Pool area Filtration Tubes Tips

Children’s pool filtration cartridges are the noiseless spouses that assist keep the pool’s water gleaming clear, nice and clean. Swimming pool filtration cartridges work Twenty-four hours a day selection out there even tiniest dirt along with sediment from your pool’s water.

You can find a few types of children’s pool filtration, sand, ink cartridge along with DE (diatomaceous earth). In this article were emphasizing ink cartridge filtration and also for the reason regarding caution I’ll give you a simple overview of the 3 sorts spa filter.

Fine sand Filters

Fine sand filtration remove impurities through the use of sand to gather along with draw in the actual dirt. Fine sand filtration have to be backwashed (running the actual filtration in reverse) to take out water squander. This can be a quite manual process that have to be carried out every single couple weeks.

DE

Diatomaceous earth is a excavated substance used to coat “grids” in the filtration spa filter. These kinds of coated power grids seize the actual impurities. Fat loss impurities are usually taken the pressure starts to climb. In the event the force provides risen to the maximum level, a person physically backwash the actual filtration exactly like sand filtration and then “recharge” it with more DE powdered.

Tube

Children’s pool filtration cartridges work by getting water to feed a very great filtration area. This particular filtration area captures virtually any impurities in which attempt to move across along with maintain these people before you thoroughly clean the actual filtration ink cartridge or replace it.

Tube filtration convey more floor when compared with sand filtration. This enables for a lesser number of shoes and a lot simpler upkeep. Tube filtration also run at a reduced force when compared with sand spa filter. This causes less backpressure on the pump and that means you use a higher stream regarding water with the technique.

Your children’s pool filtration cartridges can easily filter anything as a result of 5 to 10 microns in proportions. To put this kind of throughout point of view, an individual grain regarding desk sea salt is about Ninety microns in proportions. Anything below Thirty five microns will be invisible to the human eye alone.

Children’s pool filtration cartridges can be extremely popular since they’re quite simple to take care of along with relatively inexpensive. Standard ink cartridge upkeep can be carried out through rinsing off your ink cartridge with a garden hose or soaking these people throughout soap. Even so, the best way to ensure a neat and gleaming swimming is usually to simply just substitute these people.

Replacing your cartridges is quite simple and easy , that you do not also have to have the help of a specialist. Simply remove along with discard the previous filtration along with replace it.

Be sure to buy your fresh filtration when you dump the previous one. To replace your children’s pool filtration ink cartridge you should get the exact model, the size and style and the portion amount (whether or not this provides one). Often make sure the actual ink cartridge dimensions against the one that you happen to be try to substitute. Tubes are the desired method of several swimming owners since they’re all to easy to substitute and they’re a very affordable method to keep the swimming crystal clear.

Apple: RBC, Baird See Q1 Beat on iPhone Numbers

Analysts continue to tweak their models for Apple (AAPL) in advance of next Tuesday’s fiscal Q1 earnings report.

RBC Capital’s Mike Abramsky, who maintains an Outperform rating on Apple shares, this morning raised his price target on Apple shares to $525 from $500, writing that the company should produce a “solid Q1 beat,” with $40.2 billion in revenue and $11 per share in net profit, versus Street consensus of $38.8 billion and $10.02 per share.

Abramsky is modeling Apple to have sold 32 million iPhone units in the December quarter, as “global checks indicate unprecedented iPhone sell-through, with stock-outs in multiple regions.”

For the forecast, Abramsky is predicting $32 billion in revenue and $8 per share in profit, which would be above the consensus of $31.8 billion and $7.93 per share.

And R.W. Baird’s William Power, who maintains an Outperform rating on Apple shares and a $540 price target, this morning likewise points to “very strong” U.S. demand for the iPhone 4S. He’s modeling U.S. iPhone sales of 14 million and total iPhone shipments of 31.2 million in the December quarter.

Power also notes that data from Gartner last week suggest Apple’s Mac saw sales rise 20.7% in unit terms in Q4 versus a 5.9% decline for the PC industry overall.

Power is estimating $40.5 billion in revenue last quarter and $10.74 per share.

Apple shares today are up $2.76, or 0.7%, at $427.46.

9 Stocks Near 52-Week Lows And Ready To Rebound

If our aim is buying low and selling high, then the initial price we pay for our new position is very important. We believe that analyzing stocks that are near their 52 week lows is a good starting point to find cheap stocks.

Here is the list of large cap stocks that are trading within 10% of their 52 weeks lows. These stocks have P/E ratios of below 15 and market cap of higher than $20 billion. (Market data is sourced from Finviz).

1- The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV): Travelers Companies Inc. is a US company providing insurance services. Last June, TRV boosted its dividend payout by almost 14%, raising its dividend to 41 cents. TRV recently traded at $48.3 and has a 3.4% dividend yield. TRV lost 0.5% during the past 12 months. The stock has a market cap of $20.2 billion, P/E ratio of 9.5 and forward P/E ratio of 8. The stock has Total Debt / Equity ratio of 0.26 and Beta of 0.65. Mason Hawkins’ Southeastern Asset Management had $874 million invested in TRV at the end of June (see Mason Hawkins’ top holdings here).

2- General Mills, Inc. (GIS): General Mills provides branded consumer foods worldwide. GIS recently traded at $36.7 and has a 3.3% dividend yield. GIS gained 5.1% during the past 12 months. The stock has a market cap of $23.7 billion, P/E ratio of 13.6 and forward P/E ratio of 13. The stock has Total Debt / Equity ratio of 1.08 and Beta of 0.24. Jim Cramer also thinks that the raw material costs for this company are decreasing and sees it as an opportunity to buy the stock. Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital and Doug Silverman’s Senator Investment Group had the largest GIS holdings at the end of June.

3- MetLife, Inc. (MET): MetLife provides insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs worldwide. MET recently traded at $31.5 and has a 2.4% dividend yield. MET lost 15.4% during the past 12 months. The stock has a market cap of $33.3 billion, P/E ratio of 13.7 and forward P/E ratio of 5.4. The stock has Total Debt / Equity ratio of 1.16 and Beta of 1.83. Fifty hedge funds own the stock, together making their interest in the company at around 7% of total outstanding shares. Larry Robbins' Glenview Capital doubled down on his interest in his MET shares last quarter. He now has 1.4 Million shares (check out Larry Robbins’ top holdings here).

4- 3M Co. (MMM): 3M Company is a diversified technology company operating worldwide. MMM recently traded at $80 and has a 2.8% dividend yield. MMM gained 1.3% during the past 12 months. The stock has a market cap of $56.8 billion, P/E ratio of 13.6 and forward P/E ratio of 11.7. The stock has Total Debt / Equity ratio of 0.32 and Beta of 0.85.

5- Prudential Financial, Inc. (PRU): Prudential Financial provides various financial products and services worldwide. PRU recently traded at $47.6 and has a 2.4% dividend yield. PRU lost 5.5% during the past 12 months. The stock has a market cap of $23.1 billion, P/E ratio of 8.3 and forward P/E ratio of 6.1. The stock has Total Debt / Equity ratio of 0.76 and Beta of 2.36.

6- Ford Motor Co. (F): Ford Motor Company is the leading vehicles and parts manufacturer operating worldwide. F recently traded at $10.4 and lost 10% during the past 12 months. The stock has a market cap of $39.5 billion, P/E ratio of 6.2 and forward P/E ratio of 5.5. The stock has Total Debt / Equity ratio of 18.56 and Beta of 2.31.

7- Carnival Corporation (CCL): Carnival Corporation is a cruise and vacation company. CCL recently traded at $30.9 and has a 3.2% dividend yield. CCL gained 0.5% during the past 12 months. The stock has a market cap of $24.5 billion, P/E ratio of 13.1 and forward P/E ratio of 10.3. The stock has Total Debt / Equity ratio of 0.41 and Beta of 1.46. Harris Associates had more than $250 Million in CCL at the end of March 2011.

8- The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BK): The Bank of New York Mellon provides various products and services worldwide. BK recently traded at $20.2 and has a 2.6% dividend yield. BK lost 16.7% during the past 12 months. The stock has a market cap of $24.9 billion, P/E ratio of 9.4 and forward P/E ratio of 7.8. The stock has Total Debt / Equity ratio of 0.8 and Beta of 0.81. Warren Buffett had $46 million invested in BK shares (see Warren Buffett’s stock picks here).

9- General Motors Company (GM): General Motors Company is a global automaker. GM recently traded at $22.9. The stock has a market cap of $34.3 billion, P/E ratio of 5 and forward P/E ratio of 4.8. The stock has Total Debt / Equity ratio of 0.29. There were 72 hedge funds with a total of $2.8 Billion in GM at the end of June. GM is one of the top 10 most popular stocks among hedge funds (see the entire list here).

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

Mosaic Shares Dip After Earnings

Fertilizer company Mosaic (MOS) saw earnings rise 77% year over year, but shares fell about 1.2% after hours.

Mosaic posted$1.17 in EPS. Analysts had been expecting $1.27 in earnings, although it’s not clear whether the estimates were comparable. Gross margin expanded to 27.5% from 23.1%. Net sales of both phosphates and potash rose 40%.

“Our Potash business continues to generate great returns,” said CEO Jim Prokopanko. �”We accelerated our summer maintenance work, driving higher operating rates to meet strong demand.”

“Global demand for phosphate continues to grow, and we are operating near full capacity to meet customer requirements,” Prokopanko added.

Last week, Standard & Poor’s announced that Mosaic would join the S&P 500.

Apple: Wedge Again Warns iPad Estimates Out of Control

Wedge Partners’s Brian Blair again sounds a cautious note this morning regarding Apple (AAPL) earnings, following a note two weeks ago urging investors to avoid the stock in advance of the fiscal Q2 report.

Again, Blair’s concern is the iPad, and rising estimates for how many Apple may have sold last quarter.

He notes that the stock’s price has made new highs since his cautious note, rising from $610 or so to hit $644 this week — helped, he writes, by price targets rising to $900 and even $1,001.

Altough Apple is “the best name in tech,” writes Blair, but it could be hurt if iPad and iPhone numbers don’t sufficiently beat.

Could the stock see such heights? Maybe (we prefer to think about it in $100 increments), but the near term questions for Apple are squarely related to two things: iPad and iPhone. Any kind of a shortfall relative to expectations in these categories presents near term risk, and in our view (given the move in the stock), these risks are magnified. Is Apple the best name in tech? Yes. Have we seen the stock price plummet in the past, when expectations were out of whack with results? Yes. In our view, there is some risk to this happening again in the March quarter, and the result would likely be the stock coming back down to earth�to some degree.

With the Street having raised iPad estimates for the March quarter to a range of 11 million to 14 million units, Blair believes a report of 15 million units would constitute a “blow out” quarter for Apple. An 11-million unit report, closer to his own estimate, would prove his thesis, he thinks, that demand has slowed.

And a report of 10 million of lower would be a “disappointment,” writes Blair.

Likewise, Apple has to meet a range for the iPhone of 31 million to 33 million. “Should estimates rise over 33 million, it could present added risk for the company in our opinion,” he writes.

Apple shares today are down $5.73, or 0.9%, at $617.19.

What Mickey Drexler Learned from Steve Jobs

Image by http://money.cnn.com/2002/05/21/news/companies/gap/index.htm via CrunchBase

Mickey Drexler is one of the most successful merchants ever.  Known for his attention to detail, Mickey helped take J. Crew Group private earlier this year.

He was well liked by Steve Jobs and has served on the Apple (AAPL) board since 1999, when he was still the head of the Gap (GPS).

He and Steve Jobs share a lot of similarities: detail-oriented, product focus, and students of best practices.

Drexler recently spoke about Jobs in this Globe and Mail interview:

In 2010, on Charlie Rose�s program, Drexler also spoke about what he learned about retailing from Apple opening its stores:

When Apple opened their stores 12 years ago, Steve Jobs knew that he had to control his distribution and his product.  He couldn�t depend upon most of the companies that are bankrupt or out of business today to control it.

Now, you go online today � and I do this as practice.  We do in our company, because we are starting to do some outside brands.  Name the price and where you buy it, and every single brand, and this is what astounds me,is that the off-pricers are eating business, you know, left and right from the regular pricers.

And it can�t continue that way unless you differentiate yourself.  Because consumers today are sophisticated enough, I don�t really care where I buy my brands if I get quick delivery online � you might not pay taxes which might not be fair, or you get free shipping and it�s there the next day and you can return it.  I�m not going to go someplace else to buy it at one-third more.  And there is a million examples.

And no one is talking about in Manhattan, department stores are opening up off price.  Nordstrom rack is opening on Union Square, will have every label that the department stores have, I guess, 30 blocks away. What�s going to happen?  Guilt, what�s happening.  It�s on discount.

Apple Sales Can Top $280B Come ’15 with Emerging Markets Help, Says Credit Suisse

Credit Suisse’s Kulbinder Garcha this morning reiterates an Outperform rating on shares of Apple (AAPL), and a $750 price target, writing that the company is “on track to tap the vast emerging market opportunity,” offering a 22-page deck of slides to bolster his report.

Garcha argues Apple already scooped up $16 billion of the $86 billion in “incremental sales opportunity from emerging markets, long term, over the last 12 months.”

But he thinks Apple can make much more money as the middle class broadens out, mostly in the “BRIC” countries — Brazil, Russia, India and China.

U.S. middle class consumers (if you believe there’s still a middle class in the U.S.) spend an average of $417 on Apple goods per year, he calculates.

If China’s middle class consumers who are comparable in spending ability were to broaden to 244 million by 2015 from 133 million now, it could mean $89 billion in potential revenue for Apple and $21 in earnings per share by 2015.

Garcha also does a back of the envelope for the developed markets, arguing that consumers in Japan and Western Europe still spend less on Apple products than those in North America, which he pegs at about $197 annually per capita.

If those other developed market folks were to raise their Apple spending, it would add up to $69 billion in additional sales for Apple and $19 in profit per share.

Take both emerging and developed markets together and Apple’s EPS could rise from $35 per share last calendar year to “long term EPS power” of $75, on perhaps $286.6 billion in revenue.

By way of comparison, The Street is currently modeling Apple to make $62.20 per share in 2014 on revenue of $227 billion.

Garcha’s key slide is the following, showing the markets potential for revenue and EPS:

Apple shares today are up 59 cents at $572.12.

Manufacturing Data Bodes Well for 2010

Stocks are off to a very bullish start to 2010 as the consensus looks for gains in 2010. Monday morning’s ISM manufacturing report showed a continuation in the “better than expected” trend that became such a staple of 2009. The data was quite robust across the board. Norbert Ore, Chairman of ISM had these comments on the report:

“The manufacturing sector grew for the fifth consecutive month in December as the PMI rose to 55.9 percent, its highest reading since April 2006 when it registered 56 percent. This month’s report is quite strong as both the New Orders and Production Indexes are above 60 percent. The sector may be benefiting from an excessive destocking cycle as indicated by the recent performance of the Customers’ Inventories Index. Customers’ inventories have been ‘too low’ for nine consecutive months, and this month’s index is the lowest reading since the inception of the index in January 1997. Overall, the recovery in manufacturing is continuing, but there are still some industries mired in the downturn as evidenced by the seven industries still in decline.”

Comments from respondents were mixed:

• “Capital is tight. The forecast has been lowered for 2010.” (Chemical Products)
• “Nice rebound for our consumer business.” (Nonmetallic Mineral Products)
• “Demand from automotive [manufacturers] remains strong, with some plants not having extended shutdowns during the Christmas holiday.” (Fabricated Metal Products)
• “Still not seeing any increase in production as the economic indicators are suggesting.” (Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components)
• “Business remains steady and strong.” (Primary Metals)

All in all, the data was bullish and sets a positive tone for the beginning of the year. As we said in our 2010 outlook we very much expect this trend to continue throughout Q1 and likely into Q2.

US Airways Strikes Deals With 3 AMR Unions

US Airways (NYSE:LCC) today struck deals with three American Airlines labor unions that are expected to aid efforts to potentially merge the two airline carriers. American Airlines parent company, AMR Corp. (PINK:AAMRQ), filed for bankruptcy last November.

The unions, which represent 55,000 American Airlines employees, were angered by the threat of job and labor cost cuts while the company is under bankruptcy protection, reports The Associated Press.

Doug Parker, chairman and CEO of US Airways, told the AP that the merger could save about 6,200 jobs at American.

However, the merger between the two major airlines is not a done deal. Parker said his company still needs support of AMR’s creditors, management and board of directors.

“But this is obviously an important first step along that path, and we are hopeful we can all work together to make this happen,” Parker said in a note to US Airways employees.

The CEO also said he would keep both airlines’ current hubs and planes and that the merged company could better compete against major U.S. airline carriers United Airlines (NYSE:UAL) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) .

LCC shares were down more than 2% late Friday, and AAMRQ shares had fallen more than 5%.

32 Yield-Boosting, Volatility-Reducing Utility Dividend Stocks

I previously wrote an article that looked at low beta, high yield dividend stocks. The initial screen provided over 200 potential candidates from which I quickly narrowed it to around 150 stocks with some basic screens. I then focused in on several common names to examine what impact they would have as an addition to an equity portfolio.

However, by choosing common names including McDonald’s Corp. (MCD), Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT), I ignored some higher yielding stocks and also did not focus on any sector in particular.

The focus of this article will be to revisit these companies and look more carefully at the utility stocks as defined by Zacks.com. A full 32 utility stocks made the final list for consideration. These companies ranged from Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (CPK), with a market capitalization of $367 million, to Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT), with a market capitalization around $66 billion.

The list also excluded interesting companies that might be worth considering including France Telecom (FTE), which has a slightly higher beta. Since my previous article noted that equal betas do not necessarily imply equal reductions in portfolio volatility, I’ve included FTE for comparison.

Here is a list of all 33 stocks (FTE included) ranked by dividend yield:

Select Utility Stocks

Ticker	Name	Beta	Dividend Yield 3/3/2011	Market Cap 3/3/2011 ($millions)
AT	Atlantic Power Corporation	0.08	7.0%	1,036
FTE	France Telecom	0.71	5.9%	59,410
PPL	PPL Corporation	0.47	5.4%	12,459
DUK	Duke Energy Corporation	0.44	5.4%	24,031
PGN	Progress Energy Inc.	0.39	5.4%	13,491
VVC	Vectren Corporation	0.41	5.1%	2,212
ED	Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.	0.29	4.8%	14,572
SO	Southern Company (The)	0.35	4.8%	31,741
AGL	AGL Resources, Inc.	0.45	4.6%	3,048
CHG	CH Energy Group, Inc.	0.40	4.4%	776
XEL	Xcel Energy Inc.	0.44	4.2%	11,551
LG	Laclede Group, Inc.	0.08	4.2%	872
CHT	Chunghwa Telecom Co Ltd	0.38	4.2%	23,234
PCG	Pacific Gas & Electric Co.	0.33	3.9%	18,331
WGL	WGL Holdings Inc	0.25	3.9%	1,970
NST	NSTAR	0.32	3.8%	4,683
PNY	Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc.	0.25	3.7%	2,184
MGEE	MGE Energy Inc.	0.28	3.7%	945
NWN	Northwest Natural Gas Company	0.31	3.6%	1,288
GAS	Nicor Inc.	0.50	3.5%	2,434
WEC	Wisconsin Energy Corporation	0.35	3.5%	6,996
CWT	California Water Service Group Holding	0.30	3.4%	747
NJR	NewJersey Resources Corporation	0.19	3.4%	1,770
CPK	Chesapeake Utilities Corporation	0.42	3.2%	387
IDA	IDACORP, Inc.	0.44	3.2%	1,874
AWK	American Water Works	0.35	3.1%	4,941
AWR	American States Water Company	0.39	3.0%	639
CNL	Cleco Power LLC	0.50	3.0%	2,019
UGI	UGI Corporation	0.36	3.0%	3,691
WTR	Aqua America, Inc.	0.21	2.7%	3,151
SJI	South Jersey Industries, Inc.	0.29	2.6%	1,703
NTT	Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation	0.30	2.5%	66,554
SHEN	Shenandoah Telecommunications Co	0.37	1.9%	408

Data is provided by Zacks.comservices except for FTE which is from Yahoo!Finance as of March 4, 2011.

The next step of the analysis is to download all 33 price histories to disaggregate the beta into the two components: correlation coefficient and volatility ratio. The volatility ratio is simply the ratio of the stocks volatility to that of a selected market index, SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (SPY) for this analysis. The interesting follow up analysis would be to see if these stocks could also reduce volatility in a different index – perhaps a balanced fund that carries both equities and bonds.

The implied beta calculation is based upon the correlation coefficient over the last 4 years. It should be noted that both AT and AWK had insufficient price histories. I also included the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) for comparison.

Calculated Betas

Ticker	Zacks.com Beta	Calculated Correlation Coefficient	Calculated Volatility	Volatility Ratio	Implied Beta
SPY	1.00	100%	5.6%	100%	1.00
XLU	NA	71%	4.6%	83%	0.59
XEL	0.44	51%	4.7%	83%	0.42
PCG	0.33	40%	4.4%	79%	0.31
FTE	0.71	53%	7.8%	139%	0.74
PPL	0.47	44%	6.2%	110%	0.49
DUK	0.44	59%	4.1%	73%	0.43
PGN	0.39	56%	3.9%	70%	0.39
VVC	0.41	40%	5.8%	104%	0.42
ED	0.29	37%	4.5%	81%	0.30
SO	0.35	45%	4.2%	74%	0.34
AGL	0.45	53%	5.0%	89%	0.48
CHG	0.40	32%	6.7%	120%	0.38
LG	0.08	6%	5.3%	95%	0.05
CHT	0.38	40%	6.1%	109%	0.44
WGL	0.25	27%	5.0%	89%	0.24
NST	0.32	40%	4.5%	80%	0.32
PNY	0.25	21%	5.9%	106%	0.23
MGEE	0.28	33%	4.5%	80%	0.27
NWN	0.31	32%	5.3%	95%	0.30
GAS	0.50	40%	7.3%	131%	0.52
WEC	0.35	47%	4.3%	78%	0.36
CWT	0.30	25%	5.9%	106%	0.26
NJR	0.19	26%	4.5%	81%	0.21
CPK	0.42	42%	5.9%	106%	0.44
IDA	0.44	45%	5.5%	98%	0.44
AWR	0.39	30%	6.5%	116%	0.35
CNL	0.50	54%	5.4%	96%	0.51
UGI	0.36	48%	4.1%	73%	0.35
WTR	0.21	18%	6.6%	118%	0.21
SJI	0.29	35%	4.6%	82%	0.29
NTT	0.30	28%	6.8%	122%	0.34
SHEN	0.37	17%	11.7%	209%	0.36

Data is provided by Zacks.com for all betas except for XLU and SPY which are from Yahoo!Finance. Volatility and correlations are calculated from Yahoo!Finance price histories using split and dividend adjusted monthly prices.

The first observation is that XLU has a much higher correlation than any of the other utilities. Also, all my calculations for betas aligned pretty closely with Zacks.com, hence implying that most likely my volatilities and correlation coefficients were correct. Here is the conclusion table showing the volatility reduction and yield increase from shifting from a 100% SPY portfolio to a 75% SPY and 25% in each of the following stocks.

Portfolio Impact of Utility Stocks

Ticker	Dividend Yield	Volatility	Correlation Coefficient	New Portfolio Volatility	New Dividend Yield	Incremental Volatility	Incremental Dividend Yield
SPY	1.7%	5.6%	100%	5.6%	1.7%	0.0%	0.0%
XLU	4.0%	4.6%	71%	5.1%	2.3%	-0.5%	0.6%
XEL	4.2%	4.7%	51%	4.9%	2.3%	-0.7%	0.6%
PCG	3.9%	4.4%	40%	4.7%	2.3%	-0.9%	0.6%
FTE	5.9%	7.8%	53%	5.5%	2.8%	-0.1%	1.1%
PPL	5.4%	6.2%	44%	5.1%	2.6%	-0.5%	0.9%
DUK	5.4%	4.1%	59%	4.9%	2.6%	-0.7%	0.9%
PGN	5.4%	3.9%	56%	4.8%	2.6%	-0.8%	0.9%
VVC	5.1%	5.8%	40%	5.0%	2.5%	-0.6%	0.8%
ED	4.8%	4.5%	37%	4.7%	2.5%	-0.9%	0.8%
SO	4.8%	4.2%	45%	4.8%	2.5%	-0.8%	0.8%
AGL	4.6%	5.0%	53%	5.0%	2.4%	-0.6%	0.7%
CHG	4.4%	6.7%	32%	5.0%	2.4%	-0.6%	0.7%
LG	4.2%	5.3%	6%	4.5%	2.3%	-1.1%	0.6%
CHT	4.2%	6.1%	40%	5.0%	2.3%	-0.6%	0.6%
WGL	3.9%	5.0%	27%	4.7%	2.3%	-0.9%	0.6%
NST	3.8%	4.5%	40%	4.8%	2.2%	-0.8%	0.5%
PNY	3.7%	5.9%	21%	4.7%	2.2%	-0.9%	0.5%
MGEE	3.7%	4.5%	33%	4.7%	2.2%	-0.9%	0.5%
NWN	3.6%	5.3%	32%	4.8%	2.2%	-0.8%	0.5%
GAS	3.5%	7.3%	40%	5.2%	2.1%	-0.4%	0.4%
WEC	3.5%	4.3%	47%	4.8%	2.1%	-0.8%	0.4%
CWT	3.4%	5.9%	25%	4.8%	2.1%	-0.8%	0.4%
NJR	3.4%	4.5%	26%	4.6%	2.1%	-1.0%	0.4%
CPK	3.2%	5.9%	42%	5.0%	2.1%	-0.6%	0.4%
IDA	3.2%	5.5%	45%	5.0%	2.1%	-0.6%	0.4%
AWR	3.0%	6.5%	30%	4.9%	2.0%	-0.7%	0.3%
CNL	3.0%	5.4%	54%	5.0%	2.0%	-0.6%	0.3%
UGI	3.0%	4.1%	48%	4.8%	2.0%	-0.8%	0.3%
WTR	2.7%	6.6%	18%	4.8%	2.0%	-0.8%	0.3%
SJI	2.6%	4.6%	35%	4.7%	1.9%	-0.9%	0.2%
NTT	2.5%	6.8%	28%	5.0%	1.9%	-0.6%	0.2%
SHEN	1.9%	11.7%	17%	5.5%	1.8%	-0.1%	0.1%

Keeping On Top Of Inflation

By Mike Bryan, Laurel Graefe, and Nicholas Parker

Where's inflation heading? Well, here's what the minutes of the December meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) had to say on the subject:

Participants observed that inflation had moderated in recent months as the effects of the earlier run-up in commodity prices subsided ... many participants judged that the moderate expansion in economic activity that they were projecting ... would be consistent with subdued inflation going forward.

But not all FOMC meeting participants viewed these trends with equanimity:

Indeed, some expressed the concern that, with the persistence of considerable resource slack, inflation might run below mandate consistent levels for some time.

According to Reuters, San Francisco Fed President John Williams said it this way:

The data so far on the inflation front are confirming my view that inflation is ebbing and moving to be too low, and that is an important driver of my thinking about policy.

But as you might expect, some see the inflation risks weighing a bit on the other side of the scale. Again, from the December FOMC meeting minutes:

Some participants were concerned that inflation could rise as the recovery continued ... A few participants argued that maintaining a highly accommodative stance of monetary policy over the medium run would erode the stability of inflation expectations.

In fact, Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser had this to say in a speech earlier this week:

I do anticipate that with many commodity prices now leveling off or falling, and inflation expectations relatively stable, inflation will moderate in the near term ...

But as a policymaker, my focus is less on the near term and more on the medium term. Looking further ahead, I believe we must monitor the inflation situation very carefully, particularly in this environment of very accommodative monetary policy. Inflation most often develops gradually, and if monetary policy waits too long to respond, it can be very costly to correct. Measures of slack such as the unemployment rate are often thought to prevent inflation from rising. But that did not turn out to be true in the 1970s. Thus, we need to proceed with caution as to the degree of monetary accommodation we supply to the economy.

What doesn't seem to be in dispute is that monitoring the data for any sign that the inflation trend is shifting—either higher or lower—is probably a good idea. And there are a lot of data to watch. In a speech last year to the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart had this to say about reading the inflation data:

To achieve price stability, policymakers must detect inflation in its early stages before it is firmly established, especially in the psychology of consumers and businesses. This early detection is a challenge because inflation is not easily measured in the short term with any precision. No single price statistic enjoys a sufficient vantage point from which to assess inflation in the short term. With imperfect tools, inflation is more easily monitored than precisely measured.

The research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has taken pretty seriously the task of monitoring inflation developments. Where there are gaps in our information, we've been working to fill them with data, and we've aggregated it all into one place: the Inflation Project web page.

On the Inflation Project, we now report a sticky-price CPI statistic calculated from consumer price index data using only those components whose prices are slow to change. Joint research with the Cleveland Fed has shown this measure to be helpful when thinking about inflation expectations. Using Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities data, we now produce a weekly measure of the probability of a sustained deflation. And come January 27, we'll begin reporting the results of a monthly survey ofbusiness inflation expectations that examines firms' price-setting environment and the pricing pressures they face. From the responses, we'll generate a monthly measure of respondents' year-ahead unit cost expectations.

But of course, there are already a lot of data to keep an eye on. To make it a little easier to gain some perspective, we're also unveiling our inflation dashboard. The dashboard provides a platform for visualizing some of the data we commonly monitor to keep abreast of emerging inflation developments. It tracks 30 data series grouped into six major categories—retail prices, inflation expectations, labor costs, producer prices, material and commodity costs, and money and credit.

Our data and the inflation dashboard are available on the Inflation Project web page. Let us know what you think.

Stocks rally into the new year

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday, kicking off the new year on a high note, as investors welcomed upbeat reports on economic activity around the world.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) jumped 180 points, or 1.5%, to end at 12,397. The S&P 500 (SPX) gained 19 points, or 1.5%, to 1,277. The Nasdaq (COMP) added 43 points, or 1.7%, to 2,649.

The gains came after reports on manufacturing growth in China and India came in better than expected over the weekend. On Tuesday, a report showed U.S. manufacturing activity grew at a faster rate in December.

U.S. markets were closed Monday for the New Year holiday.

"There were no major negative headlines out of Europe, and we had some data suggesting the global economy is expanding," said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG.

Investors scooped up shares of companies that would benefit from a strengthening global economy.

Bank stocks, which were among the worst performing sectors last year, led the Dow higher. Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) and JPMorgan (JPM, Fortune 500) all posted strong gains.

Industrial names Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500) and Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500) were also higher, as were multinationals such as GE (GE, Fortune 500), Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) and 3M (MMM, Fortune 500).

But traders say the market is vulnerable to concerns about the debt crisis in Europe, which has been the main driver of stock prices for several months.

Stocks in 2012: Choppy but higher

"At least for today, there's no disaster in Europe," said Art Hogan, a managing director at Lazard Capital Markets. "The market remains focused on what's going on in the eurozone."

Meanwhile, oil prices surged more than 4% on continued anxiety over Iran's growing threat to shut down the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. stocks finished little changed Friday, bringing to an end a year in which the S&P dropped just 0.04 point -- the smallest annual change in history. The Dow rose 5.5% for the year, while the Nasdaq lost 1.8%.

Economy: The Institute of Supply Management's survey of manufacturing purchasing managers rose to 53.9 from 52.7. That's a bit better than the 53.4 forecast of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

Any reading above 50 signals expansion in the sector.

The Commerce Department said construction spending jumped 1.2% in November, after a revised 0.2% decline in October. Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com expect construction spending to have risen by 0.5%.

Over the weekend, the Chinese government released its official reading on manufacturing activity, showing the sector expanded slightly in December, after contracting the month before. And on Monday, a report compiled by HSBC and Markit showed India's manufacturing activity picked up significantly during the month.

The manufacturing data "provides further evidence that global industrial production is likely to be stabilizing in the months to come," analysts at Barclays Capital wrote in a note to clients.

The Federal Reserve plans to give even more detailed forecasts about where it expects its key interest rate to be years from now, according to minutes of the Fed's December meeting released Tuesday.

Companies: Chesapeake Energy (CHK, Fortune 500) shares rose after the Oklahoma City-based energy company announced it completed a venture with an affiliate of French oil company Total (TTFNF) that gives the French firm a 25% stake in more than 600,000 acres in eastern Ohio, an area rich in shale oil.

20 Stocks For January 2012

Mead Johnson Nutrition (MJN) shares gained after two U.S. government agencies said they have completed their investigation of Enfamil and found the baby formula safe to use. The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had stepped in after a newborn baby died of a rare bacterial infection that they suspected could be linked to the powder-based infant formula.

World markets: European stocks also rose. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) added 2%, the DAX (DAX) in Germany added 1.5% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) gained 0.4%.

The Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong added 2.4%. Markets in Shanghai (SHCOMP) and Tokyo (N225) were both closed for an extended New Year holiday.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.

Oil for February delivery added $4.20, or 4.2%, to $103.03 a barrel.

Gold futures for February delivery rose $33.70 to end at $1,600.50 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 1.96% from 1.87% late Friday.  

Parametric Drops 19% on Lower FYQ2 View; JP Morgan Cuts to Hold

Shares of manufacturing software maker Parametric Technology (PMTC) are down $5.16, or almost 19%, at $22.04, after the company this morning cut its fiscal Q2 outlook below analysts’ estimates owing to a missed contract in Europe and weakness in its North American business.

The company expects $300 million in Q2 revenue, and EPS, excluding some costs, of 26 cents to 28 cents per share. The company had previously projected $305 million to $320 million.

The Street has been modeling $315 million and 34 cents.

CEO James Heppelmann remarked that “Our second quarter license revenue was impacted by a large transaction in Europe that did not close and lower than expected performance in North America,” adding that maintenance license revenue “continued to perform well,” as did its “MKS” division.

Added Heppelmann, “We are strategically positioned in attractive growth markets and remain confident in our ability to drive long-term growth and profitability.”

In a conference call following the announcement, Heppelmann said that the European deal, which would have contributed $10 million, looked certain but slipped because of a “change in control” at the single large customer. The deal is now “at risk,” he said. He said North American weakness appeared not to be an issue of demand — North American ISM data on manufacturing appear strong. Rather, he chalked it up to problems with PMTC’s own “execution” in the region.

Heppelmann said the weakness was “only a temporary setback,” and remarked,

Clearly, our dependence on big deals is a risk factor for us, as we experienced this quarter. As you know, we’ve been working hard to expand our sales capacity to create a bigger pipeline of opportunities. And at the same time, we’re actively installing new systems and processes to have better visibility to that pipeline.

Parametric expects to report full Q2 results on April 26th.

The shares have received one downgrade this morning, from J.P. Morgan’s Sterling Auty, who cut his rating to Neutral from Overweight.

Shares of competitors Ansys (ANSS) are down 91 cents, or 1.4%, at $63.50, and Autodesk (ADSK) is down 51 cents, or 1%, at $41.24.

Fin

Achieve Wealth – Investment Basics

Are terms like ROI, diversification, cap rates, risk analysis, puts & call confusing you? If you are seeking to build your wealth for retirement or to achieve life goals, you need an investment plan. My guide to basic investment fundamentals is simple to understand. It is always best to start young saving and investing but it’s never, ever too late to start.

Investment Basics

Investments are both a hedge against insecurities of the future from inflation and for increased needs for money such as for retirement. Critical to investing is the power of compounding. This is what makes investing attractive. Your future wealth is decided largely by the prudent investment plans you undertake now. Investments always comes with an element of risk. It is for you to weigh the level of risk with possible rewards. Understanding risk is the cornerstone of investment fundamentals.

Diversification is the key to good investment management. Spreading your assets and investments across various types of investment spreads your risk. You never want to put too much money into one category – such as all your money in one stock. Spreading you investments across stocks, bonds, real estate and other categories better insures that if one stock or investment category goes south, it will be minimized by other categories that are doing better.

Risk is about your comfort level. If you are young, you may be willing to take much larger risks, and potentially larger rewards, than if you are nearing retirement when you don’t want to risk losing the value of your portfolio.

Investments such as treasury bills, CD’s and bank deposits earn a fixed interest; and they are low risk. Stocks and mutual funds promise more growth potential. When they do well, you stand to gain because you earn money on the money your investment makes. Investment in property can bring you handsome returns but over a period of time. Those willing to take greater risks use leverage. That is, they use the banks money to make money. Borrowing to buy stocks, or borrowing to buy an investment property is riskier but gives you the potential to earn much more. Diversifying investments ensures that you don’t lose everything if a particular investment doesn’t work out well.

Funds: Decide the amount that you can set aside for investment. With right planning, you should be able to set aside and build up an investment fund. Ensure that you have built sufficient cash reserve to meet short-term emergencies. Six months of salary put away in a low-risk savings account is a good place to start. Plan your expenditures so as to redirect funds for investment. Put away a percentage of your pay increase to long-term savings investment.

Plan: Take a broader perspective when planning your finances. Chalk out your financial goals such as a child’s education, retirement or buying a home. Analyze your current situation and determine your needs.

Knowledge: You should consider taking the guidance of an investment adviser. An adviser can help in tailoring your investment to suit your requirements. This would work well for those strapped for time and those who are not well-versed with financial planning.

Time: Investing in stocks and bonds is not everyone’s cup of tea – nor do you have the time to keep up on when to buy and sell. If you buy rental property, it takes time and effort to collect rents, handle complaints, fix problems, etc. Maybe REITs, which are like stocks in real estate, is a better alternative than owning property outright. Be realistic about the time you can put into managing your investments.

Expectations: Be realistic and reasonable about expectations on investments. While some may far surpass your expectations, sometimes investments may not pay off as well as they promised. Plan your tax liabilities too when overseeing your investment plans. Consider capital gains that may come into effect.

Preparation: Before placing your money towards an investment, weigh the cost of the investment. What are the broker and transaction fees if you are buying stocks or bonds. If buying investment property, carefully detail out all expenses and you will need to project them into the future.

The best advice is to start small and learn. As you gain confidence in yourself, it is easy to expand your portfolio.

As a serial entrepreneur and active financial investor, Howard Debs offers guidance on building your wealth. More resources and advice from Howard for both novices and experienced investors at Achieve Wealth 101

Why Hedge Funds Like Mead Johnson Nutrition

In our hedge fund portfolio tracking series we noticed that quite a few long/short equity funds added shares of Mead Johnson Nutrition (MJN) in the fourth quarter of 2009. In a recent letter to investors, Dan Loeb explained the rationale behind his hedge fund Third Point's position in MJN and we thought this would be a perfect time to examine just why so many hedgies are fond of this company.

Mead Johnson Nutrition (MJN) completely separated from Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) in December of 2009. MJN is a leading infant formula producer and carries the well known brand Enfamil, making it a definitive consumer staples play.

The company has a truly global footprint as it garners large market share in North America and the rising world with over 58% of their sales coming from emerging markets. Loeb certainly likes their attractive earnings growth noting that,

Once birth rates normalize in the developed world, the company will generate one of the fastest long-term sales and profit growth rates in the large cap consumer staples universe.

What's interesting is that Loeb's hedge fund has labeled this a risk arbitrage investment and sees MJN as a prime takeover target. In his investor letter, he identifies Nestle or Danone as companies that are big enough to acquire MJN. He explains that,

Both companies are focused on health and wellness, have acquired infant nutrition assets in the past (Nestle paid 15.7x EBITDA for Gerber and Danone paid 21.7x EBITDA for Numico).

However, Loeb notes that investors might have to wait a while before MJN is potentially acquired as there are always various regulatory, tax and legal complications in the mix. And, he is more than happy to wait given MJN's emerging markets growth. For more of our coverage of Dan Loeb, we recently looked at Third Point's equity portfolio as well as their performance and exposure levels.

Now that we know the basics of the hedge fund thesis for Mead Johnson Nutrition, let's take a little bit closer look at some of the fundamentals. MJN has a market cap of over $10 billion, trades at an EV/EBITDA of 14.7, a trailing P/E of 25 and a forward P/E of 18.7. It has a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a price/sales of 3.5. These figures illustrate how you're paying up for the substantial emerging markets growth this company provides. This is seemingly the definition of a G.A.R.P. (growth at a reasonable price) investment.

Mead Johnson has profit margins of around 14%, revenue of over $2.8 billion, EBITDA of over $760 million, and quarterly earnings growth (year over year) of almost 38%. Insider ownership comes in at just over 6% and shares are trading near their 52-week high of $50.35. And those of you wanting a technical look at the stock can get an instant chart analysis of MJN here.

Overall, it's an interesting thesis from Loeb's Third Point and we'd imagine many other firms agree that MJN is a solid company by itself (high quality business), but is also fair game as a prime acquisition target. Some of the largest institutional owners of MJN shares include Blackrock, Owl Creek Asset Management, hedge fund Paulson & Co, Lee Ainslie's Maverick Capital, Stephen Mandel's Lone Pine Capital, and Dan Loeb's Third Point, among many others. It will be interesting to see if hedgies have continued to add shares of MJN in the current quarter as shares have been marching higher as of late.

Lastly, we make note that MJN has been popping on all sorts of hedge fund related data sets, including Goldman Sachs' VIP list, the list of top hedge fund holdings, and throughout our hedge fund portfolio tracking series. It was by far one of the most added stocks in the fourth quarter by hedge funds. Obviously, hedgies are bullish on MJN and now we have a better look as to why.

Taken from Google Finance, Mead Johnson Nutrition is

Apediatric nutrition company. Its Enfa family of brands, including Enfamil infant formula, is a global brand franchise in pediatric nutrition. The Company’s product portfolio addresses a range of nutritional needs for infants, children and expectant and nursing mothers. The Company markets its portfolio of more than 70 products to mothers, health care professionals and retailers in more than 50 countries in Asia, North America, Latin America and Europe.

How to Find the Right Forex Signals

In recent years the Forex market has become one of the top choices for people that want to start a home business to break away from the daily grind altogether or simply supplement their income. The Forex market is not like regular stock market. The various stock markets operate during set business hours and the Forex market never closes. The Forex market is constantly changing as the currency exchange rates often change rapidly.

Numerous factors affect the currency exchange rates and that often means keeping a close eye on the currency pairs you are dealing. Currencies on the Forex market are done in pairs, dollar to yen or dollar to Euro. These exchanges form the basis of the market. Originally, the Forex market was something only large businesses and banks could trade on, this was for several reasons, one was the large amount of currency necessary to make a transaction and second was the manpower required to monitor, track and predict on the market.

Software applications, including those that handle Forex signals, allow individual traders to enter the Forex market. To eliminate some of the issues involved with trading, brokerage houses handle trades for individual traders, but there is one major issue left to deal with. Individual traders can’t monitor the market at all times in order to take advantage of possible profitable trades.

Fortunately, this is an issue that is easy to resolve with Forex signals. These signals are used to alert a trader to predetermined changes in the market. As a trader, you can set up the parameters that you want to be alerted to. Typically, the information is gathered by a third party provider or a software program. These programs or companies monitor the market. When the pairs you have chosen start to fluctuate, the company or program sends and email or SMS. Once you receive the signals, you can log into your trading account and make the exchange.

If you are going to be able to respond to the market and make profitable trades, the signals you receive must be accurate. Before using a signal service it’s important to check the various programs and companies to choose the right one for your needs. Many of the Forex signal services will have blogs, forums, or websites that you may be able to find comments or testimonials from traders that have used the program to find out if there were any problems.

It’s also a good idea to check with your brokerage firms because many of them offer Forex signal alerts as part of their service. This service is usually offered for a small fee or it might included, depending on your account level. You can usually count on the accuracy of these services because the brokerage firm profits from every trade. Signals are very important to a Forex trader. This tool allows individual traders to step away from the market when they want to and spend time doing the things they want to without missing the opportunity to make profitable trades.

Discover all the tips you need about Forex by going to http://www.brainforexsignals.com. With many suggestions about Forex Signals to use to help make more money. Head online and learn more today.

Bernanke Says Lax Regulation Caused Housing Bubble

Ben Bernanke, in a speech in Atlanta on January 3, blamed the economic and markets crisis, and specifically the housing bubble, of 2008-2009 on poor regulation, not on the Federal Reserve's policy of keeping interest rates low. Bernanke, who succeeded Alan Greenspan as Fed Chairman in February 2006, has been nominated for a second term by President Obama, was approved by the Senate Banking Committee on December 16 for that second, and awaits confirmation by the full Senate.

In his remarks to the American Economic Council, Bernanke addressed critics who "claim that excessively easy monetary policy by the Federal Reserve in the first half of the decade helped cause a bubble in house prices in the United States, a bubble whose inevitable collapse proved a major source of the financial and economic stresses of the past two years."

In a long speech supplemented by slides (click here to view full speech)--Bernanke first considered the possibility that the Fed's "accommodative policies," in the early to mid-2000s, "though perhaps appropriate for achieving medium-term inflation and output goals--inadvertently contributed to the housing bubble." Quoting the research of several economists, Bernanke concluded that "only a small portion of the increase in house prices earlier this decade can be attributed" to the Fed's monetary policy.

Instead, he described what happened this way: "At some point, both lenders and borrowers became convinced that house prices would only go up. Borrowers chose, and were extended, mortgages that they could not be expected to service in the longer term. They were provided these loans on the expectation that accumulating home equity would soon allow refinancing into more sustainable mortgages. For a time, rising house prices became a self-fulfilling prophecy, but ultimately, further appreciation could not be sustained and house prices collapsed."

As a result, Bernanke says this "suggests that regulatory and supervisory policies, rather than monetary policies, would have been more effective means of addressing the run-up in house prices."

As for the policy implications of his findings, Bernanke says "stronger regulation and supervision aimed at problems with underwriting practices and lenders' risk management would have been a more effective and surgical approach to constraining the housing bubble than a general increase in interest rates," and that "financial regulation and supervision are ineffective for controlling emerging risks, but that their execution must be better and smarter.

The Federal Reserve is moving, he said from an "institution-by-institution supervisory approach to one that is attentive to the stability of he financial system as a whole." He reiterated the Fed's support for a "systemic risk council, that will reorient the country's overall regulatory structure toward a more systemic approach." Calling monetary policy a "blunt tool," Bernanke concluded his remarks by saying that while "all efforts should be made to strengthen our regulatory system to prevent a recurrence of the crisis...if adequate reforms are not made, or if they are made but prove insufficient to prevent dangerous buildups of financial risks, we must remain open to using monetary policy as a supplementary tool for addressing those risks."

Billions of Dollars Are Heading for the World's Smallest Gold Miners

We're in the early innings of a massive mining industry consolidation. In the first three quarters of 2011, we've seen $132 billion in mining mergers and acquisitions. That's almost a 70% increase over the $79 billion we saw during the same period last year. Gold miners amount to a small slice of that, with just $12.5 billion in deals so far this year. But gold stock shareholders are seeing massive, overnight gains. And there's more to come... Back in September, I showed you how hard it's become for the big gold miners to find new deposits of "easy ounces." That means they're digging in technically difficult – or politically complicated – areas, pushing up costs...

The price tag to build a new mine these days can run into the billions of dollars. The mine must be able to repay that cost within a year or two and then produce a reasonable return on the investment. The huge upfront costs set the bar high in terms of the size and quality of deposits that big gold companies are willing to pursue.

This just means the highest quality, large, undeveloped gold deposits in the world are getting increasingly valuable. As $1,500-plus gold sends a surge of profits into the coffers of big gold miners, you'll see fat premiums paid for great projects.  Already, we had seen major gold miner Newmont pay a 40% premium to acquire junior Fronteer Gold. And the premiums are just getting fatter... In August 2011, AuRico Gold offered to buy Northgate Minerals for a 62% premium. And in September, Agnico Eagle offered to buy Grayd Resources for $229 million. The offer was a 66% premium to Grayd's 20-day average share price. From March to June this year, there were $20 billion worth of gold mining takeovers. According to Bloomberg, that's the most in at least 10 years. The average deal carried a 50% premium. With gold prices holding over $1,600 an ounce (and nearly back to $1,800 as I write), gold producers are amassing huge piles of cash to finance those lucrative takeovers. According to Mining.com, the six largest mining companies will have $144 billion in cash by 2013. We can't know exactly which company to be taken out next. But we do know what the big gold miners are looking for. It's the same thing we're looking for as resource investors: undervalued assets. One way to judge that is with the PEA. That's a Preliminary Economic Study. It's an estimate of the economics of a mine, based on the exploration done to date. They're subject to change with additional exploration, but they're a good starting point for estimating the net present value (NPV) of a project. According to a PEA Grayd conducted, its La India project in Mexico is worth $187 million... with gold at $950 an ounce. (As you might imagine, it's worth a whole lot more with gold where it is today.) The entire company had a $154 million market cap. So the acquisition was a no-brainer, even at a 66% premium. I ran a scan on small-cap mining stocks, looking for companies that had PEAs indicating assets worth much more than their market value. Here's a glimpse at what I found.

I'm not saying you should pile into these stocks. I haven't vetted them at all.

Daily ETF Roundup: UNG Marches Higher, GDX Sinks After FOMC Minutes

Investors were�disappointed�once again today, as the highly anticipated minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed little promise of more aggressive actions in the future. The hopes of central bankers stepping in to boost the economy have been�buoying�markets over the past month, providing a false safety net for investors. And as that sense of security quickly faded, stocks reacted in kind, sliding into red territory: the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 0.38%, while the S&P closed virtually unchanged and Nasdaq came out as today’s biggest loser with its loss of 0.49% [see also�Seven Simple & Cheap ETF Model Portfolio].�

On the macroecnomic front, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed for the second straight month, falling within expectations at $48.7 billion. The narrowing of the deficit was mostly due to an increase in exports, as well as the fall in oil prices which helped push down imports.�Across the Atlantic, the German consumer price index remained unchanged at 1.7% [see also "Random Roger" Debuts Global Alpha & Beta ETF (RRGR)].�

The United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was one of the best performers today, gaining 3.58% during the session. As investors wait for tomorrow’s natural gas storage report, buying pressures increased, causing this ETF to rise along with natural gas futures today.�UNG gapped significantly higher at the open, only to surge even higher throughout the day. The fund settled just below its high of $19.51 a share [see also�Inside Natural Gas and UNG's Wild Q2].

The Van Eck Market Vectors TR Gold Miners ETF (GDX)�was one of the worst performers, shedding 2.10% on the day. As uncertainty surrounding the health of the global economy increased, investors shifted their allocations away from riskier asset classes like commodity producers. Adding to the downward pressure on this ETF was today’s fall of gold prices, which caused GDX to gap lower at open, only to continue its decline throughout the day [see also GLD-Free Gold Bug ETFdb Portfolio].

Follow me on Twitter�@DPylypczak

[For more ETF analysis, make sure to sign up for our�free ETF newsletter�or try a�free seven day trial to ETFdb Pro]

Gold falls on dollar strength, lower stocks

MARKETWATCH FRONT PAGE

Gold futures decline, with prices pulling back by as much as $26 an ounce as strength in the U.S. dollar dampened interest in metals and problems in Greece fail to ignite safe-haven buying in the metal. See full story.

Europe tells Greece: Cut a deal or else

European leaders pressure Greece to cut a deal that would pave the way for a second international rescue package � or face an otherwise inevitable default. See full story.

Stock ETFs to eye if Greece gets better

With European officials moving to confront the continent�s massive debt crisis, investors who can stand the high-stakes drama might want to take a flier on European stocks, in the hope that the worst is over, over there. See full story.

Europe in grip of uncommon deep freeze

Slide show includes wintry images from typically temperate shores of the Black Sea to the north of England. See full story.

Deadly cold weather continues in Europe

Unusually cold weather that already has caused almost 200 deaths and snarled air and ground traffic is expected to continue sweeping across Europe in coming days. See full story.

MARKETWATCH COMMENTARY

Instead of acknowledging that banks have become a part of government, we keep pretending they are private institutions, writes David Weidner. See full story.

MARKETWATCH PERSONAL FINANCE

What�s the State of Retirement in the U.S.? It�s plagued with problems involving Social Security, contribution rates and more that need fixing now. See full story.