5 Pharmaceutical Stocks With Major Exposure to Emerging Markets

The world economy is on two different tracks.

On one track, the developed world is experiencing economic contraction and stagnating growth. Countries throughout Europe have stumbled into recession due to austerity measures. Japan persists on its decade-long path of lackluster growth. And the U.S. economy, while rebounding, continues to underperform its potential, recording growth of only 2.2% in the first quarter of 2012.

On the other track, the developing world is recording robust economic growth. Spurred by the twin tailwinds of easy external financing and a dramatic uptick in commodity prices, output from Latin America grew by 6.5% in 2010 and 4.5% last year. And the emerging markets in Asia continue their dramatic upward ascent, led by China and India, which are expected to record growth rates this year of 8.2% and 6.9%, respectively.

The corporate poster child of this two-track system is Yum! Brands, the U.S.-based proprietor of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC. In 2011, the company's same-store sales declined by 1% in the United States but grew by 19% in China. More than 70% of its operating profit is now generated abroad. And its shares have outperformed those of its principal competitor -- �McDonald's, which derives a full 40% of its revenues from Europe -- by a staggering 28 percentage points over the last five years.

With this in mind, I've created two different series of articles. The first identified stocks with significant exposure to Europe's ailing economy. I looked at popular stocks, Dow stocks, tech stocks, consumer-goods stocks, and pharmaceutical stocks. The second, and current, series uncovers stocks with major exposure to the fast growth of Asia and other emerging markets. So far, I've looked at popular stocks, Dow stocks, tech stocks, and consumer-goods stocks. Below is my list of pharmaceutical stocks.

Company	Asia and Emerging Market Exposure (percent of net sales)	Market Cap (billions)	Add to My Watchlist
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT  )	34%	$95	Add
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ  )	29%	$171	Add
Merck (NYSE: MRK  )	29%	$113	Add
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  )	19%	$161	Add
Bristol-Myers �Squibb (NYSE: BMY  )	17%	$57	Add

All geographic sales figures are the author's estimates of exposure to Asia and the emerging markets based on data in the companies' quarterly and annual filings. Market cap data is from Yahoo! Finance. Some, like Merck and Abbott Laboratories, also include sales from "other" countries.

While none of these companies has the same level of exposure to Asia and the emerging markets as, say, most tech companies do, it's clear the region is a prominent part of their growth strategies.

Just this week, Abbott Laboratories said it's looking to have a fully integrated business model to grow its nutrition business in India. According to a senior executive: "India is a growth area for us. We have research now. To be fully integrated [there], we will have everything from research to manufacturing to sales."

Last year, Johnson & Johnson announced the opening of an "innovation center" in China where it will design products specifically for Asia's emerging markets.

Merck has committed to investing $1.5 billion in Asia-based research and development, including the construction of a new R&D headquarters in Beijing.

Both Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb are making similar inroads in the growing region.

Foolish bottom line
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GAZ Is Likely To Be Next TVIX - Sell Now

Shares of the Velocity Shares Daily 2x VIX Short Term ETN (TVIX) have plunged nearly 60% over the past two trading sessions. The cause of the sell-off had nothing to do with movement in the VIX. Rather, TVIX has plunged as investors have realized the premium TVIX had been trading at to NAV was absurd. The iPath Dow Jones- UBS Natural Gas Total Return Sub-Index ETN (GAZ) is setting up for a similar type of decline to the one experienced by TVIX over the past few days.

GAZ currently has a NAV of $2.44 per share. This is well below the current price of GAZ, $4.60. GAZ shares could fall by nearly 50% and be fairly valued relative to NAV. Because of this, there is absolutely no reason for investors to own GAZ. If you are looking for a natural gas ETF, the United States Natural Gas Fund LP (UNG) is the better play. UNG is a terrible long-term investment because of the contango as discussed here. However, unlike GAZ, UNG is not trading at a premium to NAV. That being said, the best way to play natural gas is through the producers such as Chesapeake Energy Corp (CHK) or Southwestern Energy Company (SWN).

In summary, investors should sell GAZ before it is too late and GAZ experiences a move similar to the one TVIX has experienced over the past few trading sessions.

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

Venue Hire Guide

Finalising a venue is not that easy. You have to take care of all the things. Making a decision regarding a venue can be a tedious task, but selecting a venue for your event can also be fun if you act a little wise. As you will have uncountable options when it comes to selecting a venue, you should enlist the things that you want to have in your conference.

Firstly, you need to consider the location of the venue. Make sure it is accessible so that all the invitees and guests are able to approach the venue within time. Therefore, find a venue that is located in the middle of the city so that every one knows where it is and it can then be accessed from any main routes without any trouble and hassle.

It is also very important to take into consideration the size of the venue. The size of the venue is determined by the level of the event itself. If it is going to be a grand event like a wedding or so, look for a venue that has a large, spacious hall; otherwise, you can look for a medium-sized hall as well.

Conference builds an image of your company into the mind of people who are attending your conference. While selecting the venue, make sure you keep in mind that you have maintain the image of your company in the corporate world. If anything goes wrong, it will create a bad impression on people about your company, and you would not want that to happen.

The cuisine can be arranged at home, if you and your guests prefer it. Otherwise catering services are provided by most of the venues and it will put aside most of your troubles.

Equipments can be among the most important things of a conference. They play a very vital role in making your event successful. While selecting a venue, check if you are being provided with all the required equipments, and if they have equipments as a back up just in case things go wrong. Speakers, microphones, projectors, and other latest equipments should be available at the time of conference.

You can hire locations for several reasons such as discussions, marriages, traditional events and others. You must know the date of an occasion prior to the booking of the particular spot. Most of the places provide services for restricted type of events only; you can keep yourself safe from a lot of troubles by visiting all of them; after short-listing the ones that suit you, you can hire the best out of them.

Trade owners hire a spot to attain a boost in their work; common people do it for leisure; or for a celebration. Everyone has varied needs that cannot be satisfied in one type of place that is why venues are diverse in sizes, and demands.

If your looking for a Conference Venue There are a wide range of Conference Venues available to book throughout the UK.

Still Bullish On High-Powered REIT MFA Financial

MFA Financial, Inc. (MFA) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that invests in mortgage-backed securities. MFA utilizes leverage to acquire its portfolio of Agency and non-Agency residential mortgage-backed securities. MFA utilizes repurchase agreements (repo), which are low short-term rates, to finance the acquisition of its mortgage-backed securities. MFA generates net income by maintaining a spread between the interest it earns on its investments and the cost of financing such investments.

Agency REITs carry limited credit risk as securities are guaranteed by government sponsored entities. Agency REITs are subject to interest rate and refinance risk. As opposed to agency REITs, hybrid REITs invest in both agency and non-agency securities. Hybrid REIT managers have the flexibility to move between agency and non-agency securities to find the best risk/reward for shareholders.

What Makes MFA Interesting?

As opposed to peers such as Annaly Capital and American Capital Agency, MFA management has the flexibility to invest in both agency and non-agency securities. Purchased at the appropriate price, non-agency securities can offer REIT investors attractive risk-adjusted returns and lower the volatility in a REIT portfolio. Non-agency mortgages trade more like equity than credit as when the economy heals, recoveries increase. As the economy heals the market drives interest rates up, which hurt agency securities.

(click to enlarge)

Prepayment Risk

A key risk for mortgage REITs is prepayment risk. As rates decline, borrowers refinance loans into lower rates, which impact mortgage REIT earnings. After the credit collapse, hybrid mortgage REITs including MFA purchased non-agency mortgages at discounts to par. In the most recent reporting period MFA owned over $4 billion of non-agency MBS at an average cost of $0.73. As refinancing on these securities increases, MFA realizes more than its average cost. The table outlines the increase in yield when speeds increase. MFA management believes the company can generate 6% - 7% loss adjusted annual unlevered yields on non-agency securities.

Conversely, agency mortgage REITs, including Annaly and American Capital Agency, which have an average cost of over $1.00, can experience loss on securities as refinancing increase. If an investor pays $1.04 for a face value security of $1.00 and the security is refinanced the investor will lose $0.04.

(click to enlarge)

My other favorite mortgage REITs include:

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NLY) - Fixed Rate Agency Focused REIT

Price to Book Value: 1.0x

Dividend Yield: 14.0%

Market Capitalization: $15.2 billion

Leverage: 5.2x

American Capital Agency (AGNC) - Fixed Rate Agency Focused REIT

Price to Book Value: 1.1x

Dividend Yield: 16.7%

Market Capitalization: $9.0 billion

Leverage: 7.7x

Two Harbors (TWO) - Hybrid REIT (Agency and Non-Agency)

Price to Book Value: 1.1x

Dividend Yield: 15.9%

Market Capitalization: $2.1 billion

Leverage: 4.5x

Hatteras Financial (HTS) - Floating Rate Agency Focused REIT

Price to Book Value: 1.0x

Dividend Yield: 12.7%

Market Capitalization: $2.7 billion

Leverage: 6.7x

Disclosure: I am long MFA, NLY, TWO.

ETF Tax Tutorial: Complete List Of ETFs That Issue K-1s

ETFs have become so popular in recent years in part because of the tax efficiencies that they offer relative to traditional mutual funds. Due to the nuances of the creation / redemption mechanism, ETFs are generally able to give investors more control over their tax situation–instead of pinning them with capital gains obligations due to the activities of other investors.

Unfortunately, however, the tax treatment of exchange-traded products cannot be summed up simply as being more efficient than mutual funds. There are various complexities across the different product structures that impact the effective tax liabilities that will be incurred on gains. And there are also some nuances that impact how taxes on various ETP positions must be reported that are of major importance to some financial advisors. Gains and losses on the majority of exchange-traded products are reported on Form 1099, just like individual stocks. A select few among a universe of 1,400+ funds, however, issue a K-1 to investors that outlines their individual share in the profits and losses of what is technically a limited partnership. As we enter tax season and investors scramble to ready their returns, we outline the complete list of ETFs that issue a K-1 for anyone looking to avoid a more complex tax filing, or simply to educate those on who may be unaware of how their investment is treated from a tax perspective.

As a general rule, gains and losses for a typical ETP are reported on Form 1099, but there are a number of ETPs that are structured as partnerships and as such, will issue a K-1. Exchange traded funds that utilize futures contracts, whether that be commodity, currency, or volatility, or any other product that is structured as a partnership will send out K-1s [see also The Ten Commandments of Commodity Investing].

What is a K-1?

There is a fair amount of confusion over what exactly a K-1 is and what receiving one of these statements means. A K-1 is a tax document used to report share of profits and losses from interests in limited partnerships. These documents become relevant because many exchange-traded products are technically structured as partnerships, meaning that investors are actually limited partners. Partnerships are typically not required to pay taxes directly, instead passing through those obligations to individual partners. They do that by sending a K-1 to partners each year detailing their interest in the operations of the partnership [see also Analyzing Five High Yielding Oil & Gas Pipeline Stocks].

Many investors wish to avoid K-1s primarily because of the inconvenience caused. Schedule K-1 tends to be one of the last documents provided to taxpayers, potentially delaying the timing of their filings. For advisors with hundreds of clients, the administrative burden associated with K-1s can be less-than-optimal. But it should also be noted that receipt of a K-1 generally means a taxable event–even if the related position has not been liquidated. In other words, securities that issue a K-1 may require investors to report and pay taxes on gains annually, even if the security has not been sold.

For some, K-1s are not a significant issue–simply a minor inconvenience. Others try to avoid these schedules at all costs, preferring to use exchange-traded products that can be reported on a Form 1099. Below, we break down the complete list of ETFs that issue a K-1 by their respective asset classes.

Commodity ETPs

Commodity ETPs make up the majority of the K-1 issuing space, as many of these products are structured as partnerships that utilize futures contracts to offer exposure. It should be noted that physically-backed ETPs such as GLD do not issue K-1s, nor do commodity ETNs. The following table is a list of all commodity ETPs that issue a K-1.

Ticker	ETF	Expense Ratio
AGQ	Ultra Silver	0.95%
BNO	United States Brent Oil Fund	0.75%
BOIL	Ultra DJ-UBS Natural Gas	0.95%
CANE	Sugar Fund	1.00%
CMD	UltraShort DJ-UBS Commodity	0.95%
CORN	Corn Fund	1.42%
CPER	United States Copper Index Fund	0.95%
CRUD	WTI Crude Oil Fund	1.54%
DBA	DB Agriculture Fund	0.75%
DBB	DB Base Metals Fund	0.75%
DBC	DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund	0.75%
DBE	DB Energy Fund	0.75%
DBO	DB Oil Fund	0.75%
DBP	DB Precious Metals Fund	0.75%
DBS	DB Silver Fund	0.50%
DGL	DB Gold Fund	0.50%
DNO	United States Short Oil Fund	0.60%
FOL	2x Oil Bull/S&P 500 Bear	0.75%
FSG	2x Gold Bull/S&P 500 Bear	0.75%
GCC	Continuous Commodity Index Fund	0.85%
GLL	UltraShort Gold	0.95%
GSG	GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust Fund	0.75%
KOLD	UltraShort DJ-UBS Natural Gas	0.95%
NAGS	Natural Gas Fund	1.50%
SCO	UltraShort DJ-UBS Crude Oil	0.95%
SOYB	Soybean Fund	1.00%
UCD	Ultra DJ-UBS Commodity	0.95%
UCO	Ultra DJ-UBS Crude Oil	0.95%
UGA	United States Gasoline Fund LP	0.60%
UGL	Ultra Gold	0.95%
UHN	United States Heating Oil Fund LP	0.60%
UNG	United States Natural Gas Fund LP	0.60%
UNL	United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund	0.75%
USCI	United States Commodity Index Fund	0.95%
USL	United States 12 Month Oil	0.60%
USO	United States Oil Fund	0.45%
WEAT	Wheat Fund	1.00%
ZSL	UltraShort Silver	0.95%

Currency ETPs

Currency products also have a strong representation in the K-1 space, as a number utilize futures contracts to fulfill their methodologies. Again, not all currency ETPs issue a K-1; the actively-managed currency ETFs from WisdomTree, ETNs from iPath, and grantor trusts from Rydex allow for avoidance of these documents. The following table is a list of all currency ETPs that issue a K-1.

Ticker	ETF	Expense Ratio
EUO	UltraShort Euro	0.95%
DBV	DB G10 Currency Harvest	0.75%
UDN	DB USD Index Bearish	0.50%
ULE	Ultra Euro	0.95%
UUP	DB USD Index Bullish	0.50%
YCL	Ultra Yen	0.95%
YCS	UltraShort Yen	0.95%

Equity ETPs

Though there are just three in the following category, investors must still be aware that there are a few ETPs that offer exposure to stocks that produce K-1s. The following table is a list of all equity ETPs that issue a K-1 [see also 25 Things Every Financial Advisor Should Know About ETFs].

Ticker	ETF	Expense Ratio
FSA	2x T-Bond Bull/S&P 500 Bear	0.75%
FSE	2x S&P 500 Bull/T-Bond Bear	0.75%
FSU	2x S&P 500 Bull/USD Bear	0.75%

Alternative ETPs

The following five ETFs employ unique strategies that put them into the alternatives category. As a rule of thumb, you should always do careful research before investing in a fund with a complex strategy. The following table is a list of all alternative ETPs that issue a K-1:

Ticker	ETF	Expense Ratio
ALT	Diversified Alternatives Trust	0.95%
SVXY	Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF	0.95%
UVXY	Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF	0.95%
VIXM	VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF	0.85%
VIXY	VIX Short-Term Futures ETF	0.85%

Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.

Disclaimer: ETF Database is not an investment advisor, and any content published by ETF Database does not constitute individual investment advice. The opinions offered herein are not personalized recommendations to buy, sell or hold securities. From time to time, issuers of exchange-traded products mentioned herein may place paid advertisements with ETF Database. All content on ETF Database is produced independently of any advertising relationships.

Original post

Top Portfolio Products: Wasatch Launches Frontier Fund; Westwood Seeks High Yield

New products introduced over the last week include a frontier markets fund from Wasatch and a short-duration, high-yield fund from Westwood.

In addition, Russell introduced a series of indices aimed at volatility control and Nasdaq OMX and Axioma brought out a series of equity-commodity indices.

Here are the latest developments of interest to advisors:

1) Wasatch Introduces a Frontier Markets Fund

Wasatch Funds announced the launch on Jan. 31 of the Wasatch Frontier Emerging Small Countries Fund (WAFMX), a no-load open-end mutual fund focused exclusively on frontier and smaller emerging market countries. The fund was scheduled for broader rollout March 5 on the Schwab, Fidelity and TD Ameritrade platforms. It is managed by Laura Geritz, who is also a portfolio manager of the Wasatch Emerging Markets Small Cap Fund with Roger Edgley, director of international research.

Wasatch considers a “small emerging market country” to be any country that individually constitutes no more than 7% of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index or the S&P Emerging Markets Broad Market Index.

2) Westwood Introduces Short-Duration, High-Yield Fund

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. announced March 1 the availability of the Westwood Short Duration High Yield Fund (WHGHX), which is designed to provide investors the opportunity to potentially capture high current income by investing principally in non-investment grade debt with expected maturities of three years or less. The primary goal of the strategy is to generate a high level of current income while also experiencing lower volatility than the broader high-yield market. The fund is subadvised by Greenwich, Conn.-based SKY Harbor Capital Management.

The fund will be offered in an institutional share class with a total expense ratio capped at 0.90%. Fee waivers are contractual through Feb. 28, 2013. The total annual operating expense would otherwise be 2.07%. The fund may be purchased directly from the fund or through third-party mutual fund platforms.

3) Russell Investments Introduces New Russell Volatility Control Index Series

Russell Investments introduced on March 5 a series of equity indexes to help investors more effectively measure volatility. The new Russell Volatility Control Index Series is designed to help investors replicate a targeted volatility investment strategy by representing equity market returns with a dynamic allocation between an underlying Russell index and a cash investment.

The result is an index designed to limit risk in times of heightened market volatility and allow maximum investment in the market during periods of low volatility. The index can be fully customized, so clients can target a precise level of desired risk exposure for any Russell global or U.S. equity index.

4) NASDAQ OMX and Axioma Introduce Equity-Based Indexes to Track Commodity Prices

The NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. and Axioma Inc. announced March 5 a new family of indexes that use equities to provide exposure to the spot prices of commodities. The NASDAQ Axioma indexes offer a way for portfolio managers to match their returns with those of the overall oil, gold and agricultural markets. The indexes are rebalanced monthly and holdings information is available every business day.

The NASDAQ Axioma Equity-Commodity Index Series consists of three price and total return indexes–the NASDAQ Axioma Equity-Commodity Oil Index, the NASDAQ Axioma Equity-Commodity Gold Index and the NASDAQ Axioma Equity-Commodity Agriculture Index.

Read the March 2 Portfolio Products Roundup at AdvisorOne.com

Baker Hughes, Halliburton Downgraded on Pricing Pressure

The extremely low price of natural gas is causing upheaval in numerous industries. One group of companies that appears to be feeling a squeeze from the shift is oilfield service companies, notes Raymond James analyst J. Marshall Adkins in a note today.

“Based on recent channel checks with smaller pumpers, we believe this will: 1) exacerbate logistical issues (sand, chemicals, and people), 2) cause more significant inefficiencies than previously expected (think utilization during moves), and 3) accelerate pricing competition in oilier basins.”

Pressure pumping prices are on the way down, and that could hurt some big service companies.

Adkins downgraded Baker Hughes (BHI) to Market Perform and Halliburton (HAL) to Outperform from Strong Buy.

“A slowdown in pressure pumping may be the worst kept secret on
Wall Street. In fact, both Halliburton and Baker Hughes (proxy for North America) sold off meaningfully in 2H11 as the market
was seemingly in front of this shift. We believe that the near term results may in fact be worse than some expect.”

Service Corp. International Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS

Service Corp. International (NYSE: SCI  ) reported earnings on Feb. 8. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Service Corp. International met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew slightly and GAAP earnings per share expanded significantly.

Gross margins grew, operating margins dropped, net margins increased.

Revenue details
Service Corp. International booked revenue of $586.6 million. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for a top line of $590.5 million. GAAP sales were 2.7% higher than the prior-year quarter's $571.3 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.19. The four earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.18 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.20 for Q4 were 33% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.15 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 22.2%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 17.7%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 7.6%, 120 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $596.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.19.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.35 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.70.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 173 members out of 192 rating the stock outperform, and 19 members rating it underperform. Among 42 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 41 give Service Corp. International a green thumbs-up, and one give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Service Corp. International is buy, with an average price target of $13.75.

Over the decades, small-cap stocks, like Service Corp. International have provided market-beating returns, provided they're value priced and have solid businesses. Read about a pair of companies with a lock on their markets in "Too Small to Fail: Two Small Caps the Government Won't Let Go Broke." Click here for instant access to this free report.

• Add Service Corp. International to My Watchlist.

Glu Mobile Logs Gains On Q1 Beat

Glu Mobile (GLUU) reported a loss of$6.8 million, or 11 cents a share in itsfirst quarter, compared to a $3.2 million loss or six cents a share in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $21.5 million versus $16.4 million.

The non-GAAP loss was $500,000, or one penny per share, compared to a $900,000 loss, or two cents per share in the year earlier period. Revenue came in at $21.6 million, compared to $17.2 million.

Analysts were expecting a eight-cent per share loss on revenue of $18.5 million.

For the current second quarter, Glu expects an adjusted loss between 4 cents and 6 cents a share, with revenue in a range of $20.5 million to $21.5 million.

Advantages Of Gas Pizza Ovens

An oven is an important element in any home or eatery that engages in baking cakes and other pastries. It may be an electric oven, a wood or coal fired oven or a gas oven. As the name suggests, pizza ovens are particularly intended to help in preparation of pizza. The pizza cooking process requires various settings for the heating elements like positioning the heating component on top and bottom side of the oven. There are some advantages to be enjoyed when you use gas pizza ovens instead of electric or wooden fired ones.

You will notice that optimal temperature is attained within a certain period when you use gas oven. It can take you no less than fifteen minutes to get it heated to the necessary cooking temperature. However, heating an electric oven takes a longer period. When you consider the wood option, it can take you up to a whole hour for the most favorable temperature to be attained.

You will also save some energy expenses if you use the gas type as opposed to using an electric one. This is because the unit cost of electricity is higher when compared to the cost of natural gas. It will also take you much less time to cook if you use the gas oven considering it takes only a few minutes to heat up. The saved time leads to less gas used which ultimately saves on cost.

Heat regulation in a wood fired oven can be a bit challenging as opposed to a gas fired one. Continuous addition of wood is needed whenever the fire dies down. This makes it difficult to rely on them for constant heat supply which can be inconveniencing when cooking. Temperature control in the gas oven is easier since it is designed with a control unit used to alter the gas supply.

Different stoves have different impacts on the environment and the surrounding. For instance, wood fired ovens emit a lot of smoke which is then released to the atmosphere through a chimney. It can be irritating to the eyes affecting your comfort thus making cooking less exiting. Gas stoves on the other hand are environmental friendly since the smoke quantity is minimal.

Wood fired ovens are also cumbersome cumbersome to use since you need to remove the ashes that are left when wood is burnt in order to refill the unit. This process of removing and disposing the ashes will consume much of your time. This will also result in unattractive sites where the ash is disposed.

Gas ovens are less bulky in terms of size. Wood stoves on the other hand require extra room to hold up the wood which is utilized for energy production when fired. Therefore, they tend to consume more space. This characteristic of gas stoves makes them more suitable wherever space constraints are experienced.

The oven also gives a lot of freedom. You may set it up outdoors or indoors depending on your preference. An inbuilt oven will add to the value of your house. Therefore, apart from helping you enjoy great pizzas, the gas pizza ovens can also hence boost the price of your residence in case you plan to sell it. However, the most significant thing is to get restaurant equipment that helps in making pizza preparation an exciting experience.

Looking for food equipment Toronto? The leaders in overstock restaurant equipment have you covered. They offer supplies such as a pizza ovens for sale at the lowest price possible to save you money.

3 Things Moving the Market Right now

Today, I want to take a look beyond earnings and see what the next few months will hold for the stock market. Our strategy is clear for the near term, but we must also make sure we’re fully prepared for the remainder of the year in order to keep ahead of the market.

The Volume Game: Earnings season will end just before Wall Street comes back from summer vacation in August, a time traditionally characterized by light trading volume and profit taking. Therefore, the first thing you need to do is steel yourself for some market volatility in August. It is common for August to be bumpy, though, and since we can see it coming, there are no major moves you need to make before next month. Owning A and B rated stocks is enough to protect from any major swings that may occur.

The Unemployment Report: It is likely that the most unwelcome surprise for which we will need to prepare is coming on Friday, August 6, when the Labor Department releases the July unemployment report. I can tell you that Wall Street has very low expectations for job creation in this report, especially now that U.S. Census workers largely have been laid off and are hitting the ranks of the unemployed.

The truth of the matter is that the U.S. economy needs to create 150,000 jobs a month to keep unemployment stable. We are far from this point, so, despite the obvious economic recovery, it will seem like a slow climb in the next several months because of the anemic job creation. However, even though I expect August to be volatile in the wake of the second-quarter earnings season, good news is right around the corner with the impending mid-term elections in November.

The Election Cycle: This is one of the most influential and predictable events in the market cycle that affects Wall Street every four years, but it is often ignored by private investors. This cycle affects the stock market in a profound way and I want you to be aware of how it can benefit your portfolio.

Historically, after a new president implements his agenda in the first half of his term and mid-term elections roll around, he enters a “lame duck” period for the next two years. This happens because politicians start positioning for mid-term elections and generally, little progress is made on policy initiatives at this time. Interestingly, Wall Street loves this period precisely because of the Congressional stagnation, as it increases certainty in the market and encourages a rally that usually begins in late September.

Essentially, the stock market will rally from late September of this year until November of 2012 when the next presidential election will take place, using history as a guide. This means a nice 26-month rally in the overall stock market is coming our way in a little over a month.

These three things we know will happen in the next several months. There will be other market forces that will come into play and change the game slightly on a day-to-day basis, but overall, I’m confident that a bumpy August will be quickly followed by improved conditions in the fall lasting through 2012.

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3 Traits of a Pumped Stock

Using these three quick tips, you can easily identify potential penny stock scams.

These scams go by many names. Some call them �pump and dumps� or paid promotions. But they all end the same way: average investors who were promised fast gains are left holding shares of a worthless stock.

Many traders sign up for e-mail updates from promoters to keep up with the endless stream of stock pumps. My e-mail address is active on countless promotion lists. And nearly every Sunday evening, the promoters steamroll my inbox.

It starts slowly. I might receive only five or six messages by mid-afternoon. By midnight, I could easily have 50 forwards all pumping the same stock.

The messages are simple. They offer a stock ticker and an urgent plea: buy this stock now, or risk missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime…

But you don�t have to sign up for these lists and deal with an endless stream of spam. Even if you don�t receive a single e-mail, I can help you identify these scams by simply looking at a chart.

Below is an example of a stock that has recently been heavily promoted. I have divided it into three sections. Each contains telltale signs you will find in almost every penny stock pump…

1. The Setup

Up first is the classic penny stock pump setup. This is the action that happens before the promotional material is released to the public.

There are several key elements to a common promotional setup. The first is the complete absence of trading volume a price action. Most penny stock pumps come out of nowhere. If it wasn�t for the promotional material, the stock would be untradeable and worthless.

You can see the evidence on a candlestick chart. Notice how the setup section looks completely different from the pump. There are virtually no full candles and volume is nonexistent. A penny stock that mysteriously begins to attract attention after sitting idle on the open market is your biggest hint that something fishy might be going on…

2. The Pump

After those who are in-the-know load up on shares, it�s time for the pump to begin. The pump is a time of pure euphoria for unsuspecting investors. They buy the stock and watch it rocket to new highs. Every dip is bought. Promoters send follow-up e-mails promising that the incredible performance is only the beginning of a never-ending run toward an obscene price target.

Almost every pump looks like the middle section of our chart. The promoted stock doubles or triples in just a few days or weeks. Trading volume explodes. The stock moves higher as newcomers fight for shares.

But the good times don�t last for long…

3. Hope? Or the End?

Once the buying slows down, everything begins to fall apart for a promoted stock. The big pushes higher are replaced by shakeouts and flat trading days. There might be one more push from the promoters to encourage the hopeful bag holders. But unless an extended promotional campaign is in the works, this is the most dangerous time to own shares.

If you bought a promoted stock � for whatever reason � this third stage is the time you must sell. As for our example, the big selloff has yet to happen. But when it does, anyone left holding shares will find themselves saddled with huge losses…

Thinking About Buying Stocks?

Don�t even think about buying a stock before I have a chance to rate it! Send all of your tickers, charts and questions to editor@pennysleuth.com.

Improving Fundamentals, Robust Earnings Upside: Expecting Fluor to Outperform

Fluor (FLR) is the largest publicly traded engineering and construction company in the US and one of the largest in the world, providing engineering, procurement, construction, and maintenance services (EPCM) to mainly companies in the oil and gas, manufacturing, and power sectors and the United States federal government. Fluor's oil and gas segment contributes more than half of the company's operating income. Business is contract-driven and diversified by both geography and business mix.

click to enlarge images

Investment Thesis

Over the past two years we have seen stabilization in the capital and commodity markets as the street gains confidence in the economic recovery.

• Crude oil has risen from trough levels and has stabilized at higher prices, making projects more viable.
• Favorable credit conditions are allowing project sponsors to get financing for their projects Global economic growth will be led by strong emerging market growth with more modest recoveries in the U.S. and Europe.

In our opinion, a strengthening economic recovery in the developing world and an improving fundamental landscape should translate into strong oil and gas new award activity over the next several quarters. It is clear to us that the improving story behind Fluor will allow for further multiple expansion.

Therefore, we expect FLR to outperform the S&P500 during this economic growth cycle driven by improving backlog growth fundamentals and robust earnings upside. Our view also suggests that the worst is over in terms of margin compression and additional contract charges because of:

• Backlog continues to grow and will likely surpass prior peak by year-end reflecting the strength in the oil and gas markets, in addition to mining, power generation and government contractual work.
• FLR signaled margins have bottomed and projects being put in backlog have higher margins versus six months ago, suggesting capacity is tightening.

We believe growth in EPS to stem from better profitability in new backlog and because of this, we believe further upside is likely and a premium valuation relative to the peer group is warranted given that FLR has the potential for margin expansion given an improving business mix (i.e. larger portion of revenues from Oil & Gas Segment) and is increasingly well diversified geographically (i.e. 74% of backlog international). That said, we do recognize two important drawbacks:

Given the strong performance in 2010, we recognize that FLR valuation is not as attractive as it was 12 months ago but neither do we believe that current prices reflect a prohibitively expensive valuation.

The potential for share price volatility and skepticism on the behalf of investors the result of two consecutive quarters of material charges related to the Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm project (the latest was another $180M in Q4). Even so, we do not believe the project is a threat to the long term viability of the company and would use any undue weakness in the share prices as a buying opportunity.

In summary, our viewpoint suggests that FLR can achieve normalized earnings in the not so distant future and that valuation multiples can continue to expand as has been the case in previous cycles. However the risk reward is not as clear as it used to be. Therefore, we have reduced our position in FLR from 8% to aproximately 2.5% of our portfolio. However, we would consider buying at $63/share.

Valuation

FLR is currently trading near its historical average trading multiple on 2011E P/E, but at a premium to its peer group, reflecting its strong growth prospects and solid balance sheet ($2bn in cash, about $13.20 per share and $117m in debt)

Risks

• Increase in the proportion of fixed-price contracts presents a downside risk to margins
• Increased competition for new business could cause FLR to bid more aggressively for new work, crimping margins and/or increasing execution risk on future contracts
• External events such as natural disasters, workers’ strikes or geopolitical issues could create logistical issues at individual job sites, which could lead to project-related charges
• Regulatory developments could negatively impact demand in a number of FLR’s markets, depending on the outcome
• Slower-than-expected global economic recovery rally might lead to lower-than-projected capacity investment, including the energy sector
• Exposure to contracts in high risk geographical areas
• Potential for arbitration on completed or ongoing projects
• Negative changes in general economic factors, commodity prices, or input costs could impact demand in commodity-related sectors.

Disclosure: I am long FLR.

4-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Annaly Capital Management

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, mortgage REIT Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY  ) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Annaly's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Annaly facts

Headquarters (Founded)	New York (1996)
Market Cap	$16.2 billion
Industry	Mortgage REIT
Trailing-12-Month Revenue	$2.27 billion
Management	Chairman/CEO Michael Farrell Vice Chairman/COO Wellington Denahan-Norris
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)	12.7%
Dividend Yield	14.4%
Competitors	Anworth Mortgage Asset (NYSE: ANH  ) Capstead Mortgage (NYSE: CMO  ) Redwood Trust (NYSE: RWT  )

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 91% of the 2,335 members who have rated Annaly believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include MugMugMug and MatthewCHoffman. �

Just last week, MugMugMug tapped Annaly as a timely income opportunity:

Helicopter Ben says low interest rates till 2013 which should keep the interest rate spread good for NLY, keeping the [dividend payout] high. ... [T]he economy is looking gloomy and the Fed said no QE proper for now, so this is a bet that the S&P isn't going to take off anytime soon. NLY's ~14% [dividend yield] will slowly whittle my NLY caps cost basis down.

Currently, Annaly even sports a cheapish P/E of 6.2. That represents a discount to other mortgage REITs like Anworth (7.6), Capstead (7.5), and Redwood (15.2).

CAPS member MatthewCHoffman elaborates on the bull case:

This highly leveraged REIT takes (relatively) high interest from mortgages while financing its ownership through a revolving credit facility at lower short term rates. I understand that its investment strategy is very conservative so it picks "safe" mortages. These stocks have a lot of long-run volatility both in price and in dividends but with Fed policy maintaining low interest rates to 2013 this should be a good shelter ... during the downturn for at least a year or two. Even with the current "twist" policy announced by the Fed, which will flatten the yield curve somewhat, the effect on mortgage interest rates is not expected to be great.

What do you think about Annaly, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!

Sony Sells Out of LCD Joint Venture With Samsung; Evaluates Year View

Confirming reports early this morning in Japan’s Nikkei, and later in The Wall Street Journal, Sony (SNE) announced in a press release it will sell to Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) Sony’s part of a joint venture with Samsung to make LCD panels, called S-LCD.

Samsung will pay Sony 1.08 trillion Korean won, or roughly $940 million. Samsung will supply Sony with panels from the factory. The deal will close by the end of January, the companies expect. After a one-time, non-cash impairment charge of �66 billion ($845 million), Sony expects to reap “substantial savings” on the close of proceeding LCD panels.

Sony said it’s re-evaluating its current forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31st, 2012.

In discussing the reasons for the dissolution of the venture, Sony and Samsung cite the fact that the market conditions for LCD panels and televisions have “changed” since 2004, when the venture was formed, without going into further detail.

Sony’s ordinary shares rose 1.6% in Tokyo trading to close at �1,394

Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ) and Uranium Energy Corp. (AMEX: UEC) Are Poised to Profit from a Nuclear Renaissance

Uranium stocks got hammered last year in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.

But now, roughly one year later, uranium mining stocks have finally begun to bounce back... just like we told you they would.

After getting pummeled in 2011, shares of Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ) - the world's second-largest uranium miner - are up 32% year-to-date.

Meanwhile, Uranium Resources Inc. (Nasdaq: URRE) and Uranium Energy Corp. (AMEX: UEC) are each up about 30% since the start of the year. And the Global X Uranium ETF (NYSE: URA) is up 25%.

But that's just the beginning.

These stocks are all still about 50% below where they traded prior to Japan's disaster.

And rising demand for nuclear energy and a dearth of uranium supplies will soon conspire to push these companies back to their pre-Fukushima levels.

You see, uranium miners cannot expand their operations - or even tread water - with uranium prices at $50.00-$60.00 per pound like they are currently.

They'd much rather have uranium prices of $70.00-$80.00 per pound. So right now there's not enough uranium being produced to keep up with growing demand.

About 170 million pounds of uranium was consumed last year, but only 140 million pounds was produced. And when you look at the way nuclear power projects are coming back online, it's obvious that the discrepancy will only get worse.

Global use of nuclear energy could increase by as much as 100% in the next two decades, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
A Nuclear RenaissanceIn spite of the Fukushima disaster, the number of planned nuclear plants in the past year rose to from 156 to 163. In fact, globally, the number of nuclear reactors is still on track to swell from 434 today to 820 by 2030. And 96 reactors are set to come online by 2021.

China will be the driving force behind this growth. China is the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, thanks to a battery of carbon-dioxide-spewing coal-fired power plants.

Indeed, coal supplies 80% of China's power. And the fact is, windmills and solar panels don't have enough juice to power a country home to more than 1 billion people and the world's second-largest economy.

That makes nuclear power the country's best option.

China is on track to build up to 100 nuclear reactors - nearly a quarter of the global total - by 2030.

Twenty-seven of those plants are already under construction, and an official recently told the China Daily that plans for "about 10" plants put on hold last year would soon be green-lit for construction.

China isn't alone, either.

Many other countries around the world are putting their nuclear power programs back on track.

India has announced plans to grow its nuclear power capacity from 5,000 megawatts to 63,000 megawatts by 2030. And even smaller countries in Europe, such as Poland, France, and Great Britain are pushing ahead as well - much to the consternation of some of their neighbors.

In fact, British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy last month signed a joint declaration of cooperation on nuclear power. France already gets 75% of its power from nuclear plants.

And while other countries like Germany have decided to purge themselves of nuclear power, their boycott will have only a limited effect.

The IAEA says that an accelerated phase-out of nuclear power in Germany, a government review of the planned expansion in Japan, and temporary delays elsewhere in the world will result in only a 7-8% drop in projected demand growth for 2030.

Meanwhile, global usage of nuclear energy will rise 35%-100% by then.

That's good news for the long-term prices of both uranium and uranium mining stocks.

Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ) and Uranium Energy Corp. (AMEX: UEC)"Fukushima or no Fukushima, the world energy situation remains unchanged," Cameco CEO Tim Gitzel told the Canadian Press. "Huge quantities of huge, reliable and affordable electricity will be needed to meet future demand."

Since the 1980s, global electricity consumption has tripled and is expected to more than double again over the next two decades. Nearly two billion out of the world's seven billion inhabitants don't currently have access to electricity, Gitzel said.

"More reactors means more demand for uranium," he said.

Cameco intends to double its uranium production by 2018. And earlier this month the company agreed to buy AREVA SA's 27.94% stake in the Millennium project - a uranium mine in Canada's Athabasca Basin. That will increase Cameco's interest in the mine to 69.9%.

Cameco stock traded in the low-$40s prior to Fukushima and the mid-$50s when uranium prices peaked in 2007. So at its current level of about $23 a share, it looks like a bargain.

Another uranium miner trading at a steep discount is Uranium Energy Corp. Like Cameco, UEC is still 50% below its pre-Fukushima level even after an impressive surge to start the year.

UEC is the first company to start a new uranium mine in the United States in nearly six years. The Corpus Christi-based UEC aims to reach an initial production rate of 1 million pounds per year. Its processing plant in South Texas has the capacity to process up to three times that amount, which could nearly double what U.S. production is today.

Incidentally, U.S. regulators just approved the first new nuclear power station in more than 30 years - just as 15%-20% of the U.S. oil supply chain is being threatened by political disruptions in Iran.

Nuclear plants already produce about 20% of U.S. energy. In terms of uranium consumed by utilities, that translates into 55 million pounds of uranium per year. Currently, however, uranium mining in the U.S. only provides about 3.5 million-4 million pounds per year.

Both UEC and the Saskatoon-based Cameco will be prime beneficiaries of a nuclear revival. They're also major holdings in the Global X Uranium ETF.

Friday Apple Rumors — CBS Shot Down Apple

Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL stock news items for Friday:

Apple Streaming TV Service Shot Down by CBS: The much-discussed Netflix competitor from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has yet to come to fruition because of the Cupertino, Calif.-based company’s inability to woo content partners, or so the rumors go. Rumor no more. A Giga OM report said that CBS (NYSE:CBS) CEO Les Moonves confirmed that Apple approached his network about supporting such a service but that CBS declined. Why turn down one of the most valuable companies in the world? The two couldn’t agree on how to split advertising revenue. Apple has a notorious relationship with content partners because of its insistence on substantial revenue splits. The company fought with magazine publishers for months, refusing to host digital editions of magazines on the iPad if they weren’t offered through the App Store so Apple could take a 30% cut of each sale.

Android More Fragile Than iPhone: Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android phones may make up 43% of the entire smartphone market in the United States, far outpacing Apple’s share of 28%, but it turns out that Android’s popularity could cost carriers a significant chunk of change. A Reuters report (via Apple Insider) said that customer support firm WDS has found that Android devices break more often than handsets made by Apple or Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM). The cheap smartphones, with some manufacturers selling Android devices for as little $100, have netted Google’s operating system a majority share, but repairs could end up costing telecoms as much as $2 billion per year.

Siri Going Quiet: The iPhone 4S’s popular new personal assistant appears to be overwhelmed by her new workload. MacRumors is among a number of websites that reported a mass Siri outage Thursday, with a number of users receiving an error message when trying to use the service. If activated, Siri responded, “Sorry, I’m having trouble connecting to the network.” Siri officially still is in beta testing, meaning hiccups like these are not unexpected as Apple perfects the service. Considering that Apple has made the service available in 15 countries in just a few weeks, it’s not terribly surprising that Siri is under serious strain.

As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter at�@ajohnagnello�and�become a fan of�InvestorPlace on Facebook.

Best Biotech CEO of 2011 -- Vote Here

The Best Biotech CEO of 2011 Award is in your hands.

Readers of TheStreet's biotechnology coverage will vote for the chief executive officer who exemplifies outstanding leadership and performance this year.

See if (VRUS) is traded within the Action Alerts PLUS portfolio by Cramer and Link

The five nominees for Best Biotech CEO of 2011 honors are Schaefer Price of Pharmasset(VRUS), Spectrum Pharma's(SPPI) Raj Shrotriya, Matt Emmens of Vertex Pharma(VRTX), David Hung of Medivation(MDVN) and Biogen Idec's(BIIB) George Scangos. One of these executives will win the Swanson Trophy, named in honor of Robert Swanson, Genentech's founding CEO. Past winners include Dendreon's(DNDN) Mitch Gold (2010), Human Genome Sciences'(HGSI) Thomas Watkins (2009) and Myriad Genetics'(MYGN) Peter Meldrum (2008). Similar to the Worst Biotech CEO of 2011 Award, please read the following nominating summaries and make your selection in the interactive poll at the end of this story. Feel free to post comments if you believe a CEO deserving of acclaim was left out of the voting. I'll tally your votes and award the trophy in a week.Schaefer Price, PharmassetPrice was already a Best Biotech CEO nominee before he negotiated the $11 billion acquisition of his company by Gilead Sciences(GILD). The jaw-dropping valuation for Pharmasset, a company without meaningful revenue and with hepatitis C drugs still in clinical trials cemented Price's spot on the list. [He was helped by Gilead's desperation, of course.]Price is a finance guy running a company that hasn't generated any profits yet, so if he wins, let's hope he shares credit with the scientists working under him developing Pharmasset's exciting oral drugs for hepatitis C. Pharmasset's shareholders have already won, and if the company's drugs are approved and injections to treat Hep C are no longer needed, patients will win, too. Pharmasset shares doubled in value in 2010. That's impressive, but 2011 has been even more amazing -- a $20 stock at the beginning of the year ends with a $137-per-share takeout offer. Raj Shrotriya, Spectrum PharmaceuticalsShrotriya promised investors in the beginning of the year that adding colon cancer to the approved indications for Spectrum's cancer drug Fusilev would fuel a sharp surge in the drug's sales growth. Doubters, myself included, said no way. Fusilev sales were growing only because a cheaper generic version of the same drug, leucovorin, was experiencing a temporary supply shortage. Once leucovorin supplies normalized, Fusilev would flop. A year later, leucovorin is still in short supply and Fusilev has prospered, validating Shrotriya's strategy and helping Spectrum become profitable on an annual basis for the first time. Spectrum shares are up 117% this year. Matt Emmens, Vertex PharmaceuticalsEmmens oversaw one of the most impressive new drug launches in biotech history. Approved in May, Vertex's hepatitis C drug Incivek will generate cumulative sales of more than $1 billion by the end of the year, fueling the company's first-ever annual profit. Few drugs have ever reached blockbuster status as fast as Incivek, a remarkable feat in an era where the complexities and logistics of new drug launches are more challenging than ever. Under Emmens' tenure, Vertex also made big strides in 2011 to become more than just company known for hepatitis C drugs. Vertex's cystic fibrosis therapy VX-770 is the first to repair the underlying genetic cause of the debilitating and fatal respiratory disease, and is now awaiting FDA approval. Vertex is also developing a promising pill for rheumatoid arthritis. Critics may say Emmens doesn't deserve a Best Biotech CEO nod because Incivek may soon be eclipsed by newer Hep C therapies (See Pharmasset-Gilead). Vertex's stock price is also well off its highs. True, but Emmens' 2011 performance cemented his reputation as one of the best marketers in the drug sector. David Hung, MedivationThe knock on Hung has been that he excelled at finding drugs to fill Medivation's pipeline and proved savvy in negotiating lucrative partnerships with Big Pharma but he couldn't quite find clinical success or get a drug approved. In November, Hung proved the naysayers wrong when Medivation announced stellar results from a phase III study of its prostate cancer drug MDV3100. Medivation shares tripled in value. George Scangos, Biogen IdecPrior to Scangos' arrival at Biogen, the biotech giant was becoming famous more for boardroom drama than drug -development prowess. A protracted battle with activist shareholder Carl Icahn left Biogen bruised and investors unsure whether the company had anything left to spur growth beyond Avonex and Tysabri, its core multiple sclerosis drugs. Scangos joined Biogen from Exelixis TICKER TYPE="EQUITY" SYMBOL="EXEL"/> in the middle of 2010. He cut costs, trimmed the workforce and closed the company's West Coast research facility while refocusing Biogen's R&D. Scangos has also been lucky. The success of late-stage clinical studies that were started when his CEO tenure began -- most notably the oral multiple sclerosis drug BG-12 -- have fueled Biogen's stellar stock performance. Biogen shares are up 70% this year, tops among the big-cap biotech stocks by a wide margin. >To follow the writer on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/adamfeuerstein.>To submit a news tip, send an email to: tips@thestreet.com.Follow TheStreet on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints

Greece, U.S. data to dictate market’s direction

MARKETWATCH FRONT PAGE

It will be d�j� vu all over again for U.S. investors when they return from an extended weekend with Greece and Europe likely to dominate the headlines while economic data and corporate earnings play second fiddle. See full story.

U.S. stock indexes end with weekly rise

U.S. stocks close higher for the week, with bullish sentiment curbed a bit before a long weekend that�s expected to include resolution on another round of financial aid to Greece. See full story.

U.S. Treasurys fall; 10-year yield tops 2%

U.S. Treasury prices fall for a second day Friday as investors bet on higher-risk investments on thinking Europe would keep a lid on Greece�s debt trouble. See full story.

Oil ends at 9-month high on geopolitics, Greece

Crude-oil futures rise to their highest levels since May as geopolitical tensions keep a fear premium in the markets and traders grow optimistic that the Greek saga is closer to an end. See full story.

Track and field needs new heroes to step up

Once home to some of the biggest names in U.S. sports, track and field is struggling to produce a new generation of heroes. 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

Some boomers are tapping their home equity and investing the money in tax-deferred accounts. There are risks and rewards to this sort of leveraging strategy. See full story.

5 Things to Expect From a Short NBA Season

NBA basketball's return is just about the best Christmas gift hoops fans can hope for, but a shortened season may leave them wondering what's in that present.

After locking out its players during a labor dispute that lasted from July 1 to Dec. 8, the NBA is starting its season Christmas Day with a five-game slate on TNT(TWC), ESPN and ABC(DIS). That season, however, was reduced from 82 games to 66 after the first six weeks of the original-recipe 2011-12 season were cancelled.

See if (TWC) is in our portfolio

The amount of time players have had to prepare and condition has been cut dramatically as well and has forced the league to cut long travel for out-of-conference matchups from 30 games last year to only 18 this year. The All-Star Game has been saved, but teams will have to play three games in a row this season for the first time since the lockout-driven 50-game 1998-99 season.This NBA season is going to require some adjustment no matter how much fans enjoy Christmas matchups between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks, Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic and Oklahoma City Thunder and L.A. Clippers and Golden State Warriors. The fun of watching the Clippers play with new toy Chris Paul or the Knicks celebrate getting Tyson Chandler as the center on the holiday wish list is balanced by a number of stubborn little obstacles that can ruin a good time as quickly as a zone defense or lead-weighted kicks during a dunk contest.The following are five nagging little details fans should keep in mind as the season starts:

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Prices staying putEven before the lockout, the cost of going to an NBA game was on the rise. Last season's $47.66 average ticket price was down 2.3% from 2009-10, but the cost of bringing a family of four out to the arena and getting a beer, soda, hot dog, program, souvenir and parking jumped 1.1%, to $287.85, according to Team Marketing Report.

That's a bargain compared with the average $57 a ticket charged by the NBA's arena mates in the National Hockey League, especially when the cost of taking the family along rises to $326.50. When put alongside the $27 average ticket price and $197 cost of an average family outing that Major League Baseball is able to maintain over a 162-game season, though, the NBA's costs get downright cumbersome. In Boston, for example, the Red Sox have the highest average ticket price in the league at $53.38 -- more than the New York Yankees' $51.83 -- and bleed families for an average $340 per game in hallowed soon-to-be-100-year-old Fenway Park. The Celtics, by comparison, are only the third-most-expensive ticket in the NBA, yet charge an average $25 a game more than the Sox for the privilege of seeing Kevin Garnett and Paul Piece play in the cinder block management still dares to call the "Garden." Even the Yankees' $52 figure seems moderate compared with the $88.66 per game Knicks fans were paying downtown last year to watch a team that, before last postseason, hadn't made the playoffs in seven years and still hasn't won a playoff game in more than a decade.

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No fan bailoutThe lockout changed the NBA income split from about 57% for players to between 49% and 52% but did almost nothing to generate more income.

The NBA still sticks by its assertion that the league is losing $300 million a year. It also adamantly declares that 22 of its 30 teams lost money last year.Despite big-ticket sponsorships from companies including Coca-Cola(KO), Sprint(S), Anheuser-Busch Inbev(BUD), Nike(NKE), Yum! Brands(YUM), Hyundai/Kia, FedEx(FDX), Southwest Airlines(LUV) and Sirius-XM(SIRI), the league is in some serious financial straits. Flagging attendance in some markets certainly doesn't help, but the biggest hindrance is coming from a revenue stream that should be the NBA's biggest asset.Back in the dreadful economic climate of 2008, the NBA signed a broadcast deal with ABC, ESPN and TNT worth roughly $930 million a year. That's no small amount of change, but Adweek estimates that the league's broadcasters could bring in as much as $1.3 billion this season. That means a panicked NBA undersold its prized television rights by more than $300 million, more than it would need to plug its revenue gap and turn a profit.While the Philadelphia 76ers have announced the team will cut fees for online ticket orders and delivery and the Indiana Pacers are enticing fans with $10-or-less "mystery matchup" tickets, NBA teams are mostly being miserly with the money they don't have. Who can blame them? Over at the National Football League, ESPN pays more than a $1 billion for the rights to Monday Night Football alone. The NFL just hiked that price to $1.8 billion per year and announced a deal with its other broadcast partners at CBS(CBS), Fox(NWS) and NBC(CMCSA) that increases the league's take by 7% a year and will bring revenue from $1.9 billion to $3.1 billion by 2022. That league just came off its own lockout and still keeps games off local television when the home team doesn't sell out. Expecting the NBA to offer fans any concessions beyond $9.50 beers (the going rate at Madison Square Garden(MSG)) is about as myopic as hoping Kobe Bryant will take his talents to Milwaukee.

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Lots of empty seatsNBA attendance is in the eye of the beholder.

The optimist says last year's 17,321 average attendance is an improvement over 17,150 the year before and huge growth from 16,784 a decade earlier. The realist sees a league that has never quite returned to its 17,757-a-game all-time peak in 2006-07 and has struggled since.There's no doubt overall attendance will be the lowest since the scant 12 million people who came out for the lockout-shortened 1998-99 campaign, but the question is just how low will it go? The abbreviated 66-game schedule has wedged a whole lot of games into awkward midweek slots. The first week of the season bears this out, with 10 Wednesday matchups and only seven games slated for Saturday.That's not a great way to fills seats, and sports business experts are predicting disastrous results at the ticket window and in the stands. CNBC's Darren Rovell is speculating that average official attendance will drop to 16,850 a game, which would set the NBA's in-house draw back a full decade.

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Injured starsThe compressed training camp and fun-sized season are about to bring a world of hurt to a court near you, and a lot of the NBA's most marketable faces will be feeling it.

With 66 games in 124 days, there's a lot less time between games. That means a lot less recovery time for bumps and dings athletes would ordinarily massage away during the off days. Los Angeles Lakers head trainer Gary Vitti held the same position during the 50-game season of 1998-99 and says his crew saw the squeezed timetable take its toll."What we saw back then is more overuse injuries," he said on the team's Web site. "As you stress your body, it will lay down more muscle, tendon and ligamentous tissue according to the loads you put upon them. It's the same with bone. The problem arises when you overload tissue before it's had the chance to adapt to the loads. The tissue will go through a metabolic change."Miami-based skills and development coach Darren Weissman, meanwhile, told ESPN that the key to staying on the court on that short schedule is a hard training regimen of lifting weights two to three days a week, on-the-court skills training five days a week and five days a week of different types of speed and agility workouts. He notes, however, that "40% to 50% of [players] don't train hard ... a lot of times, the ones who get the big bucks don't have the sense of urgency to work hard." If attendance is going to suffer with everybody healthy, just imagine how it will drop the first time a marquee player sits on the bench in street clothes nursing a torn ligament.

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Early retirement for old favoritesThe strenuous schedule may cost stars more than a couple of days' recovery time.

NBA players who shared the court with Michael Jordan when he retired in 1993 are officially old by league standards. You can only imagine what that makes players who were around almost a decade before that point, like the Phoenix Suns' Grant Hill (39), the Heat's Juwan Howard (38 and the last member of Michigan's Fab Five in the league) and Dallas Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd (38).No big farewell tours have been announced, but Kidd just won his first championship and league mainstays such as the Celtics' Kevin Garnett (35) and Ray Allen (36) and the Spurs' Tim Duncan (35) already have their championship hardware and are in the final year of their current contracts. The Suns' Steve Nash (35) is still searching for his ring, but may have to look elsewhere when his deal expires at the end of this season. They all may have suitors next year, but the options in a league where no player is older than 39 aren't great.The NBA probably won't like seeing some of its greatest luminaries go, but this short season may be the last chance NBA fans get to see some of them. >To follow the writer on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/notteham. >To submit a news tip, send an email to: tips@thestreet.com. RELATED STORIES: >>5 College Football Bowl Haves and Have Nots>>5 Real Fronts In The War On Christmas>>Buffalo Bills Blacked Out While NFL Counts TV BillionsFollow TheStreet.com on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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Choosing Homes For Sale

For anyone who is preparing to evaluate possibilities related to houses for sale, the web will be the ideal spot for conducting a search. You will find many on the web actual estate listings and sites which give various selections for obtaining too selling property, as per your preferences. Nevertheless, if you attempt to evaluate alternatives for houses for sale, you must be informed and knowledgeable sufficient to have the ability to cross check on the facts supplied, to the very best of your abilities. This is specially mandatory on the subject of assessing the costs of the properties in question. Right after all, if you program to purchase a home, it is a key investment which incorporates substantial spending. For that reason, cross checking on the costs can be a fantastic thought to stay away from future disappointments.

This is all of the additional relevant since property is usually not listed at marketplace value. Some approaches for assessing costs of properties listed on Canada actual estate listings are supplied below.

Make an effort to Talk It Out Using the Seller

Once you check on alternatives for houses for sale, make an effort to reason using the seller or his broker or agent and ask him how he arrived in the posted cost. Most usually although, the seller won’t be offering you any particulars and would ask you to engage a broker your self and assess the markets and cost trends from a buyer’s perspective. Nevertheless, following speaking at length with him, you could really urge him to divulge some vague facts which may have guided him to arrive at this cost point. These could possibly be of some aid.

Conduct A Net Based Search

After you strategy to evaluate choices for houses for sale and arrive at a near appropriate choice, the next factor to do is always to carry out an informal net based search to check what other comparable alternatives within the very same neighborhood could price you. This may provide you with a fair notion of the regular rates. You will discover some web sites which can give you using the relevant particulars soon after you feed within the specifications. Choose the “recently sold” alternatives for a much more accurate notion of exactly the same as the costs have a tendency to fluctuate radically with time.

Get A Actual Estate Agent

1 of the wisest items to do is almost certainly employ a actual estate agent. You can find a number of of them readily available on-line by means of respective listings. It is possible to engage 1 to evaluate the costs for you. He will likely be the proper individual to judge if the costs put forth against houses for sale are really justified or not. You’ll be able to also validate the comparable data you may have obtained from the actual estate internet sites. You’ll be able to also ask them to clarify the variables which govern the genuine estate markets and are responsible for cost movements.

Engage An Appraiser

When you have arrived on an alternative which appears most appropriate for you amongst the Canada houses for sale and have much more or much less decided on purchasing, the most effective factor to do ahead of final buy would be to employ a skilled appraiser. This is in particular relevant if the marketplace analysis conducted has not yielded satisfactory outcomes.

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Dividend Stock Analysis: Dover Corporation

Dover Corporation (DOV) is a collection of several businesses that develop engineered components and systems.

• Five-year revenue growth rate: 6.3%
• Five-year earnings growth rate: 10.3%
• Five-year dividend growth rate: 7.0%
• Dividend yield: 1.75%
• Balance sheet: Modestly strong.

All things considered, I find Dover to be a reasonable company to invest in at the current price, based on the consistency of its business model -- but there isn’t much yield for dividend investors, despite decades of dividend growth.

[Click all to enlarge]

Overview

DOV is a collection of several dozen companies divided into four segments: Industrial Products, Engineered Systems, Fluid Management, and Electronic Technologies. In 2010, 54% of revenue came from the US, 17% came from Europe, 9% came from other Americas, 17% came from Asia, and 3% came from elsewhere.

Companies

Industrial Products

Warn Industries -- winches, hoists
Tulsa Winch -- winches, rotators, drives
De-Sta-Co -- factory automation components
Texas Hydraulics -- hydraulic cylinders
Paladin -- various light and heavy construction components
Crenlo -- cab enclosures
Heil Trailer -- trailers, flatbeds
Environmental Solutions Group -- waste and recycling equipment
Sargent -- hydraulics, fasteners, bearings
Vehicle Service Group -- vehicle repair equipment
Performance Motorsports -- pistons, crankshafts, and related components
PDQ -- car wash systems

Engineered Systems

Markem-Imaje -- product marking equipment
Datamax O’Neil -- product marking equipment
Hill Phoenix -- refrigeration systems
Swep -- heat exchangers
Unified Brands -- food preparation equipment
Belvac -- aluminum can production equipment
Tipper Tie -- food packaging equipment

Fluid Management

Norris Production Solutions -- lifts, controls, analytic tools
US Synthetic -- diamond inserts for drilling tools
Quartzdyne -- quartz downhole pressure transducers
Waukesha Bearings -- magnetic and fluid film bearings
Cook Compression -- compression products and monitoring systems
Pump Solutions Group -- industrial pumps
OPW Fueling Components -- fueling components and systems
OPW Fluid Transfer -- high hazard, interconnects, monitoring systems
HydroSystems -- liquid dispensing systems

Electronic Technologies

Knowles -- microphones and audio components
Everett Charles Technologies -- contacts, fixtures, interface boards
Ceramic and Microwave Products Group -- RF and microwave filters, ceramic capacitors, switches
DEK -- screen printers
Vectron -- frequency control and sensor components
OK International -- solder and liquid dispensing tools

Revenue, Earnings, Cash Flow, and Metrics

Dover has shown growth, but has experienced a rough ride through the financial crisis.

Revenue Growth

Year	Revenue
2010	$7.133 billion
2009	$5.776 billion
2008	$7.569 billion
2007	$7.317 billion
2006	$6.420 billion
2005	$5.234 billion

Dover has increased revenue by 6.3% compounded annually over this period. The company was hit hard in the financial crisis, but rebounded quickly.

Income Growth

Year	Income from Cont. Op.
2010	$708 million
2009	$372 million
2008	$695 million
2007	$670 million
2006	$596 million
2005	$433 million

Dover has grown income from continuing operations over this period at an average rate of 10.3%. Dover grew EPS from $2.50 to $3.70 over this same period, which represents an 8.2% growth rate.

Operating Cash Flow Growth

Year	Cash Flow
2010	$951 million
2009	$802 million
2008	$1,010 million
2007	$875 million
2006	$895 million
2005	$676 million

Dover grew operating cash flow by 7% compounded annually over this period.

Metrics

Price to Earnings: 15.5
Price to Book: 2.6
Return on Equity: 17%

Dividends

Dover is a dividend aristocrat that has increased its dividend for more than 50 consecutive years. The payout ratio is currently a bit under 30%. The current yield is only about 1.75%.

Dividend Growth

Year	Dividend	Yield
2010	$1.07	2.30%
2009	$1.02	2.90%
2008	$0.90	2.20%
2007	$0.77	1.70%
2006	$0.71	1.50%
2005	$0.66	1.60%

Dover has grown its dividend by an average of 10% annually over the past five years.

Balance Sheet

Dover has a modestly strong balance sheet with a long-term debt/equity ratio of 46% and a current ratio of over 2.5, but goodwill makes up approximately 75% of total shareholder equity. The interest coverage ratio is about 10, which is solid.

Investment Thesis

The primary business approach of Dover is to make targeted acquisitions and then to use the size and scale of the company to develop additional efficiency and earnings. With its scale, the company can reduce duplication, standardize its processes, and increase volumes from its acquired companies.

Acquisitions in 2010 included BSC Filters, Chemilizer, Intek Manufacturing, Dynalco Diagnostic Product Line, Gear Products, and KMC Inc. Acquisitions in 2009 included Tyler Refrigeration, Mechanical Field Services, A La Cart, Barker Company, Extech Portable Printers, and Inpro/Seal Company. Between 2008 and 2010, the company acquired 16 businesses for a total of approximately $436 million, and sold or discontinued eight businesses for approximately $100 million.

Year	Acquisitions	Capital Expenditure
2010	$104 million	$183 million
2009	$228 million	$120 million
2008	$104 million	$176 million
2007	$274 million	$174 million
2006	$1,117 million	$192 million
2005	$1,090 million	$128 million

Dover agreed to purchase Harbison-Fischer for $402 million in January 2011. The company is expected to close a deal to purchase Sound Solutions from NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) for $855 million in July. 2011 is looking to be a very large acquisition year.

The upside of this acquisition approach is that growth is fairly expected and consistent as long as Dover can find good investments. Dover makes several acquisitions each year, and therefore continually purchases new streams of revenue and income to add to existing streams. With the diversity of the businesses and the continued disciplined addition of new businesses, it’s difficult to go seriously wrong.

The downside of this approach is that acquisitions are expensive. Compared to organic growth, paying to buy companies is not as efficient in terms of capital. This is because owners of companies expect fair pay for their businesses and often demand a premium over what they're really worth in order to agree to being bought. In addition, with a loose collection of businesses, it is difficult to develop a substantial economic moat. The acquisition approach also accumulates goodwill on the balance sheet.

One of the major problems with the acquisition approach is the effect it has on the dividend. In some years, acquisition costs exceeded income and cash flow. When a company with a large moat grows organically and easily, it can do so while simultaneously sending a lot of capital back to shareholders in the form of dividends or share buybacks. But Dover must spend a lot of its free cash on acquiring new businesses. Plus, being a cyclical manufacturing company, if Dover wants to keep its impressive string of dividend increases intact, it must keep the payout ratio low or moderate so that it can maintain its dividend in a time of financial trouble. The strategy of Dover makes it fundamentally troublesome for meaningful dividend yields.

The Good
There are some oppositions between this business model and large dividends, but in terms of capital appreciation, this business has a lot going for it. The company has a solid track record of profitable growth.

For the 2011-13 period, the company is targeting 6-8% annual organic sales growth, 3-5% annual acquisition sales growth, 10-13% EPS growth, and to continue to grow its dividend.

The company is highly diverse, serving businesses in automation, infrastructure, transportation, processing, energy, and electronics. Dover has thousands of customers, and no customer accounted for 10% or more of the sales of any business segment.

The company has been focusing on international growth. Revenue from Asia is beginning to exceed revenue from Europe.

Risks

Dover is a cyclical company and therefore greatly depends on the conditions of the overall economy. Due to being a collection of several companies, Dover doesn’t seem to have any substantial economic moat, although the 50+ consecutive years of dividends might be reason to expect a reasonable degree of safety and consistency. In addition, there is currency risk.

Conclusion and Valuation

In conclusion, I think Dover would make a fair investment at the current prices, but it leaves a lot to be desired for dividend investors. The valuation is appropriate in my opinion, and 2011 numbers look better than 2010 so far. In addition, the company has a fairly consistent business model and has more than 50 years of consecutively raised dividends to prove it. Detractors from this company include a fairly low dividend yield and a lack of any substantial economic advantage.

Disclosure: None