering, Device Manager, Spend Manager Solutions, Invoice Manager, Vodafone Neverfail and Telecoms management. The Company offers a range of total communications applications, as well as services for enterprise and consumer customers. Vodafone Alw! ays Best ! Connected software enables customers to stay connected to the Internet on the available connection wherever they are by automatically managing the switching between connection types including mobile broadband, Wi-Fi and LAN. Vodafone PC Backup is an online back-up and restores service that enables users to remotely store data securely and automatically via their Internet connection.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Reuters]

  Michael Sohn/APSprint CEO Dan Hesse Sprint has been ranked last among U.S. cellphone service operators in a customer satisfaction survey by the influential Consumer Reports organization, scoring dismal marks for measures ranging from voice to 4G reliability. No-frills carrier Consumer Cellular received the highest overall score of 88 out of 100, followed by U.S. Cellular (USM) with 75. Sprint received the lowest score of 59, faring the worst in terms of value, voice, text and 4G services. The annual ratings were based on a September survey of 58,399 cellphone service subscribers by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, which publishes widely followed surveys and reviews of everything from cars to refrigerators. In last year's survey, Sprint (S) trailed only Verizon Wireless among the four major carriers. Verizon Wireless (VZ) (VOD) ranked highest again this year with a score of 71. T-Mobile US (TMUS) rated 65 and AT&T (T) 64, according to survey results released Thursday. The rankings are based on ratings for voice, text and 4G, taking into account the occurrence of problems and adjusted for frequency of use. Sprint has been revamping its network after years of customer losses. The company, which is 80 percent owned by SoftBank, warned in October that customer defections would remain high in coming quarters. The company reported a decline in third-quarter revenue as it lost more subscribers than expected following the shutdown of its older network. "Our latest cell service satisfaction survey revealed a somewhat precipitous decline by Sprint that shuffled the rankings of the major standard service providers," Glenn Derene, Electronics Content Development Team Leader for Consumer Reports, said in a statement.

  Mint made the Mac App Store's Best of 2012 list for a reason. This simple, clean app shows how much you are spending in each category of your budget by monitoring all of your transactions. We love signing in and getting a quick,

• [By Dividend Mantra] nounced the sale of it's 45% stake in the Verizon Wireless (VZW) joint venture it started with Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) back in 2000. It seems almost from the start VZ has been trying to gain 100% control of it's wireless business. And who can blame them? This is a 13-year saga that has finally come to a close.

  I have a fairly substantial position in VOD, as I currently own 150 shares of Vodafone worth $4,801.05based on today's closing value of $32.01 per ADR share. It's important to note that VOD is based in the U.K., and as such I invest in the company through American Depository Receipt shares. Each VOD ADR is worth 10 ordinary shares.

  I've long been a fan of Vodafone.

  I've been a very happy investor in Vodafone, as it carried less debt than other major telecommunication companies, had much less exposure to legacy costs associated with wireline businesses because they're primarily a wireless company and they had broad geographic exposure to Europe, India, Africa, Australia and the U.S. (through 45% of VZW). In addition, it's always seemed that the market discounted it's assets, as they were usually cheaper than most of the other options and generally had higher quality assets that had broader exposure throughout the world.

  But I'm not a fan of this sale.

  I'll be completely honest and admit I'm not a huge fan of this transaction. As a value investor, I would have preferred Vodafone stay intact with wonderful telecom assets throughout the world, a healthy balance sheet, broad exposure and a cheap valuation. However, this sale was bound to happen sooner or later and the time seemed right. Interest rates are still low enough to provide VZ an opportunity to finance a good portion of the deal via newly issued debt and VOD had long had issue with not being able to control the dividend payout from the joint venture because it lacked majority control.

  Management should be commended, however.

  Furthermore, I believe mana

• [By Sam Robson]

  LONDON -- In recent days,�Vodafone� (LSE: VOD  ) (NASDAQ: VOD  ) �has�issued us with a number of news items, each representing a signal of intent from the company in its own way.

• [By Chris Neiger]

  Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ  ) and Vodafone (NASDAQ: VOD  ) , finished a nationwide rollout of its 4G LTE coverage yesterday.�

Best Wireless Telecom Stocks To Own Right Now: Intelsat SA (I)

Intelsat S.A., incorporated on July 18, 2011, is a satellite services business, providing a layer in the global communications infrastructure. The Company operates satellite capacity, holds orbital location rights, contract backlog, serve commercial customers and deliver services. It provides diversified communications services to the world�� media companies, fixed and wireless telecommunications operators, data networking service providers for enterprise and mobile applications, multinational corporations and Internet service providers (ISPs). It is also the provider of commercial satellite capacity to the United States government and other select military organizations and their contractors.

The Company has a satellite fleet comprised of more than 50 satellites, covering 99% of the Earth�� populated regions. Its fleet, combined with the IntelsatOne terrestrial fiber network and a collection of teleports, form a singular unmatched global infrastructure to meet any communications requirement. As the provider of satellite services, the Company provides mission critical communication services.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Satellite services provider�Intelsat (NYSE: I  ) announced yesterday its second-quarter dividend of $0.799 per share on its 5.75% Series A mandatory convertible junior non-voting preferred stock, which trades on the NYSE under the symbol I.PRA.

• [By Todd Sullivan]

  HHC has increased all our ownership percentage through the repurchasing of outstanding warrants.

  From the 13D/A
  On December 31, 2013, certain of the Reporting Persons entered into swaps for the benefit of certain Pershing Square Funds. Under the terms of the swaps, (i) the relevant Pershing Square Funds will be obligated to pay to the bank counterparty any negative price performance of the 5,399,839 notional number of Common Shares subject to the swaps as of the expiration date of such swaps, plus interest rates set forth in the applicable contracts, and (ii) the bank counterparty will be obligated to pay the relevant Pershing Square Funds any positive price performance of the 5,399,839 notional number Common Shares subject to the swaps as of the expiration date of the swaps. During the term of the swaps, cash will be paid by the bank counterparty to the relevant Pershing Square Fund in an amount equal to the amount of notional distributions or dividends paid by the Issuer in respect of such notional number of Common Shares. All balances will be settled in cash. The Pershing Square Funds��counterparties for the swaps include entities related to Citibank, Nomura, Soci茅t茅 G茅n茅rale and UBS. The swaps do not give the Reporting Persons direct or indirect voting, investment or dispositive control over any securities of the Issuer and do not require the counterparty thereto to acquire, hold, vote or dispose of any securities of the Issuer. Accordingly, the Reporting Persons disclaim any beneficial ownership of any Common Shares that may be referenced in the swap contracts or Common Shares or other securities or financial instruments that may be held from time to time by any counterparty to the contracts.