Best Energy Companies To Invest In Right Now

Exchange-traded funds offer a convenient way to invest in sectors or niches that interest you. If you'd like to add some clean-energy-related stocks to your portfolio, the PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio ETF (NYSEMKT: PBW  ) could save you a lot of trouble. Instead of trying to figure out which companies will perform best, you can use this ETF to invest in lots of them simultaneously.

The basics
ETFs often sport lower expense ratios than their mutual fund cousins. The PowerShares ETF's expense ratio -- its annual fee -- is 0.70%. The fund is fairly small, too, so if you're thinking of buying, beware of possibly large spreads between its bid and ask prices. Consider using a limit order if you want to buy in.

This ETF has performed�terribly, significantly underperforming the world market over the past three and five years. But the future counts more than the past, and it's been a rough few years for the entire solar energy industry, among others. And, as with most investments, of course, we can't expect outstanding performances in every quarter or year. Investors with conviction need to wait for their holdings to deliver. Indeed, stocks that have fallen sharply are sometimes great bargains.

Best Energy Companies To Invest In Right Now: MPLX LP (MPLX)

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

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

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

Crude Oil Pipeline Systems

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

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

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

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

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

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

Product Pipeline Systems

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other Major Midstream Assets

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

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aimee Duffy]

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

Best Energy Companies To Invest In Right Now: Shell Refining Company (FED OF MALAYA)

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

Top 10 Casino Companies To Own In Right Now: Hanwha SolarOne Co. Ltd.(HSOL)

Hanwha Solarone Co., Ltd., an investment holding company, engages in the manufacture and sale of silicon ingots, silicon wafers, and PV cells and modules. The company also offers mono crystalline and multi crystalline silicon cells; and provides PV module processing services. It sells its products to solar power system integrators and distributors primarily in Germany, Italy, Australia, the United States, the Czech Republic, Spain, and China. The company was formerly known as Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Hanwha SolarOne Co., Ltd. in December 2010. Hanwha Solarone Co., Ltd. was founded in 2004 and is based in Qidong, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  One under-$10 stock that's starting to move within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Hanwha SolarOne (HSOL), which manufactures a number of silicon ingots, PV cells and PV modules using advanced manufacturing process technologies. This stock has been on fire so far in 2013, with shares up 301%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Hanwha SolarOne, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending strong for the last month and change, with shares moving higher from its low of $2.60 to its recent high of $4.28 a share. During that uptrend, shares of HSOL have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of HSOL within range of triggering a big breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in HSOL if it manages to break out above its 52-week high at $4.28 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 1.61 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then HSOL will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are its next major overhead resistance levels at $6 to $7 a share.

  Traders can look to buy HSOL off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day moving average at $3.40 a share, or near more support at $3.35 a share. One can also buy HSOL off strength once it clears $4.28 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

Best Energy Companies To Invest In Right Now: American Petro-Hunter Inc (AAPH)

American Petro-Hunter Inc., incorporated on January 24, 1996, is an oil and natural gases exploration and production company with projects in Kansas and Oklahoma. As of March 15, 2012, the Company has two producing wells in Kansas and six producing wells in Oklahoma. The Company also has rights for the exploration and production of oil and gas on an aggregate of approximately 6,230 acres in those states. On January 4, 2011, the Company announced plans to drill the NOS227 Well as a direct offset to the NOJ26 Well.

On March 25, 2011, the Company announced that the Company had acquired a working interest in an additional 2,000 acres located in Payne County in northern Oklahoma, near the Company�� Yale Prospect. The project has been named North Oklahoma Mississippi Lime Project. On May 16, 2011, the Company announced that drilling operations had commenced at the Company�� first horizontal well, NOM1H. The Company owns a 25% Working Interest in the lease. On June 29, 2011, the Company announced that NOM1H had begun commercial production. On July 18, 2011, the Company announced drilling plans for a total of 11 horizontal wells at the North Oklahoma Project. On July 20, 2011, the Company announced the acquisition of a 40% working interest in the South Oklahoma Project on 3,000 acres of land in south-central Oklahoma.

On February 6, 2012, the Company announced that the Company had drilled a total of 1,988 feet in the horizontal well segment penetrating into the 100 plus foot thick Mississippi pay zone. As of March 2012, there are nine locations left to drill on the acreage. The Company's crude oil production is sold to N.C.R.A. in MacPherson Kansas and Sunoco in Oklahoma. The Company sells natural gas through such pipeline to DCP Midstream, LP of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Best Energy Companies To Invest In Right Now: Fleetcor Technologies Inc (FLT)

FleetCor Technologies, Inc. (FleetCor) is an independent global provider of specialized payment products and services to businesses, commercial fleets, oil companies, petroleum marketers and government entities in countries throughout North America, Latin America and Europe. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company processed more than 215 million transactions on its networks and third-party networks. The Company operates in two segments: North American and International segments. The Company provides its payment products and services in a variety of combinations to create payment solutions for its customers and partners. In August 2011, the Company acquired Mexican prepaid fuel card and food voucher business based in Mexico City, Mexico. On December 13, 2011, the Company acquired Allstar Business Solutions Limited, a fleet card company based in the United Kingdom. In July 2012, the Company acquired a Russian fuel card company. In July 2012, the Company acquired CTF Technologies, Inc.

The Company uses third-party networks to deliver its payment programs and services. In order to deliver its payment programs and services and process transactions, it owns and operates closed-loop networks through which it electronically connects to merchants and captures, analyzes and reports information. The Company also provides a range of services, such as issuing and processing. The Company markets its payment products directly to a range of commercial fleet customers, including vehicle fleets of all sizes and government fleets. Among these customers, it provides its products and services to small and medium commercial fleets. The Company also manages commercial fleet card programs for oil companies, such as British Petroleum (BP) (including its subsidiary Arco), Chevron and Citgo, and over 800 petroleum marketers.

The Company sells a range of fleet and lodging payment programs directly and indirectly through partners, such as oil companies and petroleum marketers. It provides it! s customers with various card products that function like a charge card to purchase fuel, lodging and related products and services at participating locations. The Company supports these cards with issuing, processing and information services that enable it to manage card accounts, facilitate the routing, authorization, clearing and settlement of transactions. The Company provides these services in a variety of outsourced solutions ranging from an end-to-end solution (consisting issuing, processing and network services) to limited back office processing services.

In addition, the Company offers a telematics solution in Europe that combines global positioning, satellite tracking and other wireless technology to allow fleet operators to monitor the capacity utilization and movement of their vehicles and drivers. The Company offers prepaid fuel and food vouchers and cards in Mexico that may be used as a form of payment in restaurants, grocery stores and gas stations. Approximately 10.4% of its revenue during the year ended December 31, 2011 came from its lodging and telematics products.

During 2011, the Company owns and operates eight closed-loop networks in North America and internationally. Fuelman network is the Company�� primary fleet card network in the United States. Corporate Lodging Consultants network (CLC) is the Company�� lodging network in the United States and Canada. The CLC Lodging network covers more than 17,700 hotels across the United States and Canada. Commercial Fueling Network (CFN) is the Company�� members only unattended fueling location network in the United States and Canada. Keyfuels network is the Company�� primary fleet card network in the United Kingdom.

CCS network is the Company�� primary fleet card network in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Petrol Plus Region (PPR) network is the Company�� primary fleet card network in Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Mexican network is the Company�� fuel! and food! card and voucher network in Mexico. Allstar network is the Company�� fleet card network in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the Company issues corporate cards that utilize the MasterCard payment network, which includes 176,000 fuel sites and 398,000 maintenance locations across the country. The networks of locations owned by the Company�� oil and petroleum marketer partners in both North America and internationally are utilized to support the card programs of these partners.

UNION TANK Eckstein GmbH & Co. KG (UTA) operates a network of over 46,000 fleet card-accepting locations across 38 countries throughout Europe, including more than 31,000 fueling sites. DKV operates a network of over 45,000 fleet card-accepting locations across 36 countries throughout Europe, including more than 30,500 fueling sites. In Mexico, the Company issues fuel cards and food cards that utilize the Carnet payment network, which includes approximately 8,700 fueling sites and 78,890 food locations across the country.

The Company competes with Wright Express Corporation, Comdata Corporation, U.S. Bank Voyager Fleet Systems Inc., Edenred and Sodexo, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Moving quickly to establish synergies on its Australian purchase of Fleet Card from General Electric (NYSE: GE  ) last month, Norcross, Ga.-based FleetCor (NYSE: FLT  ) is buying another fuel card-issuing and payment-processing business right next door.

• [By Steve Sears]

  New stocks in what Goldman calls the “Hedge Fund VIP list,”�include Actavis (ACT), Baidu (BIDU), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), Crown Castle International (CCI), Entergy Louisiana (ELB), �Equinix (EQIX), Facebook (FB), Fleetcor Technologies (FLT), W.R. Grace (GRA), MetLife (MET), Macquarie Infrastructure (MIC), Micron (MU), Time Warner Cable (TWC), and Time Warner (TWX).

Best Energy Companies To Invest In Right Now: JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd.(JASO)

JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd., through its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, manufacture, and sale of photovoltaic solar cells and solar products, which convert sunlight into electricity in the People's Republic of China. The company?s principal products include monocrystalline and multicrystalline solar cells, as well as various solar modules. It also provides silicon wafer and solar cell processing services. The company sells its products primarily under the JA Solar brand name, as well as produces equipment for original equipment manufacturing customers under their brand names. It sells its solar cell and module products primarily to module manufacturers, system integrators, project developers, and distributors in the Germany, Italy, the United States, Hong Kong, Spain, India, the Czech Republic, France, and South Korea. The company has strategic partnerships with various solar power companies, such as BP Solar, Solar-Fabrik, and MEMC/SunEdison. JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. was founded in 2005 and is based in Shanghai, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Finally, beyond the Dow, Chinese solar stock JA Solar (NASDAQ: JASO  ) has dropped 9.1% following an analyst downgrade. Despite soaring sales during the past quarter, with particularly strong growth in the Japanese market, JA Solar still isn't close to making money and has to rely on the potential for module prices to rise once some of its Chinese competitors drop out of the picture. Funding sources continue to provide financing to many struggling Chinese solar companies, and this forestalling of the day of reckoning is bad for companies like JA Solar that would benefit the most from a shakeout.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: After a two-day run-up in solar stocks, the party ended quickly, and every stock in the industry is dropping like a rock. Suntech Power (NYSE: STP  ) led the declines by falling 23%, and LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK  ) , Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE  ) , and JA Solar (NASDAQ: JASO  ) all dropped at least 15%.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  In the Chinese solar sector we tracked the following short interest changes: JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO), LDK Solar Co. Inc. (NYSE: LDK), Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP), Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) and Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE).�For China-based firms, the percentage of shares short is not available because the companies are also listed on other exchanges.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) stands to benefit from the increased demand for solar power from China. That country is set to overtake Europe, the U.S., and Japan as the world�� largest consumer of solar panels and modules. That�� good for the Chinese solar makers, but it will be difficult for U.S. analysts and investors to figure out exactly what�� happening with the individual companies due to the lack of real transparency into their operations.

Euro Shrugs Off Weak PMI Data

Top 10 Financial Companies To Watch For 2014

The euro pushed above $1.38 on Friday morning as the dollar fell on expectations that the Federal Reserve will postpone the tapering of its $85 billion per month bond buying plan. The common currency traded at $1.3811 at 5:30 GMT on Friday morning, poised to end the week on a high.

The government shutdown earlier in the month raised doubts about the bank's plans to cut down on its stimulus spending as most are expecting economic data from that period to show that the closure had a negative impact on the nation's fragile recovery.

Related: #PreMarket Primer: Friday, October 25: Microsoft Earnings Surpass Expectations

Data which was delayed due to the shutdown showed that the nation's recovery could have been losing steam even before the government's budget showdown. Reuters reported that uncertainty in the US caused the dollar to fall to a nine month low against a basket of major currencies.

The euro's gains were capped by disappointing data which indicated that growth in the region's businesses unexpectedly fell in October. Reuters reported that Markit's Flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index slipped to 51.5 from September's 52.2. Although analysts had forecast that the figure would rise to 52.5, the PMI is still above the 50 point mark which indicates expansion.

As more US data comes out from the period during the government shutdown, investors will be looking for clues about the timeline for the Federal Reserve's taper. As it stands, most are not expecting the central bank to make any drastic moves before March, as the nation has yet to resolve its budget issues.

Posted-In: Federal ReserveNews Eurozone Forex Global Federal Reserve Pre-Market Outlook Markets Best of Benzinga

(c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  Around the Web, We're Loving... Learn to Use Trading Platforms Like Hedge Fund Traders do Rumsfeld: Denial of Benefits to Fallen Soldiers' Families 'Inexcusable' Come See How the Pro's Trade in this Exclusive Webinar Facebook, Baidu Lead Big Caps Beating Shutdown What Should You Know About AMZN? Most Popular UPDATE: Jefferies Downgrades Exelon Corporation on Valuation Earnings Scheduled For October 24, 2013 Apple Rumored To Ship 10 Million iPad Air Units In Q4 Icahn Makes a Big Profit on Netflix, Offers Lesson in Selling 3 Small Caps With Dividends over 4% That Could Grow Even Bigger Top Tweets From Stocktoberfest 2013 Related Articles (EWI + BROAD) ECB Banking Tests To Be Harder Than Anticipated Brent Recovers On Strong Chinese PMI Gap Between US and Brent Widens Euro's Strength Makes Some Nervous Euro Comes Out Strong Amid US Uncertainty Brent Steady Above $109 As US Data Comes In View the discussion thread. Partner Network #marketfy-ae-block { display: none; border: 2px solid #0a3f75; overflow: hidden; width: 300px; height: 125px; text-align: center; background-color: #45719E; position: relative; z-index: 1; } #marketfy-ae-block a { display: block; width: 300px; height: 125px; position: relative; z-index: 2; color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown-text { color: #f9fc99; padding: 0px 0 0 0; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown-text-start { font-size: 12px; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown { padding: 5px 0 5px 0; font-size: 26px; } #marketfy-ae-block-signup { padding: 5px 47px; } #marketfy-ae-block-signup:hover { background-color: #457a1a; } #marketfy-ae-block #marketfy-ae-block-logo { display: block; padding: 3px 0 0 0; margin: 0; } #marketfy-ae-block-logo { text-indent: -9999px; } #marketfy-ae-block-free { display: block; position: absolute; top: 7px; right: -23px; width: 80px; height: 16px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; opacity: 1; -webkit-transform: rotate(45deg); -moz-transform: rotate(45deg); -ms-transform: rotate(45deg); transform: rotate(45deg); font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; color: #333333; background-color: yellow; z-index: 500; text-shadow: 1px 1px #999999; } #marketfy-ae-block-arrow { position: relative; width: 60px; height: 60px; z-index: 10; margin: -80px 0 13px -21px; } #marketfy-ae-block-arrow img { height: 60px; width: auto; } Marketfy's International
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Netflix Shares Surge on Strong Subscriber Growth

Netflix(NFLX) shares are moving to the top of the queue.

Shares of the company are up about 10% in late trading, to $391, after reporting third-quarter earnings that beat Street views, and importantly reporting that it added more subscribers than expected.

Netflix earned $31.8 million, or 52 cents a share, on revenue of $1.11 billion. Street consensus was for earnings of 48 cents a share on sales of $1.1 billion. A year ago, the company earned 13 cents a share on revenue of $905 million.

Even more importantly than the earnings, the company reported subscriber growth numbers ahead of Street views; the critical component for Netflix is to continue adding subscribers, as a payoff for the all the money the company’s spending on marketing, technology, and programming. In the third-quarter, the company added 1.29 million U.S. subscribers, boosting its total to 31.09. Street consensus was that the company would add about 1.1 million subscribers.

International growth was strong as well, with 1.44 million new subscribers overseas; the Street expected roughly 950,000. There are now 9.19 million subscribers overseas.

For the fourth-quarter, the company expects total U.S. streaming subscribers will reach 32.7-33.5 million, with international members at 10.1-10.9 million.

The company will be hosting its conference call, via its own streaming service and its YouTube channel, at 5 p.m. Eastern time.

 

Best Financial Companies To Buy For 2014

How do you define financial security?

With�several�lists�floating�around, it's easy to get caught up in the idea of "should." The idea goes that if you just follow a list of "shoulds" you'll automatically feel secure financially. The reality is that what makes us feel safe depends on family background, education, work experience, and more general feelings about risk.

One conversation about financial security that I've heard repeatedly demonstrates this well. It's the debate between spouses over investing any extra money versus paying down the mortgage.

Often one spouse says, "We should buy that stock." Then, the other spouse says, "I want to pay down the mortgage." This cycle repeats itself with things like starting a business or making some other investment instead of paying down a mortgage.

This conversation became much more common following the real estate meltdown. Because our circumstances have changed, we're asking questions that we might not have considered before. When people ask these questions, however, it can cause conflict in relationships because security (or lack thereof) often sits at their core. So when these questions come up, it's usually a signal to stop and listen to what your spouse is saying.

Best Financial Companies To Buy For 2014: Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND)

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Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  That last option can actually work well with a diversified portfolio. For instance, Vanguard Total Stock (NYSEMKT: VTI  ) , iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEMKT: EFA  ) , and other high-growth-potential investments can produce the most tax savings in a Roth, while iShares Core Bond (NYSEMKT: AGG  ) , Vanguard Total Bond (NYSEMKT: BND  ) , and other taxable income-oriented investments can fit well in a traditional retirement account.

• [By Adam Aloisi]

  If you look at the variety of funds available on the open market, you'll find drastic differences. If you buy Vanguard's Total Bond Market ETF (BND), you will pay only one tenth of one percent (.10%) per annum in fees, while if you buy a leveraged closed-end fund you could be paying upwards of two percent (2.0%) every year. Given dramatic differences in cost of ETF/CEF ownership in the low rate world we currently invest in, one should be aware of how much money is being invisibly sucked out of your pocket each year. While I won't say that professional management is never worth paying for in the fixed income universe, you should certainly justify the need to pay for it.

• [By Chuck Saletta]

  The authors of the study that inspired that rule presumed a balanced portfolio between stocks and bonds. So if you're looking to follow its teachings, one of the simplest ways to do so is with a couple of exchange-traded funds. Two ETFs that could get you that balanced portfolio are the stock market-tracking ETF Vanguard Total Stock Market (NYSEMKT: VTI  ) and its bond counterpart, the Vanguard Total Bond Market (NYSEMKT: BND  ) .

• [By Matt Krantz]

  One simple strategy would be to put $7,500 of your money in a Standard & Poor's 500 ETF, such as the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, which trades by the symbol VOO. You could pair that by putting the other $7,500 into the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (symbol: BND). Be sure to check with your broker, since it might offer comparable ETFs that come with lower trading commissions.

Best Financial Companies To Buy For 2014: Legg Mason Inc (LM)

Legg Mason, Inc. (Legg Mason), incorporated in 1981, is a global asset management company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, provides investment management and related services to institutional and individual clients, company-sponsored mutual funds and other pooled investment vehicles. It offers these products and services directly and through various financial intermediaries. The Company provides its asset management services through a number of asset managers, each of which generally markets its products and services under its own brand name and, in many cases, distributes retail products and services through a centralized retail distribution network. Its investment advisory services include discretionary and non-discretionary management of separate investment accounts in a number of investment styles for institutional and individual investors. Legg Mason�� investment products include mutual funds ranging from money market and other liquidity products to fixed income and equity funds managed in a variety of investment styles, other domestic and offshore funds offered to both retail and institutional investors and funds-of-hedge funds. As of March 31, 2012, assets under management were $643.3 billion. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012 (fiscal 2012), the Company sold Bartlett & Co., a Cincinnati-based wealth manager.

Asset Managers

The Company conducts its business primarily through 12 asset managers. Its asset managers are individual businesses, each of which generally focuses on a portion of the asset management industry in terms of the types of assets managed (primarily equity or fixed income), the types of products and services offered, the investment styles utilized, the distribution channels used, and the types and geographic locations of its clients. The Company�� asset managers provide a range of separate account investment management services to institutional clients, including pension and other retirement plans, corporations, insurance companies, ! endowments and foundations and governments, and to high-net-worth individuals and families. In addition, its asset managers also sponsor and manage various groups of the United States mutual funds, including the Legg Mason Funds, The Royce Funds and the Western Asset Funds, funds-of-hedge funds and a number of equity, fixed income, liquidity and balanced funds that are domiciled and distributed in countries worldwide, and provide investment advisory services to a number of retail separately managed account programs. Western Asset Management Company is a global fixed income asset manager for institutional clients. Western Asset's operations include investment operations in New York City, the United Kingdom, Japan, Brazil, Australia and Singapore. Western Asset offers a range of products spanning the yield curve and encompassing the bond markets, including a suite of limited duration and core products, emerging market and high yield portfolios, municipal portfolios and a variety of sector-oriented and global products. Among the services Western Asset provides are management of separate accounts and management of mutual funds, closed-end funds, international funds and other structured investment products.

ClearBridge Advisors is an equity asset management firm. ClearBridge Advisors provides asset management services to 29 of the equity funds (including balanced funds and closed-end funds) in the Legg Mason Funds, to retail separately managed account programs, to certain of its international funds and, primarily through separate accounts, to institutional clients. ClearBridge also sub-advises domestic mutual funds that are sponsored by third parties. Royce & Associates is investment advisor to all of The Royce Funds and to certain of the Company�� international funds. In addition, Royce & Associates manages other pooled and separate accounts, primarily institutional. Brandywine Global Investment Management manages fixed income, including global and international fixed income, and equity portf! olios for! institutional and, through wrap accounts, high-net-worth individual clients.

Batterymarch Financial Management manages the United States, international and emerging markets equity portfolios for institutional clients. Permal Group Ltd. is a global funds-of-hedge funds management firm. With a headquarters in London and other offices in New York City, Boston, Dubai, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Nassau, Permal manages products, which include both directional and absolute return strategies, and are available through multi-manager and single manager funds, separately managed accounts and structured products sponsored by a number of financial institutions. Legg Mason Capital Management is an equity asset management business that manages both institutional separate accounts and mutual funds. Legg Mason Capital Management manages 12 Legg Mason Funds, and also sub-advises the mutual fund managed by the joint venture described below and investment products sponsored by its other subsidiaries, including certain of the Company�� international funds.

Legg Mason Investment Counsel & Trust Company, National Association is a national banking association with authority to exercise trust powers. Legg Mason Investment Counsel & Trust Company provides services as a trustee for trusts established by its individual and employee benefit plan clients and manages fixed income and equity assets. Legg Mason Investment Counsel, LLC, a subsidiary of Legg Mason Investment Counsel & Trust, manages equity, fixed income and balanced portfolios for high-net-worth individual and institutional clients and a number of its mutual funds. Legg Mason Investment Counsel operates out of offices in New York City, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Easton, Maryland, and Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Esemplia Emerging Markets is an emerging markets equities investment manager. Esemplia offers a range of portfolio management strategies, including core long-only and alpha-extension portfolios, to institutional investors worl! dwide, in! cluding pension funds and sovereign wealth funds.

Private Capital Management manages equity assets for high-net-worth individuals and families, institutions, endowments and foundations in separate accounts and through limited partnerships. Legg Mason's business in Poland engages in portfolio management, servicing and distribution of both separate account management services and local funds in Poland. The firm provides portfolio management services primarily for equity assets to institutions, including corporate pension plans and insurance companies, and, through funds distributed through banks and insurance companies, individual investors. Legg Mason Australian Equities is an Australian asset management business that offers Australian equity products, Australian property trusts and asset allocation products. As of March 31, 2012, Legg Mason Australian Equities managed assets with a value of $1billion.

United States Mutual Funds

The Company�� United States mutual funds business primarily consists of three groups of mutual and closed-end funds, the Legg Mason Funds, The Royce Funds and the Western Asset Funds. The Legg Mason Funds invest in a range of domestic and international equity and fixed income securities. The Royce Funds invest primarily in smaller-cap company stocks using a value investment approach. The Western Asset Funds invest primarily in fixed income securities. The Legg Mason Funds consist of 113 mutual funds and 27 closed-end funds in the United States, almost all of which are sub-advised by its subsidiary asset managers. The mutual funds and closed-end funds within the Legg Mason Funds include 63 equity funds (including balanced funds) that invest in a spectrum of equity securities. The fixed income and liquidity mutual funds and closed-end funds within the Legg Mason Funds include 77 funds. As of March 31, 2012 , the Legg Mason Funds included $114.7 billion in assets, respectively, in their mutual funds and closed-end funds, of which approximate! ly 30% an! d 27%, respectively, were equity assets, approximately 24% and 18%, respectively, were fixed income assets and approximately 46% and 55%, respectively, were liquidity assets.

The Royce Funds consist of 32 mutual funds and three closed-end funds, most of which invest primarily in smaller-cap company stocks. The Royce Funds are distributed through non-affiliated fund supermarkets, its centralized funds distribution operations, non-affiliated wrap programs, and direct distribution. In addition, two of the portfolios in The Royce Funds are distributed only through insurance companies. The Company�� mutual funds business also includes the Western Asset Funds, a family of nine mutual funds and two closed-end funds. The mutual funds are marketed primarily to institutional investors and retirement plans through the Company�� institutional funds marketing group. Western Asset Management Company manages these funds. The funds primarily invest in fixed income securities.

International Funds

The Company, outside the United States, manages, supports and distributes a number of funds across an array of global fixed income, liquidity and equity investment strategies. Its international funds include a range of cross border funds that are domiciled in Ireland and Luxembourg and are sold in a number of countries across Asia, Europe and Latin America. The Company�� international funds also include local fund ranges that are available for distribution in the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Poland, Hong Kong and Canada. All of its international funds are distributed and serviced by Legg Mason's global distribution group. Its international funds include equity, fixed income, liquidity and balanced funds that are primarily managed or sub-advised by Batterymarch Financial Management, Brandywine Global, ClearBridge, Esemplia, Legg Mason Capital Management, Private Capital Management, Royce & Associates, Western Asset Management and its global asset allocation team. In a! ggregate,! the Company sponsors and manages more than 220 of these international funds.

Retail Separately Managed Account Programs

The Company is a provider of asset management services to retail separately managed account programs, commonly known as managed account or wrap programs. These programs typically allow securities brokers or other financial intermediaries to offer their clients the opportunity to choose from a number of asset management services. It provides investment management services to a number of retail separately managed account programs sponsored by a number of financial institutions.

Distribution

The Company�� centralized global distribution group distributes and supports its United States and international funds and retail separately managed account program business. The United States-based operations of the Company�� global distribution group support and distribute the Legg Mason Funds, The Royce Funds and the Western Asset Funds, and include its mutual fund wholesalers and its institutional funds marketing group. The Company�� mutual fund wholesalers distribute the Legg Mason Funds through a number of third-party distributors. The Company�� institutional funds marketing group distributes institutional share classes of the Legg Mason Funds and the Western Asset Funds to institutional clients and also distributes variable annuity sub-advisory services provided by its asset managers to insurance companies. Its institutional liquidity funds are primarily distributed by Western Asset's distributors. In addition to its centralized funds distribution group, Royce & Associates' distributors also distribute The Royce Funds. In addition to distributing funds, the wholesalers in the Company�� global distribution operations also support its retail separately managed account program services. These services are provided through programs sponsored by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney's retail business, as well as other financial institutions.

! The international distributors within the Company�� global distribution group offer its investment management services to individual and institutional investors across Asia, Europe and the Americas. These distributors operate out of distribution offices in 18 cities in 14 countries and are the sole distributors of its cross border funds globally and its international local funds in their respective countries. Legg Mason Investments is responsible for the distribution and servicing of cross border and local fund ranges across Europe, the Americas and Asia. Legg Mason Investments has offices in locations including London, Paris, Milan, Geneva, Frankfurt, Madrid, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei, Miami, Santiago and New York. In addition to Legg Mason Investments, the Company�� global distribution group includes separate distribution operations in Australia, Canada and Japan. In Australia, its distribution operations distribute local and cross border pooled investment vehicles sub-advised by the Company�� asset managers primarily to retail investors, pension plans, fund-of-funds managers, insurance companies and government funds/agencies. In Canada, its distribution operations distribute Legg Mason-managed products primarily to pension plans, endowments, foundations, banks and mutual fund companies and separately managed account programs. In Japan, the Company�� distribution operations distribute domestic investment funds, cross border funds and institutional separate accounts primarily to the retail market, which includes retail banks, private banks, asset managers, funds platforms and insurance companies.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  Susquehanna International reported on Wednesday that it has maintained a “Negative” rating on Legg Mason Inc (LM).

  The firm has reiterated a “Negative” rating on LM, but has increased the company’s price target from $23 to $24. This new price target suggests an 18% decline from the stock’s current price of $32.74.

  An analyst from the firm noted: ��e are raising our f2Q14 estimate to $0.6 Negative. 0 from $0.48 reflective of a lower tax rate and some revenue benefits from the market lift in September. We are modeling a 15% GAAP tax rate in f2Q as a result of new U.K. corporate tax reductions that were put into place. Our calendar 2013 and 2014 estimates are now $1.70 and $2.00 compared to $1.61 and $1.90, previously. The calendar 2014 revision is reflective of higher buybacks and some flow-through with higher equity asset levels to end the current quarter. Our target is now $24 or 12x our new calendar 2014 estimate. We expect net long-term outflows of $5 billion-$6 billion this quarter or a 4% organic decay rate, the worst since December 2012. Frankly, we do not think estimates or flow matter all that much to shares. The ability to repurchase stock remains the most important driver of the equity.��/p>

  Legg Mason shares were up 14 cents, or 0.43%, during Wednesday morning trading. The stock is up 27% YTD.

Top 5 Value Companies To Watch In Right Now: National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB)

National Australia Bank Limited provides products, advice and services. In Australia, it operates through National Australia Bank, MLC and UBank. In the United Kingdom, it operates through Clydesdale Bank. In New Zealand, it operates through Bank of New Zealand. In the United States, it operates through Great Western Bank. Segments include Business Banking, Personal Banking, Wholesale Banking, UK Banking and NZ Banking, MLC and NAB and Great Western Ban. As of April 5, 2012, the Company and its associated entities ceased to be a substantial holder in BlueScope Steel Limited. On May 17, 2012, it ceased to be a substantial holder in Spark Infrastructure Group and Sandfire Resources NL. As of August 24, 2012, the Company and its associated entities ceased to be holder in Tabcorp Holdings Limited. In September 2012, the Company and its associated entities have ceased to be a substantial holder in Incitec Pivot Limited, as of August 30, 2012. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Yoshiaki Nohara]

  Alacer Gold Corp. sank 4.1 percent in Sydney as the price of the precious metal declined. Honda Motor Co. (7267) lost 0.6 percent after Japan�� third-largest carmaker reported second-quarter profit that missed analysts��estimates amid slowing motorcycle sales in Southeast Asia. National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB) retreated 2.3 percent as expenses climbed at the country�� largest lender by assets.

Best Financial Companies To Buy For 2014: Pioneer High Income Trust(PHT)

Pioneer High Income Trust is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by Pioneer Investment Management, Inc. It invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. The fund primarily invests in below-investment-grade bonds, high-yield corporate bonds and convertible securities. It invests in fixed income securities with average credit quality of B. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Merrill Lynch High Yield Master II Index. Pioneer High Income Trust was formed on January 30, 2002 and is domiciled in the United States.

Best Financial Companies To Buy For 2014: Hilltop Holdings Inc. (HTH)

Hilltop Holdings Inc., through its subsidiary, NLASCO, Inc., operates as a property and casualty insurance company in the United States. The company�s personal product line includes homeowners, dwelling fire, manufactured home, flood, and vacant insurance policies; and commercial product line consists of commercial, builders risk, builders risk renovation, sports liability, and inland marine insurance policies. It distributes its insurance products through a network of independent agents and managing general agents. The company was formerly known as Affordable Residential Communities Inc. and changed its name to Hilltop Holdings Inc. in July 2007. Hilltop Holdings Inc. was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Hilltop (HTH) operates as a holding company for PlainsCapital Bank that provides business and consumer banking services in Texas. This stock closed up 8.7% at $17.96 in Monday's trading session.

  Monday's Volume: 2.29 million
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 414,214
  
  Volume % Change: 436%

  From a technical perspective, HTH gapped up sharply higher here back above its 50-day moving average of $16.52 with strong upside volume. This move pushed shares of HTH into breakout and new 52-week-high territory, since the stock closed above some previous resistance at $17.63.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in HTH as long as it's trending above Monday's low of $17.07 and then once it sustains a move or close above its new 52-week high at $18.23 with volume that this near or above 414,214 shares. If we get that move soon, then HTH will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $20 to $23.

NetScout Systems Firm Q2 Product Revenue Contributed to nGeniusONE Platform

 

 NetScout Systems, Inc.  (NASDAQ: NTCT)

Price per share units of NTCT lauched 15.28% (+$3.90) to $29.43 today during mid-day trading session with three hundred plus thousand shares in play Thursday11:47AM EDT October 17, 2013. About four and a half hours prior ticker NTCT, an industry leader for advanced application and service assurance solutions reported firm Q2 notably growth in product revenue. The Company’s product revenue for Q2, on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis was $52.4 million. This increase is believed to be contributed by intentive consumer interest of their new released products in particular nGeniusONE™ platform. nGeniusONE Unified Performance Management Platform enables efficient IT service management with an all-inclusive set of capabilities delivering comprehensive, real-time situational awareness, historical visibility, and contextual, multi-layered performance analysis.

Ticker NTCT  also issued a guidance for fiscal year 2014 repeating the guidance they issued on April 25, 2013. The Company believes GAAP revenue to be in the range of $384 million to $399 million and non-GAAP revenue to be in the compass of $385 million to $400 million.

NetScout Systems, Inc. (“NTCT”, “NetScout” or the “Company”) is the market leader in Unified Service Delivery Management enabling comprehensive end-to-end network and application assurance. For 28 years, NetScout has delivered breakthrough packet-flow technology that provides trusted and comprehensive real-time network and application performance intelligence enabling unified assurance of the network, applications and users. These solutions enable IT staff to predict, preempt and resolve network and service delivery problems while facilitating the optimization and capacity planning of the network infrastructure. NetScout nGenius® and Sniffer® solutions are deployed at more than 20,000 of the world’s largest enterprises, government agencies, and more than 165 service providers, on over one million physical and 2,000 virtual network segments to assure the network, applications, and service delivery to their users and customers.

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Best Penny Companies To Buy For 2014

The following article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.

Posted-In: Markets

  Around the Web, We're Loving... Learn to Use Trading Platforms Like Hedge Fund Traders do Rumsfeld: Denial of Benefits to Fallen Soldiers' Families 'Inexcusable' Come See How the Pro's Trade in this Exclusive Webinar Facebook, Baidu Lead Big Caps Beating Shutdown What Should You Know About AMZN? Most Popular UPDATE: SolarCity Confirms Pricing of 3.4M Share Offering at $46.54/Share Trouble Brewing Under the Hood For The S&P 500? UPDATE: J.P. Morgan Upgrades AMR Corporation on Likelihood of US Airways Merger Earnings Scheduled For October 17, 2013 iPhone 5C Selling Out From One Carrier (AAPL) Google Up 5% After Topping Estimates (GOOG) Related Articles (NTCT) NetScout Systems Firm Q2 Product Revenue Contributed to nGeniusONE Platform View the discussion thread. Partner Network #marketfy-ae-block { display: none; border: 2px solid #0a3f75; overflow: hidden; width: 300px; height: 125px; text-align: center; background-color: #45719E; position: relative; z-index: 1; } #marketfy-ae-block a { display: block; width: 300px; height: 125px; position: relative; z-index: 2; color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown-text { color: #f9fc99; padding: 0px 0 0 0; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown-text-start { font-size: 12px; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown { padding: 5px 0 5px 0; font-size: 26px; } #marketfy-ae-block-signup { padding: 5px 47px; } #marketfy-ae-block-signup:hover { background-color: #457a1a; } #marketfy-ae-block #marketfy-ae-block-logo { display: block; padding: 3px 0 0 0; margin: 0; } #marketfy-ae-block-logo { text-indent: -9999px; } #marketfy-ae-block-free { display: block; position: absolute; top: 7px; right: -23px; width: 80px; height: 16px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; opacity: 1; -webkit-transform: rotate(45deg); -moz-transform: rotate(45deg); -ms-transform: rotate(45deg); transform: rotate(45deg); font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; color: #333333; background-color: yellow; z-index: 500; text-shadow: 1px 1px #999999; } #marketfy-ae-block-arrow { position: relative; width: 60px; height: 60px; z-index: 10; margin: -80px 0 13px -21px; } #marketfy-ae-block-arrow img { height: 60px; width: auto; } Marketfy's International
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Bitcoin makes pitch for ‘safe and sane’ regulation

Bitcoin, the virtual currency that fuels transactions on Internet black markets such as Silk Road and Black Market Reloaded, will make its case to Congress on Monday that such currency has potential to open the digital economy to poor societies around the world.

Federal law enforcement agents will testify that criminals can use Bitcoin to launder money.

Last month, federal agents shut down Silk Road, a black market that sold illegal goods such as heroin and forged documents, and arrested its alleged operator, Ross Ulbricht. The site operated on an underground network known as Tor and transacted its sales in bitcoin.

Patrick Murck, general counsel for the Bitcoin Foundation, will appear before the Senate Homeland Security Committee for the first congressional hearing on virtual currency. Murck, in prepared testimony, said he hoped Congress would "chart a safe and sane regulatory course" without tamping down the economic and societal potential for the digital economy and Bitcoin.

Bitcoin can help people avoid official corruption and punitive taxes and spend money on unpopular causes without risking interference from government, Murck said. Fees are generally lower than traditional banking, he said.

"Bitcoin can facilitate private and anonymous transactions, which are resistant to oversight and control," Murck's testimony says. "This by no means implies that using Bitcoin can or should provide anyone immunity from the law."

The committee has asked Murck and representatives of the Justice Department, Homeland Security and the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children to discuss the risks and potential of digital cash that can be transferred anonymously and without government regulation.

Bitcoin, invented in 2008 as a person-to-person digital currency that can be traded without banks or a central monetary authority, has grown exponentially as Internet businesses, legal and illegal, adopt it as a payment method. Bitcoin can be exchanged for standard cur! rency, such as dollars, euros or yen, but the exchange rate varies wildly. One Bitcoin has sold for more than $400.

In March, the Treasury Department's Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCen) said Bitcoin exchanges that allow users to convert their virtual currency to dollars must register with the government and abide by anti-money-laundering regulations. European regulators issued similar requirements in July.

To pay with Bitcoin, users create a "wallet" using Bitcoin software that is identified with a 33-digit code. That code links to a private one known only to the owner. The wallet's owner uses the private key to "sign" transactions, which is then validated by the computer. Every transaction is listed in a public ledger, called the "block chain," which prevents spending Bitcoin twice.

Top Oil Companies To Own For 2014

Responsible virtual currency providers should implement the Treasury Department's anti-money laundering procedures and report suspicious transactions, Jennifer Shasky Calvery, director of FinCen, said in written testimony.

"Legitimate financial institutions, including virtual currency providers, do not go into business with the aim of laundering money on behalf of criminals," she said. "Any financial institution could be exploited for money laundering purposes. What is important is for institutions to put controls in place to deal with those money laundering threats."

The Department of Homeland Security is carefully watching the development of virtual currencies, Brian de Vallance, acting assistant secretary for legislative affairs wrote in a letter to the committee.

Anonymity in cyberspace creates "a unique opportunity for criminal organizations to launder huge sum of money undetected," he wrote.

Criminals have migrated to Tor to hide their identities and use virtual currency to hide their transactions, said Ernie Allen, CEO of the International ! Centre fo! r Missing & Exploited Children, in prepared testimony submitted to the committee.

In August, police arrested the owner and operator of Freedom Hosting, which maintained "deep Web" servers that hosted child porn sites, including Lolita City and Pedo Empire, that accepted payment in Bitcoin. The FBI called Freedom Hosting "the largest facilitator of child pornography on the planet," Allen said.

He said he can see the virtues of a digital economy and digital currency as a way to get capital to people without access to banks, credit cards and mainstream financial institutions, but he also sees it as a way for criminals to hide the profits of their crimes. Police often follow the money to find the operators of child pornography and sex trafficking websites, Allen said. The center is encouraging countries to regulate virtual currency at the point where it is traded for standard currency.

"The attractiveness of Tor and Bitcoin for child pornography is based upon a perception of anonymity," Allen said. "If the perception of anonymity diminishes, we believe the criminal use will diminish with it."

This Luxury App Takes You Window Shopping Around the World

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- It's not exactly an idea you'd expect from two 20-somethings, dreamed up one night while cramming for final exams.

But that's how brothers Stijn and Jeroen Verrezen came up with their iPhone and iPad app, which allows users to window-shop the flagship storefronts of the world's most expensive and exclusive luxury brands.

Officially launched at the recent conclusion of fashion week in New York City, the Turnhills Window Shopping app literally puts worldwide window-shopping at your fingertips. And this is luxury window-shopping. Think Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Michael Kors and more. "The most expensive brands -- it's really unbelievable what they do with their windows -- you will see Louis Vuitton has skeletons of dinosaurs on display. It's amazing. Each time they do their window, they try to come up with something totally original. It's almost a form of art," Stijn Verrezen says during a phone interview from Belgium, where the two brothers grew up and still live. The app is actually the latest incarnation of the brother's computer-based window shopping idea; they launched a website last year. The idea is to feature regularly updated images of flagship storefronts because flagship stores typically display items available at all the other stores around the country or world for a particular brand, Stijn Verrezen says. Also see: How Lexus Is Selling Lexus Without Having to Sell Cars>> Once window-shoppers identify a must-have item in a storefront via the app, they can head to the designer's local store to try it on and buy it. Or buy the item online. "The collections are pretty much the same at your local store, but the window of the local shopping mall store is much smaller," Stijn Verrezen says. "So to get ideas about the latest trends, you can peek through brands on our app. This is like window-shopping in the real world." "Window shopping is an important aspect of real-life shopping," he adds. "And it's also of great value to the virtual shopping experience. It gives someone a first impression of a particular brand without going to the brand website." Rigorously updated, the app provides real-time content from around the world. Users can swipe through shopping districts on their iPhone or iPad to view the latest arrivals and fashion trends of 23 luxury brands.

The app also allows users to get daily updated storefronts of the most renowned brands' flagship stores, create personal wish lists of favorite items, prepare for shopping in the real world by comparing prices of items on the app and by items through linked Web-based stores.

The app's pictures of flagship storefronts are taken by professional photographers. Turnhills works with three -- two focused on New York City stores and one in London. Also see: Sears Clear on Why It's Selling Rolex: It's Taking on Amazon, eBay>>

But no fashion app would be truly complete without including a renowned fashion capital such as Paris, and that fact is not lost on the Verrezen brothers.

"The most beautiful stores of Paris will be added in two weeks," says 26-year-old Stijn Verrezen, who remains at home in Belgium at his "day job" -- at the family's business, a factory that develops sun awnings. Jeroen, 24, is in New York City promoting the app. The pair started their business on a shoestring, using personal savings, with no investors or PR reps. They are promoting their app primarily via Facebook (FB) and other forms of social media, including Pinterest. And so far, the Verrezen brothers aren't doing all that bad for themselves. Stijn estimates the app has been picking up about 150 users each day. The app can be downloaded for free from iTunes. In terms of their long-range plans, that's harder to pinpoint. For now, they brothers focused on increasing the number of luxury brands available on the app, with hopes of having 35 luxury brands featured by month's end. "We really just started out brainstorming and thought this would be a great idea to put our effort into. We're just two guys. We weren't particularly interested in fashion. It was more of a business concept," Stijn Verrezen says. "But we really like the idea of how brands create their reputation and create value."

Post Office Says It Lost $5 Billion in the Last Year

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images The U.S. Postal Service says it lost $5 billion over the past 12 months. It's the seventh straight year the agency has reported a net loss. Postal officials say the loss increases the urgency for Congress to let them end Saturday mail delivery and reduce payments for retiree health benefits. The Postal Service has struggled for years with declining mail volume and required payments of $5.6 billion annually in health care costs for future retirees. It has defaulted on three of those payments. Revenue from package delivery continued to grow, rising 8 percent last year. But that's not enough to offset losses in first class mail, which has been the post office's most profitable service.

Investors Grow Bullish on Stocks, Spurn Bonds, BofA Says

Investors have raised equity allocations to the highest level in 2 1/2 years after turning skeptical of bonds, and prefer euro-area shares to American stocks, a Bank of America Corp. survey showed.

A net 60 percent of 172 global fund managers, who together oversee about $518 billion, were overweight on stocks, the highest level since February 2011, according to the survey. Three out of four investors said they believed bond yields will be higher in 12 months.

"This is much more about investors being fearful about bonds than them lacking faith in equities," John Bilton, European investment strategist at Merrill Lynch, said at a press conference in London today. Exposure to bonds fell to its lowest level since April 2006, with 68 percent of investors underweight, the survey found.

"Our whole theme of the great rotation suggests that we are in multi-quarter, if not multi-year, move from bonds to stocks," Bilton said. "Equity-risk premium, the valuation assumptions about equities generally, the gradually improving economy and clearly the pickup in inflation expectations which are at two and a half year highs would tend to favor the equity complex over the bond complex."

U.S., Europe

Allocations to U.S. equities fell sharply to the lowest level in seven months, retreating to 9 percent overweight from 32 percent in August, the BofA survey found.

"In our view, tapering fears have spurred on the September rotation from U.S. to the euro zone and U.K.," Michael Hartnett, the New York-based chief investment strategist at Bank of America's Merrill Lynch unit, wrote in the report to investors today.

Investor exposure to U.K. equities has increased to 12 percent overweight, the highest level in almost 11 years, the survey found. "The U.K. is a lower beta market and viewed as a quality or defensive play in Europe," Hartnett wrote.

Allocations to euro-zone stocks rose to 36 percent overweight, the highest level since September 2007, with euro-zone equities becoming the most preferred region globally for the first time in six years, according to the BofA survey.

The global survey was conducted from September 6 to September 12.

Top 5 Financial Companies To Watch In Right Now

The Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) returned to its glory days today, recovering from a morning decline that, at one point approached a 90-point drop, to finish the day higher by 13 points. That behavior was commonplace during the early part of 2013, as investors seemed to jump even on intraday dips to buy into the stock market rally. But for the market to return to its winning ways by overcoming adversity speaks well of the positive impact of earnings season on the stock market.

Yet, several Dow stocks weren't able to join in on the rebound. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) was the biggest decliner in the Dow today, falling 1.8%. The success of some of its competitors in tackling the mobile space puts the tech giant's ongoing struggles to establish itself in the mobile-device arena in a much less favorable perspective, as investors appear to be losing patience with the company, even after a massive share-price advance so far this year. Microsoft has the financial resources to implement whatever growth initiatives it chooses, but the choices themselves need to be more successful if the company wants to recover from what could easily become a new malaise.

Top 5 Financial Companies To Watch In Right Now: Duke Realty Corporation (DRE)

Duke Realty Corporation operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States. It offers leasing, property and asset management, development, construction, build-to-suit, and other tenant-related services. As of December 31, 2006, Duke Realty owned approximately 721 industrial, office, and retail properties comprising 113.8 million rentable square feet, as well as owned 6,400 acres of unencumbered land for development. The company has elected to be taxed as REIT under the Internal Revenue Code. As a REIT, it would not be subject to federal income tax purposes, provided that it distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its shareholders. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana with regional offices in Alexandria, Virginia; Atlanta, Georgia; Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; Dallas and Houston, Texas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Nashville, Tennessee; Orlando, Florida; Phoenix, Arizona; Raleigh, North Carolina; St. Louis, Missouri; and Tampa and Weston, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brad Thomas]

  Other REITs mentioned: (O), (NNN), (STAG), (DCT), (EGP), (PDM), (DRE), (LRY)

  Source: Chambers Street: More Liquidity Magic On The Way In REIT-Dom

  Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)

Top 5 Financial Companies To Watch In Right Now: First Advantage Bancorp(FABK)

First Advantage Bancorp operates as the holding company for First Federal Savings Bank that provides various financial services to individuals and businesses in Tennessee. The company offers various deposit products comprising non-interest-bearing demand deposits, such as checking accounts; interest-bearing demand accounts, including NOW and money market accounts; regular savings accounts; and certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio include real estate mortgage loans, including one-to-four family residential loans and nonresidential real estate loans; construction loans for one-to-four family homes, commercial, multi-family, and other nonresidential purposes; land loans for developing vacant land; consumer loans consisting primarily of home equity loans; and commercial business loans secured by equipment, inventory, or accounts receivable to small businesses. As of June 10, 2010, the company operated five full-service offices in Montgomery County. First Advantage Banco rp was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  PL Capital has not filed any 13Ds in a couple of months, but earlier this year it disclosed a 5.99% position in shares of First Advantage Bancorp (FABK). The Clarksville, Tenn.-based bank has seven branches and trades at about 75% of book value. PL Capital also filed a 13D announcing 8% ownership of Mutual First Financial (MFSF) over the summer. The bank has 31 branches and is based in Muncie, Ind. — an area that has seen substantial consolidation in the past few years.

5 Best High Tech Stocks To Buy Right Now: American Municipal Income Portfolio(XAA)

American Municipal Income Portfolio, Inc is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by FAF Advisors, Inc. It is co-managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors, Inc. and Nuveen Asset Management, LLC. The fund invests in fixed income markets. It seeks to invest in fixed income securities including various municipal securities, which include municipal derivative securities, such as inverse floating rate and inverse interest-only municipal securities. The fund also invests in futures contracts, options on futures contracts, and options, as well as interest rate swaps, caps, and floors. American Municipal Income Portfolio, Inc was formed on June 25, 1993 and is domiciled in United States.

Top 5 Financial Companies To Watch In Right Now: Blackrock California Municipal 2018 Term Trust (BJZ)

Blackrock California Municipal 2018 Term Trust is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc. It is managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. The fund invests in fixed income markets. It invests primarily in portfolio of municipal securities. It invests in companies operating across transportation, hospital, lease, education, housing, industrial and pollution control, water and sewer, power, and tobacco sectors. Blackrock California Municipal 2018 Term Trust was formed in October 2001 and is domiciled in United States.

Top 5 Financial Companies To Watch In Right Now: Icahn Enterprises L.P. (IEP)

Icahn Enterprises L.P., through its subsidiaries, engages in investment, automotive, gaming, railcar, food packaging, metals, real estate, and home fashion businesses in the United States and internationally. Its Investment segment provides investment advisory, and administrative and back office services to the investment funds. The company�s Automotive segment offers powertrain energy, powertrain sealing and bearings, vehicle safety and protection, and aftermarket products for original equipment manufacturers. Icahn Enterprises L.P.�s Gaming segment owns and operates casino gaming properties. It has 9 casino facilities with 7,485 slot machines, 226 table games and 6,048 hotel rooms in Nevada, Mississippi, Indiana, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Aruba. The company�s Railcar segment designs, manufactures, sells, and leases hopper and tank railcars; custom designed railcar parts and other industrial products, primarily aluminum and special alloy steel castings; and provides r epair and maintenance services for railcar fleets. Icahn Enterprises L.P.�s Food Packaging segment produces and sells cellulosic, fibrous, and plastic casings for the processed meat and poultry industry. The company�s Metals segment collects, processes, and sells ferrous and non-ferrous metals, as well as processes and distributes steel pipe and plate products. Icahn Enterprises L.P.�s Real Estate segment engages in the rental of retail, office, and industrial properties; construction and sale of single-family and multi-family homes, lots in subdivisions and planned communities, and raw land for residential development; and golf and resort activities. The company�s Home Fashion segment manufactures, sources, distributes, markets, and sells home fashion consumer products, including bed, bath, basic bedding, and kitchen textile products. Icahn Enterprises G.P. Inc. serves as the general partner of the company. Icahn Enterprises L.P. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Igor Greenwald]

  I'm describing, of course, Carl Icahn, who's known for raiding cash-rich and mismanaged companies. His savvy picks are working out great for investors who hold shares of Icahn Enterprises (IEP).

• [By Robert Rapier]

  Carl Icahn’s majority-owned investment vehicle, Icahn Enterprises (NYSE: IEP), had already racked up a 37 percent return since Sept. 9 as of 10 days ago, when we recommended that subscribers along for the ride sell half of their position. The other half is now up more than 40 percent following today’s 6.5 percent jump in response to earnings that proved better than expected.

• [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]

  Late last week, Carl Icahn's Icahn Enterprises (NASDAQ: IEP  ) teamed up with Southeastern Asset Management to launch a competing bid for the struggling PC giant. Under this proposal, shareholders would receive $12 in cash but would continue to own a "stub" stock (with an estimated value of $1.65). Alternatively, shareholders would have the option to decline the cash payment in return for 7.27 additional shares.

• [By Alex Planes]

  Super investor Carl Icahn of Icahn Enterprises (NASDAQ: IEP  ) has presented his own $15 per-share offer, but this would keep Dell public while Icahn acquired up to 58% of the company's outstanding shares. Icahn already owns 10% of Dell's shares, and Icahn loyalists hold another 5%. He looks poised to raise that stake significantly over the next few trading days: Icahn Enterprises has been cleared to bypass the standard waiting period to raise an investor's stake up to 25%. Icahn now presents a significant roadblock to the Dell buyout, as his long history of activist investing portends a fight for control.

Bill Ackman Selling Out of J.C. Penney Stake Entirely

J. C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) has been a real pain in the backside of activist investor Pershing Square and other value and turnaround investors. This is Bill Ackman’s fund, and we already had seen speculative reports that Ackman was dumping his stake after having withdrawn all efforts against the company and after having withdrawn from the board of directors.

Now we have an SEC filing showing that Pershing Square has filed for the resale of 39,075,771 shares of common stock by Pershing Square affiliates. J.C. Penney itself will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the shares of common stock. According to SEC filings, this appears to be the entire Pershing Square stake in the company.

While this is a formal filing, the reality is that this has been anticipated in some form or fashion. When an activist sends a letter to his investors telling them that mistakes were made and that all in all they are still up considering other investments, the writing was on the wall.

Top Undervalued Stocks For 2014

JC Penney shares closed down 1.2% at $13.35 on Monday and the after-hours quotes have shares down another 2% at $12.99 against a 52-week trading range of $12.34 to $32.55. Where this stock stops is anyone’s guess. With a $2.9 billion market cap and its old historical price charts, JC Penney shares might be headed to slightly under $10.

Monday’s SEC filing is under Rule 424(b)(7), and this allows for the resale of up to the amount listed. The sale process here may happen at any point now, but Bill Ackman is formally calling it a day.

Jobs Numbers Paint Unclear Picture for Fed Tapering

Friday’s jobs report released by the Labor Department created uncertainty among market watchers as to whether the Fed will start tapering any time soon.

The economy created 169,000 jobs in August, the report said, fewer than the 180,000 expected, and unemployment dipped to 7.3%.

“Ultimately, we view the jobs report to be mostly noise from month to month, especially with a fairly ‘middle of the road’ report like this one with some pluses and minuses,” Michael Kitces, director of research for Pinnacle Advisory Group, a private wealth management firm located in Columbia, Md., and a ThinkAdvisor blogger, told ThinkAdvisor on Friday.

Like other market watchers, Kitces says the real issue heading into the fall is whether the Fed begins to taper or not. “There doesn’t seem to be much indication from today’s jobs report that definitively confirms the taper will or will not get under way soon.”

But David Kelly, chief global strategist at J.P. Morgan Funds, noted in his weekly commentary, released Monday, that “in light of last week’s upward revision to second-quarter GDP, a number of 150,000-plus on payrolls and 7.4% on unemployment would probably be enough to keep the Fed on track to begin a wind down to QE, with an announcement likely coming in a press release and Bernanke news conference following the Sept. 17-18 FOMC meeting.”

Reuters columnist Felix Solomon opined that the August report showed “that the reality of the economy was not as good as we thought it was, and that the market probably got ahead of itself in anticipating a taper beginning very soon.”

The Financial Times opined that at its Sept. 17 Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke “will have to decide whether the [August jobs] report reflects a weakening labor market — in which case it may want to delay a taper of asset purchases — or whether it is further evidence that the unemployment rate can keep coming down despite feeble overall growth. In that case it may choose to go ahead with tapering in September.”

Indeed, the Twittersphere was full of tweets labeling the jobs report as “lousy,” but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., opined that Friday’s employment report “shows that we are moving in the right direction, but not fast enough.”

Congress, Reid says, “has a choice when it comes to the economy: we can choose policies that accelerate job creation and expand the middle class, or the path to European-style austerity favored by Tea Party Republicans.”

Predictably, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., placed the bame elsewhere. "While the unemployment number dropping looks good on the surface, the details show otherwise," he said. He added that persistent long-term unemployment, "discouraged people leaving the work force, and millions taking part-time jobs because they have no choice are not signs of a strong recovery. The president’s policies are holding back strong job creation.”

---

Check out Specter of Fed Chairman Summers Yields Pessimism, Uncertainty on ThinkAdvisor.

5 Ways to Pick the Best Small Cap Stocks

Top 10 Value Companies To Own For 2014

Strictly defined, small cap stocks are companies with a low market capitalization (or the value of all their outstanding shares). Where the line is drawn between small cap stocks, mid-caps and large caps can vary depending on whom you ask, but small caps generally sport market caps of about $250 million to $2 billion.

You might consider stocks below $250 million as “micro-caps.” If you want to go even smaller, there is the “nano-cap” category, which refers to stocks with market caps of $50 million or less.

The advantage of investing in the best small cap stocks is the prospect of higher returns: according to a study by Ibbotson & Associates, small cap value stocks (or small cap stocks that also boast bargain price-to-earnings or price-to-book ratios, for example), posted a compound annual return of 14.1% between 1927 and 2010, ahead of both large cap value stocks, with 11.1%, and large cap growth, at 8.8%.

To put that in dollars and cents, $1 invested in small cap value stocks in 1927 would be worth $49,822 today, versus $5,605 for large cap value stocks.

(We’ve just released a new free report that shows you how to zero in on little-known small cap stocks with strong growth potential. It’s called “The Best Undervalued Stocks to Buy Now: A Complete Guide to Becoming a Great Value Investor.” Click here to download your copy now.)

The downsides of small cap investing aren’t hard to guess. For one, these stocks are typically more volatile than their larger cousins. Small caps can also fall faster than large caps in a declining market. Another thing to keep in mind: dividends are rare in the small cap universe, as companies prefer to plow their profits back into the business in order to drive their growth.

A Roadmap to Picking the Best Small Cap Stocks

Jim Fink, Investing Daily’s chief investment strategist for the Options for Income, Personal Finance and Roadrunner Stocks advisories, is our resident expert on small cap investing.

Fink uses a number of criteria to pick the best small cap stocks for Roadrunner Stocks, which focuses on investing in smaller firms. Here’s a brief look at five things he likes to see before he adds a small cap stock to his shortlist: 

Impressive management: “The greatest idea or breakthrough product means nothing unless you’ve got smart, dedicated people running the show—preferably the founder,” says Fink. “I’ve made more money investing in firms with sharp managers and so-so products than in companies with great products and mediocre management. And the smaller the company, the better the management has to be.”

A unique product or service: Fink likes to focus on small companies with something exceptional to offer. Uniqueness gives these firms a strong competitive advantage, because consumers can’t get what they sell anywhere else. In the absence of competition, a company has almost unlimited pricing power.

Low price-to-earnings ratios—ideally lower than the company’s growth rate, according to Fink. As a target range, he’s especially fond of “shoe-size” P/Es in the 9 to 11 range.

High and rising operating margins: Unlike earnings, operating margins can’t be manipulated, says Fink. That’s why he considers them a strong measure of a company’s true profitability.

High insider ownership: “I want management to be partners with us on a stock,” Fink says. “It’s a key Buffett rule: owner-operators want the stock to go up as much as you do.”