What Marvel’s team-up with Netflix means

First Marvel brought us The Avengers. Next we'll get The Defenders, and this time Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX ) will be there to help.

In a new deal Marvel Entertainment President Alan Fine described as "unparalleled in its scope and size," Netflix will be Walt Disney's (NYSE: DIS ) exclusive broadcast partner for four TV series featuring the superheroes Daredevil, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage. A culminating miniseries will bring them together as "The Defenders," the companies said.

The cover of issue #10 of the first series featuring The Defenders. Property of Marvel Comics.

Production details have yet to be released. All we know for now is that Netflix has committed to 13 episodes each, plus the miniseries, with the first episodes airing in 2015. When, precisely? I'd guess before Marvel brings The Avengers: Age of Ultron to the big screen that May. (Remember, House of Cards aired in February.)

For its part, Netflix intimated that new content from Marvel is key to international growth. "Marvel's movies, such as Iron Man and Marvel's The Avengers, are huge favorites on our service around the world. Like Disney, Marvel is a known and loved brand that travels," said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos in a press release.

International territories accounted for the majority of new streaming additions in Netflix's third quarter, the first time that's happened. Nearly one-fourth of the company's 40-million-strong installed base resides somewhere outside the U.S.

What more can fans and investors take from this deal? Three things, I think:

1. Marvel sees its TV shows as "motion comics." Notice the texture of this arrangement. With multiple characters existing alongside one another with Hell's Kitchen in New York City as their home base, there's an implied crossover from the very beginning. A shared story arc, if you will, that's not much different than what Marvel built with its "Phase 1" of movies. They'd be comics if they weren't TV shows.

2. Lesse! r-known characters offer the most upside. A lot of you who read what I'm writing about the business of comics and pop culture are fans like me. Still, we're in the minority. Just because we know who these characters are doesn't mean the world knows, and Marvel and Disney do best by introducing newbies to these gems. Unknowns cost less to produce, and for Netflix, less to acquire.

3. The Netflix effect is real, and an attractive draw for studios. We know from the success of Breaking Bad that Netflix can help draw viewers to a property with a small but rabid fan base. Here, it's probably safe to presume that Marvel would use these shows to tease new films to Netflix's global audience, something it can't do right now with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Look at Thor: The Dark World, which has already done well overseas. A crossover Agents episode isn't due until Nov. 19, 11 days after tomorrow's U.S. debut and nearly a month following the film's London premiere.

The Defenders will change that dynamic, exactly what you'd expect from a Marvel superhero team.

The Motley Fool is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news, analysis and commentary designed to help people take control of their financial lives. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

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Microsoft's New Coke?

The following video is from Tuesday's MarketFoolery podcast, in which host Chris Hill, along with analysts Jason Moser and Matt Koppenheffer, discuss the top business and investing stories of the day.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) is reworking some key parts of its Windows 8 operating system. The modified software will be released to consumers and businesses later this year. Some analysts have compared the admission of failure to Coca-Cola's New Coke debacle. Is it really that bad? In this installment of MarketFoolery, our analysts discuss Windows 8 and what it means for investors.

It's been a frustrating path for Microsoft investors, who've watched the company fail to capitalize on the incredible growth in mobile over the past decade. However, with the release of its own tablet, along with the widely anticipated Windows 8 operating system, the company is looking to make a splash in this booming market. In a new premium report on Microsoft, a Motley Fool analyst explains that while the opportunity is huge, so are the challenges. The report includes regular updates as key events occur, so make sure to claim a copy of this report now by clicking here.

The relevant video segment can be found between 0:58 and 6:11.

For the full video of today's MarketFoolery, click here.

Don't Blame Tim Cook for Apple's Fall

Most of the time, the CEO has to answer for a company's cratering stock price. Investors clamor for accountability when things go bad, and typically a stock's decline is the direct result of a deteriorating business. Dropping share prices should usually be commensurate with aforementioned fundamental deterioration, if there is any. That's not always the case, though.

Back in 2011, when Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX  ) cratered from $300 to $60 over the span of four months, investors called for Reed Hastings' head. Much of that drop was tied to the Qwikster debacle and associated 60% subscription price hike, but shares have recovered since then. Hastings has regained investor confidence primarily by focusing where it matters: domestic paid streaming subscribers were up 26% and international paid streaming subscribers soared 238% last year. It's all water under the bridge now.

That's why investors should stop trying to blame Tim Cook for Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) fall.

The fall guy
Over the weekend, Forbes contributor Gene Marcial posted an article that's been making the rounds today speculating that Apple is currently looking for a replacement CEO, citing "[s]ome Wall Street sources close to some Apple executives."

Marcial also said that some large investors "assert privately that it's time for Apple to oust Cook, under whose tenure Apple's stock has lost about half of its market value since October 2011, when he took over as CEO." The latter part of statement is inaccurate on two levels: Shares are still up marginally from when he became CEO in August 2011 (this inaccuracy has since been acknowledged and removed by Forbes editorial).

AAPL Chart

AAPL data by YCharts.

What's entirely true is that shares have given up nearly all of the envious gains that they had previously enjoyed under Cook's leadership. However, amid a gut-wrenching decline and the search for answers, investors are losing sight of how to really assess Cook's performance as Apple's CEO.

Cook has delivered numerous records for shareholders. Both holiday quarters that he has presided over set all-time highs for all of Apple's most relevant performance metrics (other than share price).

In nearly every quarter, Cook has put up iPhone unit sales higher than anything Apple ever reported under Steve Jobs. iPad units under Cook have also soared to levels unseen under Jobs.

Source: SEC filings. Calendar quarters shown.

Revenue and net income have similarly skyrocketed during Cook's tenure, as a testament that he can indeed put up results where it counts.

Source: SEC filings. Calendar quarters shown.

Last quarter was quite literally the strongest quarter Apple has ever posted in terms of revenue, net income, and unit volumes for the iPhone and iPad, even if it wasn't enough for investors.

Scrooge McCook
Other critics have cited Cook's seemingly hesitant attitude toward increasing Apple's dividend as a reason he has to go. Apple's cash hoard continues to swell and Cook continues to give little more than vague assurances that Apple is in "very active" talks about cash options.

It's entirely true that Apple needs to give more back to improve its capital allocation policies, but remember that Cook is the only reason why investors are getting a dividend in the first place. It was very clear that Jobs was quite content with growing Apple's cash position to infinity, and had no interest whatsoever in returning cash to shareholders.

In the grand scheme of things, Apple's current dividend has been in place for less than a year, and most companies tend to stick to an annual dividend cycle. Apple's being held to a different standard due to its declining share price and soaring cash position. Under other circumstances, investors would have more patience while they await the inevitable dividend boost announcement.

Cook thinks different
If investors were truly this disappointed with Cook, they wouldn't have given him a 99.1% investor approval rating at Apple's annual meeting in February. There have been no official developments in the past two months (even as the Apple rumor mill does its daily thing), so there's no reason for investor approval to change much from then.

None of the above comparisons to Steve Jobs are intended to suggest Cook is better than Jobs overall as a CEO; Cook is just different. Rather, investors need to refocus on the company's fundamentals over the share price when assessing CEO quality. In those aspects, Cook has performed admirably.

It's not Cook's fault that there's been a distinct disconnect between Apple's share price and Apple's fundamentals, since its prices are entirely dominated by emotion in the current environment. There are some legitimate headwinds that Apple faces in its core businesses, but those challenges hardly warrant a nearly $300 billion loss in market cap.

Instead of blaming Cook for Apple's fall, investors should blame their fellow investors for losing confidence in a company at the top of its game.

Is Apple truly still at the top of its game? That's a question investors are contemplating right now, and a question that The Motley Fool hopes to answer in our new premium research service all about Apple. Eric Bleeker, CFA, and I dig in to numerous aspects surrounding Apple's business in a comprehensive set of reports that you can get access to by clicking here.

Nationstar Falls as Lesser-known Cousin Rises After Deal

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Nationstar Mortgage Holdings (NSM) shares, which rose Wednesday following a transaction with a related company, New Residential Investment Corp (NRZ), erased its gains Thursday after an analyst downgrade. New Residential, meanwhile -- a lesser-known name with no employees that analysts mostly ignored -- clung to its gains.

While Nationstar shares traded higher on Wednesday, rising 4.7% to $42.73 in the first few hours following the deal's announcement, they fell 3.83% Thursday to close at $39.70. Shares of New Residential, meanwhile, have risen 5.2% in the two trading days since the deal was announced. New Residential shares closed at $6.45 Thursday.

In the deal announced Wednesday, New Residential and related parties acquired from Nationstar a part of servicing fee income on up to $130 billion worth of unpaid mortgage debt. Servicing essentially refers to collecting the debt. In return for acquiring the rights to the fees, known as mortgage servicing rights (MSRs), New Residential would have to finance up to $6.3 billion of advances against potential non-payment of the mortgage debt. Fortress Investment Group (FIG) owns 75% of Nationstar and an affiliate of Fortress is an external manager of New Residential. New Residential has no employees, serving largely as a corporate shell that pays out a large dividend from the fee income it essentially buys from Nationstar. By holding capital against potential non-payment of mortgages, it frees up Nationstar for other activities such as acquisitions or paying down debt.

Wednesday's deal "enables Nationstar to pay down debt and potentially purchase more mortgage servicing rights," according to a report from Compass Point Research analyst Kevin Barker. However, Barker argued the deal "highlights how capital intensive this business has become," adding "we would expect the bidding for future MSR deals to be more competitive. Therefore, we view the potential return on capital from new deals as limited." While at least three analysts published reports on Thursday saying the deal was positive for Nationstar, a downgrade from appeared to drive the stock. The downgrade was published ahead of Thursday's open and the stock remained in negative territory all day. By contrast, no analysts published reports on New Residential. While 10 analysts cover Nationstar, just five follow New Residential. Sterne Agee analyst Henry Coffey, who predicted Wednesday's deal in a note on Tuesday, stated in a follow-up note on Thursday that the deal "creates positive investment/reinvestment opportunities for NRZ and capital relief (w/minimal EPS impact) for NSM." He has a "buy" rating on New Residential and a "neutral" rating on Nationstar. -- Written by Dan Freed in New York. Follow @dan_freed

Stock quotes in this article: NSM, NRZ 

Best Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now

Shares in�Gulf Keystone Petroleum� (LSE: GKP  ) (NASDAQOTH: GFKSY  ) have fallen by around 14% so far this week, following yesterday's announcement that the firm's chief executive officer had cut his shareholding by more than 40%.

According to the company, CEO Todd Kozel has transferred 10 million of his 24 million shares to an unnamed third party, in settlement of a financing arrangement. This leaves him with almost 14 million stock options and a paltry 255,004 shares held directly.

In a regulatory announcement last year, Gulf Keystone reported that Kozel had agreed to transfer 17 million of his shares to his ex-wife as part of their divorce settlement. It's possible that yesterday's transfer relates to this settlement, although the company did not confirm this.

Is Gulf Keystone still a buy?
I think the share transfer is probably related to Kozel's divorce, and I still rate Gulf Keystone as a buy.

The firm owns 51% of the Shaikan oil field in Kurdistan, which has around 14 billion barrels of oil in place. The oil can be extracted relatively cheaply, and is of good quality.

Best Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now: MEDIWARE Information Systems Inc.(MEDW)

Mediware Information Systems, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, and marketing of software solutions targeting specific processes within healthcare institutions. The company offers software systems consisting of company's proprietary application software, and third-party licensed software and hardware. It licenses, implements, and supports clinical and performance management, blood donor, and blood and biologic management products in the United States; and medication management solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Africa. The company?s blood and biologics management solutions include HCLL Transfusion and HCLL Donor, which address blood donor recruitment, blood processing, and transfusion activities for hospitals and medical centers; BloodSafe suite of hardware and software that enable healthcare facilities to store, monitor, distribute, and track blood products; LifeTrak software for blood centers; a nd BiologiCare, a bone, tissue, and cellular product tracking software. Its medication management products comprise WORx, a pharmacy information system to manage inpatient and outpatient pharmacy operations; MediCOE, a physician order entry module; MediMAR, a nurse point-of-care administration and bedside documentation module; MediREC, which assists in achieving compliance with a Joint Commission mandate; and pharmacy management and electronic prescribing systems. The company?s performance management products include InSight software that tracks performance metrics to assist healthcare managers to manage performance. It also provides software installation and maintenance services, as well as billing and collection services to home infusion and home/durable medical equipment markets. The company markets its products primarily through its direct sales force. Mediware Information Systems, Inc. was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By CRWE]

    Mediware Information Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:MEDW) plans to acquire the assets of Indianapolis-based Strategic Healthcare Group LLC (SHG), a leading provider of blood management consulting, education and informatics solutions.

Best Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now: Progress Software Corporation(PRGS)

Progress Software Corporation operates as an enterprise software company worldwide. Its products include Progress OpenEdge platform, which offers development tools, application servers, application management tools, and an embedded database; Progress Orbix to address enterprise integration problems with standards-based solutions; and Progress ObjectStore, an object data management system to store data faster than relational database management system or file-based storage system. The company?s products also comprise Progress Responsiveness Process Management suite for business users; Progress Control Tower, an interactive business control panel; Progress Sonic, which comprises an enterprise messaging system and the enterprise service buses; Progress Actional that provides operational and business visibility, root cause analysis, and policy-based security and control of services; Progress Apama, which offers tools for creating, testing, and deploying strategies for applicat ions, including algorithmic trading, market aggregation, smart order routing, market surveillance and monitoring, and risk management; Progress Savvion BusinessManager, a business process management software; and Fuse products that provide customers with access to professional open source integration and messaging software. In addition, it offers Progress DataDirect Connect products, which provide data connectivity components; Progress DataDirect Shadow to provide foundation architecture for standards-based mainframe integration; and Progress Data Services product set that offers data integration for distributed applications. Further, the company provides maintenance, consulting, training, and customer support services. Progress Software Corporation sells its products to independent software vendors, original equipment manufacturers, and system integrators through direct sales force and independent distributors. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in Bedford, Massac husetts.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Believing it should have a single, cohesive platform for the development of�cloud and mobile application development technologies, Progress Software (NASDAQ: PRGS  ) announced this morning it was selling its�Apama�complex event processing solution to Software AG for an undisclosed sum.

  • [By Rick Munarriz]

    Progress Software (NASDAQ: PRGS  ) moved higher after posting better-than-expected quarterly results this week. The provider of developer tools software saw revenue rise by a better-than-expected 10%, and its adjusted net income of $0.27 a share blew past the $0.22 a share that the market was forecasting.�

Hot Canadian Companies To Invest In 2014: Rent-A-Center Inc.(RCII)

Rent-A-Center, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, primarily engages in leasing household durable goods to customers on a rent-to-own basis. The company?s stores offer durable products, such as consumer electronics, appliances, computers, and furniture and accessories under flexible rental purchase agreements that allow the customer to obtain ownership of the merchandise at the conclusion of an agreed upon rental period. It also provides merchandise on an installment sales basis in its stores. As of December 31, 2010, the company operated 3,008 company-owned stores in the United States, and in Canada, Puerto Rico, and Mexico, including 42 retail installment sales stores under the names ?Get It Now? and ?Home Choice?; and 18 rent-to-own stores located in Canada under the ?Rent-A-Centre? name. It also operates 209 franchised rent-to-own stores in 32 states under the ColorTyme trade name; and 384 kiosk locations under the ?RAC Acceptance? model. In addition, the company, th rough its ColorTyme?s franchised stores, offers custom rims and tires for sale or rental under the trade names ?RimTyme? or ?ColorTyme Custom Wheels?. Rent-A-Center, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Plano, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Marc Bastow]

    Rent-to-own consumer products company Rent-A-Center (RCII) raised its quarterly dividend 10% to 23 cents per share, payable on Jan. 23 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 3.
    RCII Dividend Yield: 2.77%

Best Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now: S&P GSCI(GD)

General Dynamics Corporation, an aerospace and defense company, provides business aviation; combat vehicles, weapons systems, and munitions; military and commercial shipbuilding; and communications and information technology products and services worldwide. Its Aerospace group designs, manufactures, and outfits various large and mid-cabin business-jet aircraft; provides maintenance, repair work, fixed-based operations, and aircraft management services; and performs aircraft completions for aircraft. The company?s Combat Systems group offers tracked and wheeled military vehicles, weapons systems, and munitions. Its product lines include wheeled combat and tactical vehicles; battle tanks and infantry vehicles; munitions and propellant; rockets and gun systems; and axle and drivetrain components and aftermarket parts. This group also manufactures and supplies engineered axles, suspensions, and brakes for heavy-load vehicles for military and commercial customers. The company Advisors' Opinion:

  • [By Paul Ausick]

    Although no other defense or aerospace contractors had announced any layoffs or furloughs due to the government shutdown, the Aerospace Industries Association said last Friday that “tens of thousands” of employees at member companies would have to be furloughed if the shutdown continued. The group includes defense firms Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC), Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) and General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) among its membership. None of these firms had announced plans to idle workers.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Last quarter, Buffett sold his stakes in�Archer Daniels Midland�(ADM) and�General Dynamics�(GD), and added to a position�in�International Business Machines�(IBM). He also bought shares of�Chicago Bridge & Iron�(CBI), an old favorite of mine from my trading days.�

Best Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now: Bank of America Corporation(BAC)

Bank of America Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and nonbanking financial services and products to individuals, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, and governments in the United States and internationally. The company?s Deposits segment generates savings accounts, money market savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and checking accounts; and Global Card Services segment provides the U.S. consumer and business card, consumer lending, international card and debit card services. Its Home Loans & Insurance segment offers consumer real estate products and services, including mortgage loans, reverse mortgages, home equity lines of credit, and home equity loans. It also provides property, disability, and credit insurance. The company?s Global Commercial Banking segment offers lending products, including commercial loans and commitment facilities, real estate lending, leasing, trade finance, short-term credit, asset-based lending, and indirect consumer loans; and capital management and treasury solutions, such as treasury management, foreign exchange, and short-term investing options. Its Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial products, advisory services, settlement, and custody services; debt and equity underwriting and distribution, merger-related advisory services, and risk management products; and integrated working capital management and treasury solutions. The company?s Global Wealth & Investment Management segment offers investment and brokerage services, estate management, financial planning services, fiduciary management, credit and banking expertise, and asset management products. Bank of America Corporation serves customers through a network of approximately 5,900 banking centers and 18,000 automated teller machines. It was formerly known as NationsBank Corporation and changed its name on October 1, 1998. Bank of America Corporation was founded in 1874 and is based in Charlott e, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Analysts are expecting Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) to have earned $0.18 per share on revenue of $22.03 billion in the third quarter. Bank of America shares rose 0.21% to $14.27 in pre-market trading.

  • [By John Maxfield]

    The carnage continues. As of yesterday's close, shares of the nation's second largest bank by assets have fallen by almost 11% since the beginning of June. And today, they're headed down even further. Roughly halfway through the trading session, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) stock is off by an additional 2.9%.

  • [By Jeremy Bowman]

    Turning to Dow stocks, it's not surprising to see financials leading the way after Tepper's comments. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) led all comers, gaining 2.8% to hit a new 52-week high and was one of several banks Tepper said he was holding. Bank stocks may have also been reacted to news that the federal deficit this year will be less than expected after the Congressional Budget Office lowered its projection by $200 billion this year to $642 billion, the lowest level during the Obama administration. The CBO also said deficit levels should continue to decline for the next two years. The improved financial picture in Washington bodes well for the economy as a whole as well as for the banking sector, which is particularly sensitive to the macroeconomic environment.

Best Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now: Sirius XM Radio Inc.(SIRI)

Sirius XM Radio Inc. provides satellite radio services in the United States and Canada. It broadcasts a programming lineup of approximately 135 channels of commercial-free music, sports, news and information, talk and entertainment, traffic, and weather on subscription fee basis through two satellite radio systems in the United States; and holds an interest in the satellite radio services offered in Canada. The company also simulcasts music and selected non-music channels over the Internet; and offers applications to allow consumers to access its Internet services on mobile devices. As of December 31, 2010, it had 20,190,964 subscribers. In addition, the company designs, establishes specifications, sources or specifies parts and components, and manages various aspects of the logistics and production of satellite radios; licenses its technology to various electronics manufacturers to develop, manufacture, and distribute radios under various brands; and imports radios distri buted through its Websites. The company?s satellite radios are primarily distributed through automakers, retailers, and its Websites. Further, it provides music services for commercial establishments; a satellite television service to offer music channels as part of certain programming packages on the DISH Network satellite television service; music and comedy channels to mobile phone users through mobile phone carriers; Backseat TV, a service offering television content designed primarily for children in the backseat of vehicles; Travel Link, a suite of data services that include graphical weather, fuel prices, sports schedules and scores, and movie listings; and real-time traffic and weather services. The company was formerly known as Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and changed its name to Sirius XM Radio Inc. in August 2008. Sirius XM Radio Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rick Munarriz]

    Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI  ) closed at a five-year high yesterday. The satellite radio provider boosted its free cash flow guidance earlier this week, and strong auto sales should translate into healthy growth for the media giant that already serves a whopping 24.4 million subscribers.

Best Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now: Popular Inc.(BPOP)

Popular, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides a range of retail and commercial banking products and services primarily to corporate clients, small and middle size businesses, and retail clients in Puerto Rico and Mainland United States. It offers deposit products; commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans, as well as lease finance; and finance and advisory services. The company also offers trust and asset management, brokerage and investment banking, and insurance and reinsurance services. As of December 31, 2010, it owned and occupied approximately 94 branch premises and other facilities in Puerto Rico; and 119 offices, including 20 owned and 99 leased in New York, Illinois, New Jersey, California, Florida, and Texas. Popular, Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Popular (NASDAQ: BPOP) shares tumbled 5.54 percent to $27.48 after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from Equal-weight to Underweight.

    Pacific Coast Oil Trust (NYSE: ROYT) down, falling 7.13 percent to $16.70 after the company priced a public offering by Pacific Coast Energy Company LP and other selling unitholders of 13,500,000 trust units at a price of $17.10 per unit.

Best Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now: Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc.(WEN)

The Wendy's Company operates as a quick-service hamburger company in the United States. The company, through its subsidiary, Wendy's International, Inc., operates as a franchisor of the Wendy's restaurant system. As of December 26, 2011, the Wendy's system comprised approximately 6,500 franchise and company restaurants in the United States and the United States territories, as well as in 26 other countries worldwide. The company was formerly known as Wendy's/Arby's Group, Inc. and changed its name to The Wendy's Company in July 2011. The Wendy's Company was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Wendy's (Nasdaq: WEN  ) reported earnings on July 23. Here are the numbers you need to know.

    The 10-second takeaway
    For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Wendy's met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

  • [By Eric Volkman]

    Wendy's (NASDAQ: WEN  ) will take a break from slinging hamburgers and other treats to hand out a new quarterly dividend. The company announced it will distribute $0.04 per share of its common stock on June 17 to shareholders of record as of June 3.� That amount matches each of Wendy's previous two payments, the most recent of which was handed out in mid-March. Prior to that, the fast food chain paid $0.02 per share.

Will Recent News Boost Verizon̢۪s Stock?

With shares of Verizon (NYSE:VZ) trading around $48, is VZ an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Verizon is a provider of communications, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental agencies. It operates in two primary segments: Verizon Wireless and Wireline. Verizon Wireless' communications products and services include wireless voice, data services, and equipment sales, which are provided to consumer, business, and government customers across the United States. Wireline's communications products and services include voice, Internet access, broadband video and data, Internet protocol network services, network access, long distance, and other services.

Verizon is nearing an agreement to purchase Intel Corp.'s (NASDAQ:INTC) Internet-based TV Service, sources familiar with the matter tell Bloomberg. According to the same sources, a deal could be announced as early as next week following the finalization of details.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart Are Mixed

Verizon stock has been pulling back in recent quarters. The stock is currently surging higher, but may need time to consolidate. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Verizon is trading below its rising key averages, which signal neutral to bearish price action in the near-term.

VZ

(Source: Thinkorswim)

Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of Verizon options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish.

Implied Volatility (IV)

30-Day IV Percentile

90-Day IV Percentile

Verizon options

22.51%

96%

93%

What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a very significant amount of call and put options contracts as compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days.

Put IV Skew

Call IV Skew

January Options

Steep

Average

February Options

Steep

Average

As of today, there is an average demand from call buyers or sellers and high demand by put buyers or low demand by put sellers, all neutral to bearish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a very significant amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral to bearish over the next two months.

On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates and the conclusion.

E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter

Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on Verizon’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for Verizon look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

2013 Q3

2013 Q2

2013 Q1

2012 Q4

Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)

39.29%

14.06%

15.25%

-107.21%

Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)

4.39%

4.32%

4.17%

5.66%

Earnings Reaction

3.49%

-1.51%

2.76%

0.58%

Verizon has seen increasing earnings and revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have been pleased with Verizon’s recent earnings announcements.

P = Average Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has Verizon stock done relative to its peers, AT&T (NYSE:T), T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS), Sprint (NYSE:S), and sector?

Verizon

AT&T

T-Mobile

Sprint

Sector

Year-to-Date Return

-7.13%

-8.02%

49.60%

52.34%

22.69%

Verizon has been an average relative performer, year-to-date.

Conclusion

Verizon provides communications products and services through a variety of mediums to consumers and companies around the world. The company is nearing an agreement to purchase Intel Corp.'s Internet-based TV Service. The stock has been pulling back in recent quarters, but is currently surging higher. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenues have been increasing so investors have been pleased with recent earnings announcements. Relative to its peers and sector, Verizon has been an average year-to-date performer. Look for Verizon to OUTPERFORM.

Best Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) ��Treasury prices gained Friday, paring the week�� steep losses as investors prepared for a pivot from the Federal Reserve�� bond-buying stimulus.

Bond investors got a close-up look this week at the Fed�� attempt to guide the markets from reliance on the central bank�� bond buys towards its stance that short-term interest rates will remain low into the foreseeable future. After the release of minutes from the Fed�� policy meeting last month, longer-dated yields spiked while shorter-term Treasurys fell.

Click to Play Week in review: How the Dubai Airshow took off

From the largest commercial launch in jetliner history with the Boeing 777X to the growing Dubai based airline FlyDubai, here are highlights from this week's Dubai Air Show. Photo: EPA

Best Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: Bank Of Montreal (BMO)

Bank of Montreal, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of retail banking, wealth management, and investment banking products and solutions in North America and internationally. It offers personal banking products and services to consumers and small businesses, including deposit and investment services, mortgages, consumer credit, small business lending, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services to small business, medium-sized enterprise, and mid-market banking clients comprising lending, deposits, treasury management, and risk management services. The company also offers cards and payments services; investment and wealth advisory services; self-directed investing services; private banking services to high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients; investment fund solutions across a range of channels; pension plans; investment management services; and creditor insurance, and life insurance and annuity products and services. In add ition, it provides capital markets products and services, including equity and debt underwriting, corporate lending and project financing, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and recapitalizations, balance sheet management, liquidity management, merchant banking, securitization, foreign exchange, derivatives, debt and equity research, and institutional sales and trading to corporate, institutional, and government clients. As of October 31, 2010, Bank of Montreal operated and maintained approximately 1,230 bank branches in Canada and the United States. The company was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD  ) will release its quarterly report on Thursday, and in general, investors have been pleased with the Canadian bank's prospects over the past several months. But in light of surprisingly negative news from rival Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO  ) on Tuesday, Toronto-Dominion Bank will have to demonstrate that it's able to avoid the troubles that hurt its rival's results during the most recent quarter.

Best Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA) is a diversified international financial group, with strengths in the traditional banking businesses of retail banking, asset management, private banking and wholesale banking. The Company also has investments in some of Spain�� companies. During the year ended December 31, 2009, BBVA focused its operations on six major business areas: Spain and Portugal, Wholesale Banking and Asset Management, Mexico, The United States, South America and Corporate Activities. On August 21, 2009, through its subsidiary BBVA Compass, BBVA acquired certain assets of Guaranty from the United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the FDIC).

Spain and Portugal

The Spain and Portugal business area focuses on providing banking services and consumer finance to private individuals, enterprises and institutions in Spain and Portugal. The main business units included in the Spain and Portugal area Spanish Retail Network, which manages individual customers, high net-worth individuals (private banking) and small companies and retailers in the Spanish market; Corporate and Business Banking, which manages business with small and medium enterprises (SMEs), large companies, institutions and developers in the Spanish market, and Other units, which includes consumer finance, that manages renting and leasing business, credit to individual and to enterprises for consumer products and Internet banking; European Insurance that manages the insurance business in Spain and Portugal, and BBVA Portugal, that manages the banking business in Portugal. The Spanish Retail Network unit services the financial and non-financial needs of households, professional practices, retailers and small businesses. The Corporate and Business Banking unit offers a range of services and products to SMEs, large companies, institutions and developers with specialized branch networks for each segment.

The Company�� European Insurance unit�� activities are conducted through! various insurance companies that provide direct insurance, reinsurance and insurance brokering services in Spain and Portugal and market products for different types of customers (private individuals, SMEs, retailers, professional service firms and providers and self-employed individuals) through this unit�� branch offices. BBVA Portugal manages its banking business in Portugal.

Wholesale Banking and Asset Management

The Wholesale Banking and Asset Management area focuses on providing services to large international companies and investment banking, capital markets and treasury management services to clients. The business units included in the Wholesale Banking and Asset Management area are Corporate and Investment Banking, which coordinates origination, distribution and management of a complete catalogue of corporate and investment banking products (corporate finance, structured finance, syndicated loans and debt capital markets) and provides global trade finance and global transaction services with coverage of large corporate customers specialized by sector (industry bankers); Global Markets, which handles the origination, structuring, distribution and risk management of market products, which are placed through its trading rooms in Europe, Asia and the Americas; Asset Management, which designs and manages the products that are marketed through its different branch networks including traditional asset management, alternative asset management and Valanza (its private equity unit); Industrial and Other Holdings, which helps to diversify the area�� businesses with the aim of creating medium and long-term value through active management of a portfolio of industrial holdings and other Spanish and international projects, and Asia.

During the year ended December 31, 2009, it launched two products: BBVA Bonos Cash (BBVA Cash Bonds), a money market fund for retail customers, and BBVA Bonos Largo Plazo Gobiernos II (BBVA Long-Term Government Bonds), a public-debt fu! nd. In ad! dition it launched through this unit additional fixed-income long-term funds, including BBVA Bonos Corporativos 2011 and BBVA Bonos 2014, which were sold to HNWI customers.

Mexico

The business units included in the Mexico area are Retail and Corporate banking and Pensions and Insurance. BBVA Bancomer launched six new mortgage products for lending to home buyers in 2009. These products included: loans for home improvements, remodeling or additions to homes and financial discount which provides liquidity to construction companies. In Mexico, it operates its pensions business through Afore Bancomer, its insurance business through Seguros Bancomer, its annuities business through Pensiones Bancomer and its health insurance business through Preventis.

The United States

The business units included in the United States area are BBVA Compass and Other units: BBVA Puerto Rico and Bancomer Transfers Services (BTS). During 2009 this unit marketed and sold several new products, The ClearPoints credit card, Business Build-to-order Checking, Compass for your Cause and Money Market Sweep.

South America

The South America business area includes its banking, insurance and pension businesses in South America. The business units included in the South America business area are Retail and Corporate Banking, which includes banks in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela; Pension businesses, which includes pensions businesses in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru and Dominican Republic, and Insurance businesses, which includes insurance businesses in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

Corporate Activities

The Corporate Activities area handles its general management functions. These mainly consist of structural positions for interest rates associated with the euro balance sheet and exchange rates, together with liquidity management and shareholde! rs��fun! ds.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Alexis Xydias]

    Borrowed stock in BBVA (BBVA), Spain�� second-biggest bank, has fallen to 0.23 percent of the Bilbao-based company�� outstanding shares, from 2.41 percent two years ago, Markit data show. The stock surged 41 percent in the period.

  • [By Lee Jackson]

    Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE: BBVA) was raised to Outperform from Neutral by Credit Suisse.

    Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) was started as Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

  • [By John Udovich]

    A.F.P Provida SA. A Chile-based company�involved in the management of private pension funds, A.F.P Provida SA�� activities include the investment and collection of its clients��contributions, the management of individual capitalization accounts and the provision of life and disability benefits, payments of funeral expenses and senior retirement pensions. A.F.P Provida SA also has operations through its subsidiaries in Peru, Ecuador and Mexico. Under former dictator Pinochet,�Chile privatized its otherwise bankrupted social security program�and mandates its citizens to invest a certain portion of their wages with government-endorsed asset management firms like A.F.P Provida SA. Right now, A.F.P Provida SA has a trailing P/E of 6.33 along with a forward dividend of $10.89 for a 12% dividend yield, but there is also a big catch. Back in February, it was reported that Metlife Inc (NYSE: MET) would acquire the firm from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (NYSE: BBVA) in a deal valued at about $2 billion in order to add fee income in Latin America���meaning that juicy dividend is no longer a sure bet for investors. On Monday, small cap A.F.P Provida SA rose 0.28% to $90.80 (PVD has 52 week trading range of $82.60 to $112.79 a share) for a market cap of $2.01 billion plus the stock is down 9.1% since the start of the year, up 2.3% over the past year and up 205.7% over the past five years.

Hot Blue Chip Companies To Buy For 2014: State Street Corporation(STT)

State Street Corporation, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to institutional investors worldwide. The company?s Investment Servicing business line provides products and services, including custody, product- and participant-level accounting; daily pricing and administration; master trust and master custody; record-keeping; foreign exchange, brokerage, and other trading services; securities finance; deposit and short-term investment facilities; loan and lease financing; investment manager and alternative investment manager operations outsourcing; and performance, risk, and compliance analytics. This segment also offers shareholder services, which comprise mutual fund and collective investment fund shareholder accounting. Its Investment Management business line provides a range of investment management, investment research, and other related services, such as securities finance; and strategies for managing passive and active financ ial assets, such as enhanced indexing and hedge fund strategies for U.S. and global equities and fixed-income securities. The company serves mutual funds, collective investment funds and other investment pools, corporate and public retirement plans, insurance companies, foundations, endowments, and investment managers. State Street Corporation was founded in 1832 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Smith]

    When it comes to big, publicly owned investment management companies, there's little doubt which one investors love best:�Blackrock� (NYSE: BLK  ) �is top of the heap. Rated "four stars" by The Motley Fool's�CAPS supercomputer, Blackrock easily eclipses smaller rival�State Street� (NYSE: STT  ) , rated three stars, and larger rival�UBS� (NYSE: UBS  ) �-- an anemic two stars. But why?

  • [By Dan Dzombak]

    Over the years, the expense ratios on ETFs have come down to absurdly low levels, as the size of their assets under management have grown. State Street's (NYSE: STT  ) SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: SPY  ) is the largest ETF in the world, with $131 billion in assets under management and an expense ratio of 0.09%. Other funds cost even less, including Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO  ) , which has an expense ratio of just 0.05%.

  • [By Nicole Seghetti]

    Good news for ETF investors too
    Even excluding the multibillion-dollar tally of Swiss-based funds, BlackRock's empire is colossal. Its iShares ETFs overwhelmingly dominate the market, holding about 40% market share. With roughly 23% share of the ETF market, State Street's (NYSE: STT  ) SPDR ETF business comes in second place. Vanguard rounds out the top three. These top ETF managers account for roughly 84% of the industry assets.

Best Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: M&T Bank Corporation (MTB)

M&T Bank Corporation operates as the holding company for M&T Bank and M&T Bank, National Association that provide commercial and retail banking services to individuals, corporations and other businesses, and institutions. It offers business loans and leases; business credit cards; deposit products, such as demand, savings, and time accounts; and financial services, including cash management, payroll and direct deposit, merchant credit card, and letters of credit. The company also provides residential real estate loans; multifamily commercial real estate loans; commercial real estate loans; one-to-four family residential mortgage loans; investment and trading securities; short-term and long-term borrowed funds; brokered certificates of deposit and interest rate swap agreements related thereto; and branch deposits. In addition, it offers foreign exchange, as well as asset management services. Further, the company provides consumer loans, and commercial loans and leases; cred it life, and accident and health reinsurance; and securities brokerage, investment advisory, and insurance agency services. As of December 31, 2009, it had 738 banking offices in New York State, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia; a commercial banking office in Ontario, Canada; and an office in George Town, Cayman Islands. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Buffalo, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jack Adamo]

    We've owned the common stock of M&T Bank (MTB) for almost two years. It has returned 43% so far. Super bank analyst Meredith Whitney, and Tom Keene, the brilliant Bloomberg economist, both called M&T the best-managed large American bank. It consistently delivers superior returns while taking less risk.

  • [By Amanda Alix]

    It was a long engagement, but the union between growth-oriented M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB  ) and Hudson City Bancorp (NASDAQ: HCBK  ) looks like it is definitely back on track.

  • [By Shauna O'Brien]

    Credit Suisse announced on Friday that it has downgraded financial services company M&T Bank Corporation (MTB).

    The firm has cut its rating on MTB from “Outperform” to “Neutral” due to a valuation call. Credit Suisse currently has a $122 price target on MTB, which suggests a 5% increase from the stock’s current price of $115.91.

    M&T Bank shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Friday. The stock is up 18% YTD.

  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Beyond the Dow, Hudson City Bancorp (NASDAQ: HCBK  ) has dropped more than 5% after the bank and its proposed acquirer, M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB  ) , said there would be a delay in completing their merger. M&T, which has slipped almost 4%, cited regulatory concerns from the Federal Reserve over its bank secrecy and anti-money-laundering programs. Despite the two banks' plan to extend their agreement until the end of January 2014, they aren't sure the merger will be complete even by then. Shareholders will still vote on the deal later this month, but the delay has to be disconcerting for investors on both sides.

Best Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: New York Community Bancorp Inc (NYCB.N)

New York Community Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company and a producer of multi-family mortgage loans in New York City, with an emphasis on apartment buildings that feature below-market rents. It has two bank subsidiaries: New York Community Bank (the Community Bank),New York Commercial Bank (the Commercial Bank. The Community Bank has 241 branches and operates through seven divisional banks. The Commercial Bank has 34 branches in Manhattan and operates 17 of its branches under the divisional name Atlantic Bank.

During the year ended December 31, 2011, all of the one-to-four family loans the Company originated was sold to government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). In New York, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through Roslyn Savings Bank, with 55 branches on Long Island; Queens County Savings Bank, with 34 branches in the New York City borough of Queens; Richmond County Savings Bank, with 22 branches in the borough of Staten Island, and Roose velt Savings Bank, with eight branches in the borough of Brooklyn. As of December 31, 2011, in the Bronx and neighboring Westchester County, the Company had four branches that operated directly under the name New York Community Bank.

In New Jersey, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through 51 branches that operate under the name Garden State Community Bank. In Florida and Arizona, where it has 25 and 14 branches, respectively, the Company serves its customers through the AmTrust Bank (AmTrust) division of the Community Bank. In Ohio, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through 28 branches of Ohio Savings Bank. Customers of the Community Bank and the Commercial Bank have access to their accounts through 261 of its 285 automatic teller machines (ATMs) locations in five states. The Company also serves its customers through three Websites, which include www.myNYCB.com, www.NewYorkCommercialBank.com and www.NYCBfamily.com.

Lendi ng Activities

The Company�� principal asset! i! s loans. Its loan portfolio consists of three components: covered loans, non-covered loans held for sale and non-covered loans held for investment. As of December 31, 2011, the balance of covered loans was $3.8 billion, of which $3.4 billion were one-to-four family loans. Non-covered loans held for sale consists of the one-to-four family loans that are originated for sale, primarily to GSEs. At December 31, 2011, the held-for-sale loan portfolio totaled $1.0 billion

As of December 31, 2011, loans held for investment consisted of loans that it originates for its own portfolio, and totaled $ 25.5 billion.

In addition to multi-family loans, loans held for investment include commercial real estate loans (CRE); acquisition, development and construction (ADC) loans; commercial and industrial loans (C&I), and one-to-four family loans. As of December 31, 2011, its multi-family loans represented $17.4 billion, or 68.3%, of total loans held for investment, and repr esented $5.8 billion, or 64.1%, of the total loans that it originated for investment. The multi-family loans it originates are typically secured by non-luxury apartment buildings in New York City. It also makes multi-family loans to property owners who are seeking to expand their real estate holdings by purchasing additional properties.

As of December 31, 2011, CRE loans represented $6.9 billion, or 26.9%, of total held for investment; ADC loans represented $445.7 million, or 1.7%, of total loans held for investment. Its ADC loan portfolio consists of loans that were originated for land acquisition, development, and construction of multi-family and residential tract projects in New York City and Long Island.

C&I loans represented $600.0 million, or 2.4%, of total held for investment. It also offers a range of loans to small and mid-size businesses for working capital (including inventory and receivables), business expansion, and the purchase of equipment a nd machinery. Non-covered one-to-four family loans tot! aled $! 1! 27.4 mil! lion at December 31, 2011.

Investment Activities

The Company�� securities portfolio primarily consists of mortgage-related securities, and debt and equity (other) securities. Its investments include GSE certificates, GSE collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and GSE debentures. The Community Bank and the Commercial Bank are members of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLB-NY), one of 12 regional Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs) consisting of the FHLB system. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� securities represented $4.5 billion, or 10.8%, of total assets. As of December 31, 2011, 93.7% of its securities portfolio consisted of GSE obligations; held-to-maturity securities represented $3.8 billion, or 84.0%, of total securities, and its investment in bank-owned life insurance (BOLI) was $769.0 million.

Source of Funds

The Company has four primary funding sources. These include the deposits that it added thr ough its acquisitions or gathered through its branch network, and brokered deposits; wholesale borrowings, primarily in the form of FHLB advances and repurchase agreements with the FHLB and various brokerage firms; cash flows produced by the repayment and sale of loans, and cash flows produced by securities repayments and sales. As of December 31, 2011, deposits totaled $ 22.3 billion, which included certificates of deposit (CDs) of $7.4 billion; negotiable order withdrawal (NOW) and money market accounts of $8.8 billion; savings accounts of $ 4.0 billion, and non-interest-bearing accounts of $2.2 billion. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� borrowed funds totaled $14.0 billion, loan repayments and sales generated cash flows of $15.0 billion, and securities sales and repayments generated cash flows of $4.2 billion.

Subsidiary Activities

As of December 31, 2011, Community Bank had 34 subsidiary corporations. Of these, 22 are direct subsidiaries of the Community Bank and 12 are subsidiaries of ! Community! B! ank-owned! entities. The 22 direct subsidiaries of the Community Bank include DHB Real Estate, LLC, Mt. Sinai Ventures, LLC, NYCB Community Development Corp., NYCB Mortgage Company, LLC, Eagle Rock Investment Corp., Pacific Urban Renewal, Inc., Somerset Manor Holding Corp., Synergy Capital Investments, Inc., 1400 Corp., BSR 1400 Corp., Bellingham Corp., Blizzard Realty Corp., CFS Investments, Inc., Main Omni Realty Corp., NYB Realty Holding Company, LLC, O.B. Ventures, LLC, RCBK Mortgage Corp., RCSB Corporation, RSB Agency, Inc., Richmond Enterprises, Inc. and Roslyn National Mortgage Corporation.

The 12 subsidiaries of Community Bank-owned entities include Bronx Realty Funding Company, LLC, Columbia Preferred Capital Corporation, Ferry Development Holding Company, Peter B. Cannell & Co., Inc., Roslyn Real Estate Asset Corp., Walnut Realty Funding Company, LLC, Woodhaven Investments Inc, Your New REO, LLC, Ironbound Investment Company, Inc.,The Hamlet at Olde Oyster Bay, LLC, The Hamlet at Willow Creek, LLC and Richmond County Capital Corporation.

The two direct subsidiaries of the Commercial Bank include Beta Investments, Inc., and Gramercy Leasing Services, Inc. The two subsidiaries of Commercial Bank-owned entities include Omega Commercial Mortgage Corp. and Long Island Commercial Capital Corp.

Best Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: First Republic Bank (FRC)

First Republic Bank is a full-service bank and wealth management firm. First Republic Bank and its subsidiaries provide private banking, private business banking and private wealth management, including investment, trust and brokerage services. The Company specializes in delivering service through offices in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Newport Beach, San Diego, Portland, Boston, Greenwich and New York City. The Company's products and services include residential lending, commercial real estate lending, personal lending, private business banking, deposit services, trust services, brokerage services and investment management services. Investment advisory services are provided by First Republic Investment Management, Inc. Trust services are provided by First Republic Trust Company. Brokerage services are offered through First Republic Securities Company, LLC. In March 2012, the Company announced the opening of a new trust company.

The Company offers full-service banking on both coasts, including free online banking, free bill pay and free access to over 800, 000 automated teller machines (ATMs) worldwide. Its private business banking provides specialized services for accounting firms, architecture and design, art and antique dealers, business management firms, business partnership, entertainment/media, entrepreneurs, family offices, financial services, independent school, investment firms, law firms, medical firms, non-profit organizations, private equity funds, property management firms, real estate investors, venture capital funds, wineries, and yacht, golf, city and country clubs. The Company�� private wealth management offers customized investment management, trust, and brokerage services for individuals, trust endowments, and pension plans. Wealth management services include asset allocation, trust administration and custody, portfolio management, financial and estate planning, manager selection and comprehensive brokerage services.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Monica Gerson]

    First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.76 per share on revenue of $320.72 million.

    Renasant (NASDAQ: RNST) is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.31 per share on revenue of $60.87 million.

Best Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ITUB.N)

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A., incorporated on September 9, 1943, is a bank in Brazil. The Company has four operational segments: Commercial Banking, Itau BBA, Consumer Credit and Corporate and Treasury. Commercial banking, including insurance, pension plan and capitalization products, credit cards, asset management and a variety of credit products and services for individuals, small and middle-market companies). Itau BBA includes corporate and investment banking. Consumer credit includes financial products and services to its non-accountholders. Corporate and treasury includes the results related to the trading activities in its portfolio, trading related to managing currency, interest rate and other market risk factors, gap management and arbitrage opportunities in domestic and foreign markets. It also includes the results associated with financial income from the investment of its excess capital.

On October 24, 2010, Itau Unibanco completed the integration of customer service locations throughout Brazil. In total, 998 branches and 245 customer site branches (CSB) of Unibanco were redesigned and integrated as Itau Unibanco customer service locations, thus creating a network of approximately 4,700 units in the country under the Itau brand. The Company is a financial holding company controlled by Itau Unibanco Participacoes S.A. (IUPAR). As of December 31, 2010, it had a network of 3,747 service branches throughout Brazil. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 913 CSBs throughout Brazil. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 28,844 automated teller machines (ATMs) throughout Brazil.

Commercial banking

The commercial banking segment offers a range of banking services to a diversified base of individuals and companies. Services offered by the commercial banking segment include insurance, pension plan and capitalization products, credit cards, asset management, credit products and customized products and solu tions. The commercial banking segment comprises the special! i! zed areas and products, such as retail banking (individuals); public sector banking; personnalite (banking for high-income individuals); private banking (banking and financial consulting for wealthy individuals); very small business banking; small business banking; middle-market banking; credit cards; real estate financing; asset management; corporate social responsibility fund; securities services for third parties; brokerage, and insurance, private retirement and capitalization products.

The Company�� credit products include personal loans, overdraft protection, payroll loans, vehicles, credit cards, mortgage and agricultural loans, working capital, trade note discount and export. Its investments products include pension plans, mutual funds, time deposits, demand deposit accounts, savings accounts and capitalization plans. Its services include insurance (life, home, credit/cash cards, vehicles, loan protection, among others), exchange, brokerage and others. Its core business is retail banking, which serves individuals with a monthly income below R$7,000. In October 2010, it completed the conversion of branches under the Unibanco brand to the Itau brand and as of December 31, 2010, it had over 15.2 million customers and 4,660 branches and CSBs. Its public sector business operates in all areas of the public sector, including the federal, state and municipal governments (in the executive, legislative and judicial branches). As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 2,300 public sector customers. Itau Personnalite�� focus is delivering financial advisory services by its managers, who understand the specific needs of its higher-income customers; a portfolio of exclusive products and services; special benefits based on the type and length of relationship with the customer, including discounts on various products and services. Itau Personnalite�� customer base reached more than 600,000 individuals as of December 31, 2010. Itau Personnalite customers also have access to Itau Unibanco! ne! twor! k of ! branches and ATMs throughout the country, as well as Internet banking and phone.

Itau Private Bank is a Brazilian bank in the global private banking industry, providing wealth management services to approximately 17,951 Latin American clients as of December 31, 2010. The Company serves its customers��needs for offshore wealth management solutions in major jurisdictions through independent institutions in the United States through Banco Itau Europa International and Itau Europa Securities , in Luxembourg through Banco Itau Europa Luxembourg S.A. , in Switzerland through Banco Itau Suisse , in the Bahamas through BIE Bank & Trust Bahamas and in Cayman through Unicorp Bank & Trust Cayman. As of December 31, 2010, it had over 565 very small business banking offices located throughout Brazil and approximately 2,500 managers working for over 1,235,000 small business customers. Loans to very small businesses totaled R$5,981 million as of December 31, 2010. As of Dece mber 31, 2010, it had 374 small business banking offices located nationwide in Brazil and nearly 2,500 managers who worked for over 525,000 companies. Loans to small businesses totaled R$28,744 million as of December 31, 2010.

As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 115,000 middle-market corporate customers that represented a range of Brazilian companies located in over 83 cities in Brazil. The Company offers a range of financial products and services to middle-market customers, including deposit accounts, investment options, insurance, private retirement plans and credit products. Credit products include investment capital loans, working capital loans, inventory financing, trade financing, foreign currency services, equipment leasing services, letters of credit and guarantees. The Company also carries out financial transactions on behalf of middle-market customers, including interbank transactions, open market transactions and futures, swaps, hedging and arbitrage transactions. It also offers its middle-ma! rket cus!! tomers co! llection services and electronic payment services. The Company is able to provide these services for virtually any kind of payment, including Internet office banking. It charges collection fees and fees for making payments, such as payroll, on behalf of its customers.

The Company is engaged in the Brazilian credit card market. Its subsidiaries, Banco Itaucard S.A. (Banco Itaucard) and Hipercard Banco Multiplo S.A. (Hipercard), offers a range of products to 26 million customers as of December 31, 2010, including both accountholders and non-accountholders. As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately R$16,271 million in outstanding real estate loans. As of December 31, 2010, it had total net assets under management of R$291,748 million on behalf of approximately 2.1 million customers. The Company also provides portfolio management services for pension funds, corporations, private bank customers and foreign investors. As of December 31, 2010, it had R$184,496 mill ion of assets under management for pension funds, corporations and private bank customers. As of December 31, 2010, the Company offered and managed about 1,791 mutual funds, which are mostly fixed-income and money market funds. For individual customers, it offered 154 funds to its retail customers and approximately 287 funds to its Itau Personnalite customers. Private banking customers may invest in over 600 funds, including those offered by other institutions. Itau BBA�� capital markets group also provides tailor-made mutual funds to institutional, corporate and private banking customers.

The Company provides securities services in the Brazilian capital markets. Its services also include acting as transfer agent, providing services relating to debentures and promissory notes, custody and control services for mutual funds, pension funds and portfolios, providing trustee services and non-resident investor services, and acting as custodian for depositary receipt programs. The Company also provides brokerage ! services ! to i! nternatio! nal customers through its broker-dealer operations in New York, through its London branch, and through its broker-dealers in Hong Kong and Dubai. Its main lines of insurance are life and casualty (excluding Vida Gerador de Benefucio Livre), extended warranties and property. Its policies are sold through its banking operations, independent local brokers, multinational brokers and other channels. As of December 31, 2010, it had 9.9 million in capitalization products outstanding, representing R$2,620 million in liabilities with assets that function as guarantees of R$2,646 million. The Company distributes these products through its retail network, Itau Personnalite and Itau Uniclass branches, electronic channels and ATMs. These products are sold by its subsidiary, Cia. Itau de Capitalizacao S.A.

Itau BBA

Itau BBA is responsible for its corporate and investment banking activities. As of December 31, 2010, Itau BBA offered a portfolio of products and ser vices to approximately 2,400 companies and conglomerates in Brazil. Itau BBA�� activities range from typical operations of a commercial bank to capital markets operations and advisory services for mergers and acquisitions. As of December 31, 2010, its corporate loan portfolio was R$ 76,584 million. In investment banking, the fixed income department was responsible for the issuance of debentures and promissory notes that totaled R$18,888 million and securitization transactions that amounted to R$4,677 million in Brazil in 2010. In addition, Itau BBA advised 35 merger and acquisition transactions with an aggregate deal volume of R$16,973 million in 2010.

Itau BBA is also active in Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES) on-lending to finance large-scale projects, aiming at strengthening domestic infrastructure. In consolidated terms, total loans granted by Itau BBA under BNDES on-lending represented more than R$9,010 million in 2010. Itau BB A focuses on the products and initiatives! in the i! nternation! al busine! ss unit, such as structuring long-term, bilateral and syndicated financing, and spot foreign exchange. In addition, in 2010 Itau BBA continued to offer a large number of lines of credit for foreign trade.

Consumer Credit

As of December 31, 2010, its portfolio of vehicle financing, leasing and consortium lending consisted of approximately 3.8 million contracts, of which approximately 71.1% were non-accountholder customers. The personal loan portfolio relating to vehicle financing and leasing reached R$60,254 million in 2010. The Company leased and financed vehicles through 13,706 dealers as of December 31, 2010. Sales are made through computer terminals installed in the dealerships that are connected to its computer network. Redecard S.A. (Redecard) is a multibrand credit card provider in Brazil, also responsible for the capturing, transmission, processing and settlement of credit, debit and benefit card transactions. As of December 31, 2010, the Com pany held approximately 50% interest in Redecard�� capital stock.

The Company competes with Bradesco, Banco do Brasil S.A. (Banco do Brasil), Banco Santander, Caixa Economica Federal (CEF), BNDES, HSBC, Banco Citibank S.A, Banco de Investimentos Credit Suisse (Brasil) S.A., Banco JP Morgan S.A., Banco Morgan Stanley S.A., Banco Merrill Lynch de Investimentos S.A., Banco BTG Pactual S.A., Banco Panamericano S.A, Citibank S.A., Banco GE Capital S.A. and Banco Ibi S.A.

Best Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: New York Community Bancorp Inc (NYCB)

New York Community Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company and a producer of multi-family mortgage loans in New York City, with an emphasis on apartment buildings that feature below-market rents. It has two bank subsidiaries: New York Community Bank (the Community Bank),New York Commercial Bank (the Commercial Bank. The Community Bank has 241 branches and operates through seven divisional banks. The Commercial Bank has 34 branches in Manhattan and operates 17 of its branches under the divisional name Atlantic Bank.

During the year ended December 31, 2011, all of the one-to-four family loans the Company originated was sold to government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). In New York, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through Roslyn Savings Bank, with 55 branches on Long Island; Queens County Savings Bank, with 34 branches in the New York City borough of Queens; Richmond County Savings Bank, with 22 branches in the borough of Staten Island, and Roosevelt Savings Bank, with eight branches in the borough of Brooklyn. As of December 31, 2011, in the Bronx and neighboring Westchester County, the Company had four branches that operated directly under the name New York Community Bank.

In New Jersey, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through 51 branches that operate under the name Garden State Community Bank. In Florida and Arizona, where it has 25 and 14 branches, respectively, the Company serves its customers through the AmTrust Bank (AmTrust) division of the Community Bank. In Ohio, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through 28 branches of Ohio Savings Bank. Customers of the Community Bank and the Commercial Bank have access to their accounts through 261 of its 285 automatic teller machines (ATMs) locations in five states. The Company also serves its customers through three Websites, which include www.myNYCB.com, www.NewYorkCommercialBank.com and www.NYCBfamily.com.

Lending Activities

The Company�� principal asset is l! oans. Its loan portfolio consists of three components: covered loans, non-covered loans held for sale and non-covered loans held for investment. As of December 31, 2011, the balance of covered loans was $3.8 billion, of which $3.4 billion were one-to-four family loans. Non-covered loans held for sale consists of the one-to-four family loans that are originated for sale, primarily to GSEs. At December 31, 2011, the held-for-sale loan portfolio totaled $1.0 billion

As of December 31, 2011, loans held for investment consisted of loans that it originates for its own portfolio, and totaled $ 25.5 billion.

In addition to multi-family loans, loans held for investment include commercial real estate loans (CRE); acquisition, development and construction (ADC) loans; commercial and industrial loans (C&I), and one-to-four family loans. As of December 31, 2011, its multi-family loans represented $17.4 billion, or 68.3%, of total loans held for investment, and represented $5.8 billion, or 64.1%, of the total loans that it originated for investment. The multi-family loans it originates are typically secured by non-luxury apartment buildings in New York City. It also makes multi-family loans to property owners who are seeking to expand their real estate holdings by purchasing additional properties.

As of December 31, 2011, CRE loans represented $6.9 billion, or 26.9%, of total held for investment; ADC loans represented $445.7 million, or 1.7%, of total loans held for investment. Its ADC loan portfolio consists of loans that were originated for land acquisition, development, and construction of multi-family and residential tract projects in New York City and Long Island.

C&I loans represented $600.0 million, or 2.4%, of total held for investment. It also offers a range of loans to small and mid-size businesses for working capital (including inventory and receivables), business expansion, and the purchase of equipment and machinery. Non-covered one-to-four family loans totaled $127! .4 millio! n at December 31, 2011.

Investment Activities

The Company�� securities portfolio primarily consists of mortgage-related securities, and debt and equity (other) securities. Its investments include GSE certificates, GSE collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and GSE debentures. The Community Bank and the Commercial Bank are members of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLB-NY), one of 12 regional Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs) consisting of the FHLB system. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� securities represented $4.5 billion, or 10.8%, of total assets. As of December 31, 2011, 93.7% of its securities portfolio consisted of GSE obligations; held-to-maturity securities represented $3.8 billion, or 84.0%, of total securities, and its investment in bank-owned life insurance (BOLI) was $769.0 million.

Source of Funds

The Company has four primary funding sources. These include the deposits that it added through its acquisitions or gathered through its branch network, and brokered deposits; wholesale borrowings, primarily in the form of FHLB advances and repurchase agreements with the FHLB and various brokerage firms; cash flows produced by the repayment and sale of loans, and cash flows produced by securities repayments and sales. As of December 31, 2011, deposits totaled $ 22.3 billion, which included certificates of deposit (CDs) of $7.4 billion; negotiable order withdrawal (NOW) and money market accounts of $8.8 billion; savings accounts of $ 4.0 billion, and non-interest-bearing accounts of $2.2 billion. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� borrowed funds totaled $14.0 billion, loan repayments and sales generated cash flows of $15.0 billion, and securities sales and repayments generated cash flows of $4.2 billion.

Subsidiary Activities

As of December 31, 2011, Community Bank had 34 subsidiary corporations. Of these, 22 are direct subsidiaries of the Community Bank and 12 are subsidiaries of Community Bank! -owned en! tities. The 22 direct subsidiaries of the Community Bank include DHB Real Estate, LLC, Mt. Sinai Ventures, LLC, NYCB Community Development Corp., NYCB Mortgage Company, LLC, Eagle Rock Investment Corp., Pacific Urban Renewal, Inc., Somerset Manor Holding Corp., Synergy Capital Investments, Inc., 1400 Corp., BSR 1400 Corp., Bellingham Corp., Blizzard Realty Corp., CFS Investments, Inc., Main Omni Realty Corp., NYB Realty Holding Company, LLC, O.B. Ventures, LLC, RCBK Mortgage Corp., RCSB Corporation, RSB Agency, Inc., Richmond Enterprises, Inc. and Roslyn National Mortgage Corporation.

The 12 subsidiaries of Community Bank-owned entities include Bronx Realty Funding Company, LLC, Columbia Preferred Capital Corporation, Ferry Development Holding Company, Peter B. Cannell & Co., Inc., Roslyn Real Estate Asset Corp., Walnut Realty Funding Company, LLC, Woodhaven Investments Inc, Your New REO, LLC, Ironbound Investment Company, Inc.,The Hamlet at Olde Oyster Bay, LLC, The Hamlet at Willow Creek, LLC and Richmond County Capital Corporation.

The two direct subsidiaries of the Commercial Bank include Beta Investments, Inc., and Gramercy Leasing Services, Inc. The two subsidiaries of Commercial Bank-owned entities include Omega Commercial Mortgage Corp. and Long Island Commercial Capital Corp.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Smith]

    Forget the "1%." These are the 4%.
    But what about the banks that are not too big to fail? By definition, the possibility of failure makes smaller banks seem riskier investments. But possessed of the ability to grow with the population, through acquisitions, and by stealing market share from the incumbents, they're potentially more rewarding investment options -- and they do exist. A relative small fry such as New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB  ) , for example, doesn't even register on the FDIC's top 10. But with a modest P/E ratio of 12, and a generous 7.3% dividend yield, you can bet NYCB registers with investors.

  • [By Tim Melvin]

    Khan was not incredibly active in the quarter, which isn�� surprising — he follows strict buying criteria related to book value and margin of safety, and tends to hold for much longer than most investors. Khan Brothers did take a stake in embattled smart phone company Blackberry (BBRY), which has gone on the auction block. The firm also upped its stake in BP (BP) by more than 500% during the third quarter and bought more shares of New York Community Bank (NYCB).

  • [By Amanda Alix]

    Though New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB  ) saw a drop in its share price after releasing earnings yesterday, there is little doubt that investors are pleased with the bank's second-quarter results. The bank beat earnings per share estimates easily, aided by its largest ever jump in multi-family refinance-prepayment activity, which added 20 basis points to its net interest margin.

3 Companies I'm Watching Closely This Earnings Season

While earnings season kicked off earlier this month, the floodgate of reports will really begin to hit the wires over the next couple of weeks. With so much news and so little time you really need to have a plan. I have three companies on my list that merit my attention.

Buckeye Partners (NYSE: BPL  )
Earlier this month I participated in a Motley Fool roundtable discussion and made Buckeye my top pick. Needless to say, my reputation is at risk if Buckeye turns out to be a quick bust. While a poor earnings report could make that happen, that's not what has my attention.

When I made Buckeye my one MLP to buy, I saw a company that should soon have the ability to begin to raise its distribution to investors. This is a company that just last year broke a streak of 30 consecutive quarterly distribution increases. After five straight static distributions, the company could raise its distribution when it reports earnings.

Over the past two years Buckeye has aggressively expanded by announcing more than $2 billion in acquisitions while spending another half billion on organic growth projects. Buckeye has another $330 million in organic growth projects already in the works this year, and is likely to announce another acquisition before the year is out. This growth is geared to generate extra cash flow, which should put Buckeye in the position to raise its distribution soon.

LINN Energy (NASDAQ: LINE  )
Investors in LINN energy are no strangers to the role acquisitions play in giving the company the ability to raise its distribution. Along with its announced acquisition of Berry Petroleum (NYSE: BRY  ) in conjunction with its affiliate LinnCo (NASDAQ: LNCO  ) earlier this year, LINN announced a sizable boost to its distribution. While I wouldn't expect to see any mention of another dividend increase this quarter, what we might see is confirmation that the company is switching to a monthly distribution.

This move won't alter the intrinsic value of the company but it could make it much more attractive to investors. Higher-valued units could make them a better currency for future acquisitions, which would add value. We should know more when LINN reports earnings on April 25.

SandRidge Energy (NYSE: SD  )
One thing I won't be watching for at SandRidge is any notion of a dividend. The oil and gas exploration company is in the midst of a major growth phase thanks to its prime position in the Mississippi Lime formation. It's already announced plans to spend more than $1.2 billion this year to further develop the play.

The one area I'll be keyed into is how much of that production is oil and liquids. With 80% of the company's Mississippian cash flow tied to oil, I'd like to see its drilling capital going toward the most oil-rich prospects. If there's oily upside to its current commodity mix of 45% oil and liquids to 55% natural gas, then the company might be worth a whole lot more than investors think. We'll know more when SandRidge reports earnings on May 5.

The Foolish bottom line
There's a lot more to each story so I plan to drill down even deeper into what to expect as we get closer to the actual earnings release date. Of the three, I think investors need to pay the most attention to SandRidge this time around. The company's CEO is in a battle to keep his job, so this report could provide more insight into the company's future plans. 

In my view 2013 is really a make or break year for the company. I will say that with the company's focus on growing liquids production, the future looks optimistic. So, if you are unsure about the future of this emerging oil and gas junior and are looking to find out more about its strengths and weaknesses, then check out The Motley Fool's premium research report detailing SandRidge's game plan and what to expect from the company going forward. To get started, simply click here now!