Contrarian Shopping among Retailers

A number of securities saw notable increases in short interest during the most recent reporting period, including two retailers that have been technical standouts and could ultimately benefit from this growing skepticism, observes Terri Stridsberg, contributing analyst with Schaeffer Investment Research.

Men's Wearhouse (MW) has been an outperformer, boasting a year-to-date advance of about 65% to trade at $51.41.

In fact, the security reached its own multi-year peak of $52.72 just last week, after the specialty retailer made a bid for rival Jos. A. Bank Clothiers (JOSB).

Nevertheless, MW saw a 37.1% surge in short interest during the first half of November, and now these shorted shares make up a healthy 7.3% of the security's float.

In other words, should the stock remain northbound, it could end up benefiting from a wave of short-covering activity.

The TJX Companies (TJX) has gained around 49% so far this year, to wink at the $63.28 level, while also tagging a record high of $64.09 on November 21, thanks to a well-received quarterly earnings report.

Nevertheless, short interest rose by 39.3% during the latest reporting period, bringing the number of shares sold short to 9.4 million—the most since early April.

If the stock continues along its upward trajectory, it could spark a mass exodus by the bears, which may add even more fuel to TJX's technical tank.

Bearish sentiment toward the discount retailer is also prevalent in the options pits; speculators have been scooping up puts over calls at a faster-than-usual clip lately.

Similarly, TJX's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio shows puts outweighing calls among options with a shelf-life of three months or less.

This accumulation of open interest—particularly at the out-of-the-money December 62.50 strike—could end up serving as options-related support over the next few weeks.

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LinkedIn, Yelp sink on growth fears

Shares of LinkedIn and Yelp got hit hard after they reported their latest quarterly results.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) LinkedIn and Yelp have been hot stocks this year. But shares of both companies tumbled Wednesday on concerns about future earnings and worries that the stocks may be overvalued.

LinkedIn (LNKD) did beat earnings and sales forecasts for the third quarter. But the stock fell more than 6% after the social media company warned that sales for the fourth quarter would be below forecasts.

The company said it expected revenue of $415 to $420 million in the next quarter. Analysts had been expecting sales to reach $439 million. While LinkedIn may just be playing it safe with their outlook, the forecast alarmed investors who have gotten used to strong results every quarter from the company. Shares of LinkedIn have more than doubled this year.

The stock trades at a very high valuation of more than 100 times 2014 earnings estimates. By way of comparison, rival social media firm Facebook (FB, Fortune 500), which will report earnings after the closing bell Wednesday, trades at 49 times 2014 earnings estimates. That is obviously expensive as well.

But analysts at Sterne Agee wrote in a report after LinkedIn's earnings that LinkedIn has a "significant premium" to its peers and that much of the enthusiasm about the company is already factored into LinkedIn's stock price.

LinkedIn does have a lot going for it. The company is profitable and growing rapidly. But some analysts worry that the company could stumble if the U.S. economy loses momentum. The company depends on advertising dollars as well as users willing to pay for premium services to help them find jobs and stay connected with other business professionals.

The same goes for Yelp Inc (YELP), a local business reviewing social site that could also suffer if nervous consumers are less willing to search for restaurants and local merchants.

But Yelp faces some problems that LinkedIn does not have to worry about. Shares of Yelp tumbled 6% after the company reported a wider-than-expected loss. The company also said it plans to sell more stock, which often worries shareholders since new shares dilute the value of their existing investment.

  Tech stocks partying like its 1999

Yelp's! stock has soared more than 240% this year despite concerns about growing competition from the likes of Facebook and Google (GOOG, Fortune 500).

Nonetheless, Yelp is promising additions to its service to attract more users. Yelp recently purchased SeatMe, which will let people make reservations at businesses on the site. That's a feature offered by rival OpenTable (OPEN).

Yelp also announced an offering to let businesses serve customers online via "Yelp Platform."

Analysts at Jefferies are hopeful that the new features will make it easier for Yelp to generate more advertising revenue. The analysts wrote in a report that they are a "low cost way" for Yelp to make more money from its "large and growing traffic to its properties."

But investors learned the hard way Wednesday that when a stock price goes up as dramatically as LinkedIn and Yelp have, it's tough to live up to the considerable expectations and hype.

Securities Regulator Targets Broker Conflicts of Interest

Top 10 Gold Stocks To Own For 2014

By Hal M. Bundrick

NEW YORK (MainStreet) � Brokerage firms need to do a better job of identifying and managing conflicts of interest. FINRA, the self-regulatory body of the securities industry, has reviewed a number of large brokerage firms and is urging the industry to become more proactive in protecting investors and minimizing cross-interests.

 

"While many firms have made progress in improving the way they manage conflicts, our review reveals that firms should do more," says FINRA Chairman and CEO Richard G. Ketchum. "FINRA will continue to assess firms' conflicts management practices and the effectiveness of those practices in protecting customers' interests through its examination and oversight programs." FINRA says that to better serve clients' interests, firms should implement an approach that begins with a "tone from the top" � a priority to address conflicts that filters though an organization's structures, policies, processes, training and culture. Selling "house" investment products can present the greatest potential for self-serving benefits and FINRA encourages firms to establish "new product review processes that include perspectives independent from the business proposing products, that identify potential conflicts raised by new products, that restrict distribution of products that may pose conflicts that cannot be effectively mitigated and that periodically re-assesses products through post-launch reviews." The regulators also believe that to reduce conflicts, broker-dealers with private wealth businesses should operate with appropriate independence from other business lines within a firm. FINRA is encouraged by firms' general adoption of open product architectures (i.e., the sale of third party in addition to proprietary products) but says brokers should not be pressured to favor proprietary products through sales bonuses and compensation structures that add to potential conflicts of interest. "Registered representatives still have an incentive to favor products with higher commissions because these produce larger payouts," FINRA says. "Firms should disclose those conflicts in plain English, with the objective of helping ensure that customers comprehend the conflicts that a firm or registered representative have in recommending a product. These conflicts may be particularly acute where complex financial products are sold to less knowledgeable investors, including retail investors." Matters regarding conflicts of interest are taking a high priority in the investment services industry, as the SEC considers the roll-out of a comprehensive and consistent fiduciary standard of care. While simply making suggestions now on how brokers should manage conflicts of interest, FINRA says the advice could become regulation later. "If we find that firms have not made adequate progress, we will evaluate rulemaking to require reasonable policies to identify, manage and mitigate conflicts," the FINRA report says. --Written by Hal M. Bundrick for MainStreet

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Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014: Prudential Financial Inc (PRH)

Prudential Financial, Inc. (Prudential Financial) is a financial services company. Prudential Financial has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, the Company offers an array of financial products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. It offers these products and services to individual and institutional customers through proprietary and third party distribution networks. Prudential Financial has two businesses: the Financial Services Businesses and the Closed Block Business. The Financial Services Businesses consists of its United States Retirement Solutions and Investment Management division, United States Individual Life and Group Insurance division, and International Insurance division, as well as its Corporate and Other operations. The Closed Block Business consists of the assets and related liabilities of the Closed Block described below and certain related assets and liabilities. On January 1, 2012, it merged with Gibraltar Life Insurance Company, Ltd (Gibraltar Life).

On February 1, 2011, Prudential Financial completed the acquisition from American International Group, Inc. (AIG), of AIG Star Life Insurance Co., Ltd. (Star), AIG Edison Life Insurance Company (Edison), and certain other AIG subsidiaries. In July 2011, it sold its global commodities business to Jefferies Group, Inc. In November 2011, it acquired an office building located in downtown Chicago's Central Loop. On December 06, 2011, the Company announced the sale of Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services (PRERS), the Company's real estate brokerage and relocation services unit, to Brookfield Residential Property Services.

Financial Services Businesses

The Financial Services Businesses consist of three operating divisions, which together encompass six segments, and its Corporate and Other operations. The United States Retirement Solutions an! d Investment Management division consists of its Individual Annuities, Retirement and Asset Management segments. The United States Individual Life and Group Insurance division consists of its Individual Life and Group Insurance segments. The International Insurance division consists of its International Insurance segment. Its Corporate and Other operations include corporate items and initiatives that are not allocated to business segments, as well as businesses that have been or will be divested.

The Individual Annuities segment manufactures and distributes individual variable and fixed annuity products, primarily to the United States market. The Company�� annuity products are distributed through a diverse group of independent financial planners, wirehouses, banks, and insurance agents, including Prudential Agents and the agency distribution force of The Allstate Corporation (Allstate). It offers variable annuities that provide its customers with tax-deferred asset accumulation together with a base death benefit and a suite of optional guaranteed death and living benefits. Its variable annuity investment options provide the customers with the opportunity to invest in proprietary and non-proprietary mutual funds, frequently under asset allocation programs, and fixed-rate accounts. The Company�� prudential agents distribute variable annuities with proprietary and non-proprietary investment options, as well as fixed annuities. Its individual annuity products are also offered through a range of third party channels, including independent brokers, wirehouses, banks, and Allstate�� proprietary distribution force.

The Company�� retirement segment, which is referred as Prudential Retirement, provides retirement investment and income products and services to retirement plan sponsors in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. Its full service business provides recordkeeping, plan administration, actuarial advisory services, tailored participant education and communicati! on servic! es, trustee services and institutional and retail investments. It services defined contribution, defined benefit and non-qualified plans. For participants leaving the clients��plans, it provides a range of rollover products through its broker-dealer, Prudential Investment Management Services LLC, its bank, Prudential Bank & Trust, FSB (PB&T), and certain of its insurance companies. Its institutional investment products business offers guaranteed investment contracts (GICs), funding agreements, institutional and retail notes, structured settlement annuities, and group annuities, for defined contribution plans, defined benefit plans, non-qualified plans, and individuals.

The Company�� full service business offers plan sponsors and their participants a range of products and services to assist in the delivery and administration of defined contribution, defined benefit, and non-qualified plans, including recordkeeping and administrative services, comprehensive investment offerings and consulting services to assist plan sponsors in managing fiduciary obligations. As part of its investment products, it offers a range of general and separate account stable value products and other fee-based separate accounts, as well as retail mutual funds and institutional funds advised by affiliated and non-affiliated investment managers.

It also offers fee-based separate account products, through which customer funds are held in a separate account, retail mutual funds, institutional funds, or a client-owned trust. These products generally pass all of the investment results to the customer. In addition, it offers guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits associated with certain defined contribution accounts, and hedge certain of the related risks utilizing externally purchased hedging instruments. It also offers a range of rollover solutions, including individual retirement accounts, mutual funds, and guaranteed income products. Its rollover products and services are marketed to participants who ter! minate or! retire from organizations that are clients of its retirement plan recordkeeping services.

The Asset Management segment provides an array of investment management and advisory services by means of institutional portfolio management, mutual funds, asset securitization activity and other structured products, and strategic investments. These products and services are provided to the public and private marketplace, as well as its United States Individual Life and Group Insurance division, International Insurance division and Individual Annuities and Retirement segments, as well as the Closed Block Business. Its products and services include Public Fixed Income Asset Management, Public Equity Asset Management, Private Fixed Income Asset Management, Commercial Mortgage Origination and Servicing, Real Estate Asset Management, Strategic Investments, and Mutual Funds and Other Retail Services.

The public fixed income organization manages fixed income portfolios for United States and international, institutional and retail clients, as well as for its general account. Its products include traditional broad market fixed income strategies and single-sector strategies. It manages traditional asset-liability strategies, as well as customized asset-liability strategies. It also manages hedge strategies, as well as collateralized loan obligations. It also serves as a non-custodial securities lending agent. The public equity organization provides discretionary and non-discretionary asset management services to a range of clients. It manages an array of publicly-traded equity asset classes using various investment styles. The public equity organization is consisted of two wholly owned registered investment advisors, Jennison Associates LLC and Quantitative Management Associates LLC.

The private fixed income organization provides asset management services by investing in private placement investment grade debt, private placement below investment grade debt, and mezzanine debt securi! ties. The! se investment capabilities are utilized by its general account and institutional clients through direct advisory accounts, insurance company separate accounts, and private fund structures. The commercial mortgage operations provide mortgage origination, asset management and servicing for its general account, institutional clients, and government-sponsored entities, such as Fannie Mae, the Federal Housing Administration, and Freddie Mac. It also originated shorter-term interim loans for spread lending that are collateralized by assets generally under renovation or lease up

The global real estate organization provides asset management services for single-client and commingled private and public real estate portfolios and manufactures and manages a range of real estate investment vehicles investing in private and public real estate, primarily for institutional clients through 22 offices worldwide. Its domestic and international real estate investment vehicles range from fully diversified open-end funds to specialized closed-end funds that invest in specific types of properties or specific geographic regions or follow other specific investment strategies. The Company makes strategic investments to support the creation and management of funds offered to third-party investors in private and public real estate, fixed income and public equities asset classes. Other strategic investments are made with the intention to sell or syndicate to investors, including its general account, or for placement in funds and structured products that it offers and manages. It also makes loans to, and guarantees obligations of, the Company�� managed funds that are secured by equity commitments from investors or assets of the funds.

The Company manufactures, distributes and services investment management products primarily utilizing asset management expertise in the United States retail market. Its products are designed to be sold primarily by financial professionals, including both Prudential Agents an! d third p! arty advisors. It offers a family of retail investment products consisting of 41 mutual funds as of December 31, 2011. These products cover an array of investment styles and objectives designed to retain assets of individuals with varying objectives and to accommodate investors��changing financial needs. In addition, it offers banks and other financial services organizations a wealth management platform, which permits, such banks and organizations to provide their retail clients with services, including asset allocation, investment manager research and access, clearing, trading services, and performance reporting. The U.S. Individual Life and Group Insurance division conducts its business through the Individual Life and Group Insurance segments. Its Individual Life segment manufactures and distributes individual variable life, term life and universal life insurance products primarily to the U.S. mass middle, mass affluent and affluent markets. During 2011, its primary insurance products are variable life, term life and universal life and represent 41%, 49% and 9%, respectively, of its face amount of individual life insurance in force, net of reinsurance.

The Group Insurance segment manufactures and distributes a range of group life, long-term and short-term group disability, long-term care, and group corporate-, bank- and trust-owned life insurance in the United States primarily to institutional clients for use in connection with employee and membership benefits plans. Group Insurance also sells accidental death and dismemberment, preferred provider and indemnity dental and other ancillary coverages, and provides plan administrative services in connection with its insurance coverages. It offers group life insurance products, including employer-pay (basic) and employee-pay (voluntary) coverages. This portfolio of products includes basic and supplemental term life insurance for employees, optional term life insurance for dependents of employees and group universal life insurance. It also of! fers grou! p variable universal life insurance, basic and voluntary accidental death and dismemberment insurance and business travel accident insurance. It also offers a living benefits option that allows insureds that are diagnosed with a terminal illness to receive a portion of their life insurance benefit upon diagnosis, in advance of death, to use as needed.

The Company�� International Insurance segment manufactures and distributes individual life insurance, retirement and related products, including certain health products with fixed benefits. It provides these products to the broad middle income market across Japan through multiple distribution channels, including Life Advisors, who are associated with its Gibraltar Life operations. It also provides similar products to the mass affluent and affluent markets in Japan, Korea and other countries outside the United States through its Life Planner operations. It also offers variable life products in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Poland and interest-sensitive life products in all countries with the exception of Brazil and Mexico. In most of its operations, it also offers certain health products with fixed benefits, some of which include a high savings element. In addition, similar products are offered to the middle income market across Japan through Life Advisors, the distribution channel of the Company�� Gibraltar Life Insurance Company, Ltd. (Gibraltar Life) operation.

The Company�� international insurance operations offer various traditional whole life, term life, endowment policies, which provide for payment on the earlier of death or maturity and retirement income life insurance products that combine an insurance protection element similar to that of term life policies with a retirement income feature. It also offers variable life products in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Poland and interest-sensitive life products in all countries. It also offers certain health products with fixed benefits, as well as annuity products, which are primari! ly repres! ented by United States and Australian dollar-denominated fixed annuities in its Gibraltar Life operations.

Closed Block Business

The Closed Block Business includes liabilities for its individual in participating products, together with assets that are used for the payment of benefits and policyholder dividends, expenses and taxes with respect to these products. The Closed Block is 90% reinsured, including 7% by a wholly owned subsidiary of Prudential Financial. During 2011, the Company also reinsured 90% of the short-term risks associated with the Closed Block policies to a wholly owned subsidiary of Prudential Financial.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014: Brazilian Gold Corp (BGC.V)

Brazilian Gold Corporation, an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Brazil and Canada. The company explores primarily for gold and uranium deposits. Its principal project is the S茫o Jorge gold project that consists of 11 exploration concessions covering a total area of approximately 50,602 hectares in the Tapaj贸s region of Northern Brazil. The company was formerly known as Red Dragon Resources Corp. and changed its name to Brazilian Gold Corporation in January 2010. Brazilian Gold Corporation is based in Vancouver, Canada.

5 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: Global Industries Ltd. (GLBL)

Global Industries, Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides construction and subsea services to the offshore oil and gas industry in the North America, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific/the Middle East regions. The company?s services include pipeline construction, platform installation and removal, construction support, diving services, diverless intervention, and marine support services. As of December 31, 2010, its fleet included four derrick lay barges, one pipelay/derrick vessel, one heavy lift ship, one pipelay barge, four multi-service vessels, one dive support vessel, and one offshore supply vessel. The company serves oil and gas producers and pipeline companies. The company was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Carlyss, Louisiana.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014: Array BioPharma Inc.(ARRY)

Array BioPharma Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of small molecule drugs to treat patients afflicted with cancer and inflammatory diseases in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. Its programs under development include ARRY-520, a kinesin spindle protein inhibitor in Phase 2 clinical trial for patients with multiple myeloma; ARRY-614, a p38/Tie-2 dual inhibitor in Phase 1 clinical trial for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome; ARRY-380, a HER2 inhibitor in Phase 1 clinical trial for breast cancer; ARRY-797, a p38 inhibitor in Phase 2 clinical trial for pain; and ARRY-502, a CRTh2 antagonist in Phase 1 clinical trial for allergic inflammation. The company?s partnered drugs in clinical development comprise Selumetinib and AZD8330 MEK inhibitors for cancer in Phase 2 trial; MEK162 and MEK300 MEK inhibitors for cancer in Phase 2 trial; Danoprevir, a Hepatitis C virus protease inhibitor in Phase 2 trial; ARRY-543, a HER2/EGFR inhibitor in Phase 2 trial for solid tumors; and LY2603618, a ChK-1 inhibitor in Phase 2 trial for cancer. Its partnered drugs in clinical development also include AMG 151, a glucokinase activator in Phase 1b trial for Type 2 diabetes; GDC-0068, a AKT inhibitor in Phase 1b trial for cancer; VTX-2337, a toll-like receptor in Phase 1b trial for cancer; VTX-1463, a toll-like receptor in Phase 1b trial for allergy; ARRY-382, a cFMS inhibitor in Phase 1 trial for cancer; and ARRY-575 and GDC-0425, which are ChK-1 inhibitors in Phase 1 trial for cancer. The company has collaborations with Amgen, Inc.; ASLAN Pharmaceuticals Pte Ltd.; AstraZeneca, PLC; Celgene Corporation; Genentech, Inc.; Novartis International Pharmaceutical Ltd.; InterMune, Inc.; Eli Lilly and Company; and VentiRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc for the development and commercialization of the partnered drugs. Array BioPharma Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Array BioPharma (NASDAQ: ARRY  ) presented some particularly intriguing findings with its MEK inhibitor, selumetinib, which it has licensed out to AstraZeneca�to treat uveal melanoma (cancer of the eye). Historically this is a very difficult to treat disease, but initial studies of selumetinib more than doubled the time it took for the disease to progress compared to the current standard of treatment, temozolomide. In trials, selumetinib delivered 15.9 weeks without disease progression, an overall response rate of 50%, and major tumor shrinkage exhibited in 15% of patients. For temozolomide, steady disease was only established for a median of seven weeks with no tumor shrinkage present.�

• [By Keith Speights]

  Breathing easier
  Array BioPharma (NASDAQ: ARRY  ) shares climbed nearly 18% this week. The company announced positive results from a phase 2 study of its experimental asthma drug ARRY-502.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Shareholders "nudged" Array BioPharma (NASDAQ: ARRY  ) higher by nearly 18% on the week after it announced positive mid-stage data on ARRY-502, a treatment for mild to moderate persistent allergic asthma. In its mid-stage trial, ARRY-502 met its primary endpoint of improving lung function as measured by forced expiratory volume in one second, or FEV1. In the overall trial, FEV1 increased by 3.9% compared to the placebo, while a specified subset of patients in the Th2 Biomarker group saw their FEV1 jump by 6.8% relative to the placebo. ARRY-502 also met a number of secondary endpoints. Since the asthma market is a crowded field, Array also put the feelers out there that it's looking for a licensing partner to help take this experimental drug into the next stage.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014: Private Media Group Inc.(PRVT)

Private Media Group, Inc. provides adult media content for various media platforms worldwide. The company offers Internet services, which include digital distribution of adult content over the Internet and eCommerce development, as well as licenses its trademarks and proprietary adult media content for use on the Web sites of other companies. It also acquires and distributes adult motion picture entertainment through various distributors, including national video store and newsstand distribution networks; Internet, IPTV, cable, satellite, and mobile telephone network; wholesalers; and hotel television operators. In addition, the company provides mobile content programs that comprise games and rich-media mobile downloads, including multimedia messaging service, wallpapers, screensavers, video clips, and video streaming. Further, it publishes X-rated magazines consisting of Private, Pirate, Triple X, Private Sex, Private Man, Mansize, and Special Editions, as well as Best of Private and Special Editions books, which are distributed through newsstands and other retail outlets. As of December 31, 2010, the company?s movie library contained 1,443 movie titles. It sells its products in the United States, Gibraltar, Cyprus, Sweden, Spain, France, Benelux, and Canada. The company was formerly known as Glacier Investment Company, Inc. and changed its name to Private Media Group, Inc. in November 1997. Private Media Group, Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014: Lara Exploration Ltd. (LRA.V)

Lara Exploration Ltd., an exploration stage company, engages in the identification, acquisition, and exploration of precious and base metal deposits primarily in South America. The company primarily explores for potash, phosphates, nickel, gold, tin, copper, iron, manganese, graphite, lead, and zinc. It holds interests in various mineral properties located in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru, as well as in China. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014: Black Box Corporation(BBOX)

Black Box Corporation provides network infrastructure services for communications systems worldwide. Its services include design, installation, integration, monitoring, and maintenance of voice, data, and integrated communications systems. The company also offers voice communications solutions, technology product solutions, premises cabling, and other data-related services, as well as provides technical support services for its solutions, which include hotline services, consultation, site surveys, design and engineering, project management, single-site and multi-site installations, remote monitoring, and certification and maintenance of voice, data, and integrated communication solutions. It sells its products and services to small organizations, corporations, and institutions through its catalogs, on-site services offices, and Internet Web site. The company was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Lawrence, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Communications specialist�Black Box (NASDAQ: BBOX  ) announced today its third-quarter dividend of $0.09 per share, the same rate it paid last month after raising the quarterly payout 12.5% from $0.08 per share.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of Black Box (NASDAQ: BBOX  ) have popped today by more than 19% after the company reported earnings and boosted its dividend.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014: Provident New York Bancorp(PBNY)

Provident New York Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides commercial, community business, and retail banking products and services to businesses, individuals, and municipalities in New York and New Jersey. It offers various deposit products, such as savings accounts, NOW accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, club accounts, certificates of deposit, commercial checking accounts, IRAs, and other qualified plan accounts. The company?s loan portfolio includes commercial real estate, commercial business, and one-to four-family real estate loans; acquisition, development, and construction loans; and consumer loans, including homeowner, home equity lines of credit, new and used automobile loans, and personal unsecured loans, such as fixed-rate installment loans and variable lines of credit. In addition, it provides services, including cash management, sweep accounts, insurance agency, investment advisory, asset and investment m anagement, and Internet banking services. As of September 30, 2011, Provident New York Bancorp operated 30 retail branches and 7 commercial banking centers in the Hudson Valley region. The company was formerly known as Provident Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to Provident New York Bancorp in June 2005. Provident New York Bancorp was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Montebello, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  The M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) and Hudson City Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: HCBK) transaction is the only pending deal of 2012 vintage due to various regulatory concerns. MTB currently has 9% short interest outstanding and PACW 15%. Another merger covered is the deal between Provident New York Bancorp (NASDAQ: PBNY) and Sterling Bancorp (NYSE: STL), and the balance are simply too small for us to warrant effort.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014: Oneida Financial Corp.(ONFC)

Oneida Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for The Oneida Savings Bank that provides community banking services primarily in Madison and Oneida Counties in New York, and surrounding counties. Its deposit products include savings accounts, interest-bearing demand accounts, non interest-bearing checking accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company?s loan products portfolio comprises one-to-four family residential and commercial real estate loans, consumer loans, and commercial business loans. It also offers trust and investment services, including fiduciary services for trusts and estates, money management, and custodial services. In addition, the company sells insurance; provides employee benefits consulting services; and offers risk management services to help mitigate and prevent work related injuries. It operates through 10 full service branch offices in Madison and Oneida Counties; and 1 full service branch office in Onondaga County in New York. The company was founded in 1866 and is based in Oneida, New York. Oneida Financial Corp. is a subsidiary of Oneida Financial MHC.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014: Clairvest Group Com Npv (CVG.TO)

Clairvest Group Inc. is a private equity firm specializing in mid market and consolidating industries and add-on acquisitions. It seeks to invest in small and mid-sized casino companies. The firm typically invests in companies based in North America. It seeks to make equity investments between Cd$15 million ($15.03 million) and Cd$50 million ($51.4 million) in its portfolio company with EBITDA between Cd$5 million ($5.03 million) and Cd$40 million ($40.08 million). The firm can make either majority or controlling or minority investments and seeks to acquire between 20% and 80% stake. It invests its own capital and seeks to take a board seat on its portfolio companies. The firm typically exits its investments through market share offering, a strategic sale or sale to a financial buyer. Clairvest Group Inc. was founded in 1987 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Lockheed Martin Beats Estimates, Raises Guidance; Stock Jumps

Another quarterly report, another beat for aerospace giant Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT  ) .

After financial results were released this morning, investors bid shares at least 2% higher as Wall Street's fears over harsh defense-spending cutbacks seemed to fly out the window. Lockheed has outperformed the S&P 500 Index so far in 2013, over the last year, and the last three-year period. 

While sales actually slipped 4% year-over-year for the quarter ended June 30, cost efficiencies enabled the company to boost diluted earnings per share, or EPS, 11% as Lockheed bought back 4.5 million shares for a total of $465 million. Sales, at $11.4 billion, came in far ahead of the $11.1 billion some analysts were expecting. 

Though sales fell from the same quarter last year, the Missiles and Fire Control segment continued to grow, seeing revenues just over $2 billion in the quarter on greater demand from missile defense programs. Lockheed Martin also gave shareholders something to look forward to, boosting diluted EPS estimates for the fiscal year from the $8.80-$9.10 range to the $9.20-$9.50 range. The stock's annual dividend currently sits at 4%.

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Lockheed also reported that it got a $75 million profit boost after settling "contract cost matters" including the canceled program to build a new helicopter for the U.S. president. And deliveries of the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter are ramping up. Lockheed handed over 12 in the most recent quarter, up from three a year earlier.

-- Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.

link

Best Performing Stocks To Buy For 2014

Despite trading lower for most of the morning, the markets made an about-face around 2 p.m. ET, and the three major indexes all closed higher. The S&P 500 was the big winner of the day, after rising 9 points, or 0.63%, but the Nasdaq wasn't far behind, as it increased 0.57% during the day. Lagging behind was the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) , which posted a gain of 48 points, or 0.33%, and now sits at 14,613.

The biggest Dow loser today was Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ  ) , as shares were cut by 1.13%, the direct result of a JPMorgan Chase downgrade. The analyst did, however, raise the price target from $77 per share to $83, while currently shares trade at $81.11. So why the lower rating? Valuation. The stock is one of the top-performing Dow components in 2013, as shares have risen 15.71% year to date.�

Another health care-related stock falling today was UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH  ) . After rising 8.5% this past week, and more than 5% the week before that, shares dropped 0.34% today. The decline is probably just a case of taking money off the table following the stock's performance over the past two weeks. The stock still probably has some room to move higher, and it now seems Obamacare will help rather than hurt the company. In addition, shares seem rather cheap, as the stock's current price-to-earnings ratio is only 11.72 and its future P/E is only 10.35.

Best Performing Stocks To Buy For 2014: Nuveen Municipal Value Fund Inc.(NUV)

Nuveen Municipal Value Fund, Inc. is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Nuveen Investments, Inc. The fund is managed by Nuveen Asset Management. It invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. The fund also invests some portion of its portfolio in derivative instruments. It invests in undervalued municipal securities and other related investments the income, exempt from regular federal income taxes that are rated Baa or BBB or better. It employs fundamental analysis with bottom-up stock picking approach to create its portfolio. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Standard & Poor?s (S&P) National Municipal Bond Index. Nuveen Municipal Value Fund, Inc. was formed on April 8, 1987 and is domiciled in the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Adam Aloisi]

  The following chart takes a comparative look at some widely held ETFs/CEFs holding different types of bonds. The objective is to visualize not only how much these products cost, but also to break down the percent of total yield depleted by management fees. I define total yield as current annualized yield plus net fees - in other words the yield of the fund if there were no management fees attached. The funds we will examine are aforementioned BND, iShares 20+ Treasury Bond (TLT), iShares High-Yield Corporate (HYG), Nuveen Municipal Value (NUV), Eaton Vance Limited Duration (EVV) and Alliance Bernstein Global High-Yield (AWF).

• [By Donald van Deventer]

  The latest implied forward rate forecast from Kamakura Corporation shows projected 10-year U.S. Treasury yields differing -0.07% to 0.03% from last week while fixed rate mortgage yields varied by -0.01% to 0.08%. Mortgage yields, determined by the Monday through Wednesday weekly survey of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, lag Treasury movements simply because of the 3-day yield calculation used in the Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield is projected to rise from 2.92% at Thursday's close (down 0.06% from last week) to 3.374% (down 0.06% from last week) in one year. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield in ten years is forecast to reach 4.639%, 1 basis point lower than last week. The 15-year fixed rate mortgage rate is forecast to rise from the effective yield of 3.69% on Thursday (down 0.001% from last week) to 4.222% (down 0.006% from last week) in one year and 6.29% in 10 years, up 0.038% from last week. We explain the background for these calculations in the rest of this note, along with some mortgage servicing rights metrics. The forecast allows investors in exchange traded U.S. Treasury funds (TLT) (TBT), total return bond funds (BOND), municipal bonds (NUV) and exchange traded mortgage funds (REM) to assess likely total returns over the next 120 months. Treasury-related exchange traded funds affected by the forward rates include:

Best Performing Stocks To Buy For 2014: Vringo Inc. (VRNG)

Vringo, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the innovation, development, and monetization of mobile technologies and intellectual property. Its intellectual property portfolio consists of approximately 500 patents and patent applications covering telecom infrastructure, Internet search, and mobile technologies. The company operates a platform for the distribution of mobile social applications and services, including Facetones and Video Ringtones that transform the basic act of making and receiving mobile phone calls into a visual, social experience. Its Video Ringtones platform allows users to create, download, and share mobile entertainment content in the form of video ringtones for mobile phones; and Facetones is a social ringtone platform that allows users to create social picture ringtone and ringback content in the form of animated slideshows sourced from friends� social networks. The company also provides Fan Loyalty platform that allows users to obtain video and video ringtones, view information on reality television series and stars, and vote for contestants; and Video ReMix platform, which allows users to download an application for iPhone, iPad, iPod, or Android phones, and create their own music video by tapping on various music beats and video files. Vringo, Inc. is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  I'll be honest... I would have thought by now that the Vringo, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNG) saga - the patent lawsuit brought against Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and some of its partners - would have fallen off the radar by now as the market lost interest. On the other hand, I also would have thought by now that the trial would have been completed in its entirety by now. We're close to an end (less the appeal, if Vringo decides it needs to go through with it, or if Google decides to make an appeal of its own); we learned in mid-August the court intends to accept responsive/rebuttal briefs through November 10th, and may after that schedule any evidentiary hearings. But, those hearings will only be held if needed. Soon after that, we'll hear what most have been waiting for nearly two years now ... the actual size of the check that Google will need to write to Vringo Inc.

• [By Harris Schley]

  As the case I/P Engine v. Google (GOOG) is finished in the District Court with regards to past damages, it is time to look at what is at stake in the Appellate Court. Just for a brief review, Vringo (VRNG) was awarded $30.5 million for past damages on November 6, 2012, when the jury came back with a verdict in its favor. The $30.5 million accounted for past damages, but the Judge has recently ruled that VRNG is entitled to supplemental damages including a royalty base of 20.9% of Google's relevant revenue and interest. You can find out more about future damages and the royalty rate in my previous article here. This article is to focus on the issues VRNG is appealing in the Appellate Court [pdf].

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Briefly in the news
  And now let's take a quick look at some of the other stories that shaped our week.

  OmniVision (NASDAQ: OVTI  ) investors are seeing the big picture. Shares of the image sensor maker moved higher after posting better-than-expected quarterly results. Revenue soared 54%, and OmniVision's profit of $0.31 a share blew away the $0.21 analysts were targeting. Nokia (NYSE: NOK  ) is no longer the leading smartphone seller in Finland. Tech tracker IDC reports that Samsung outsold Nokia in its home country this past quarter. So much for the hometown hero. Vringo (NASDAQ: VRNG  ) got another tech giant to pay up, but it won't be much. The company announced a patent-infringement settlement with Mr. Softy in which Vringo will receive $1 million and enter into a licensing deal with the world's largest software company.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Vringo Inc.(VRNG) said a Germany court found that Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE Corp.(000063.SZ) infringed one of its European patents and is required to pay damages. Shares of the small mobile technology and intellectual-patent firm jumped 10% premarket to $3.40.

Best Stocks To Invest In: Go-ahead Group(GOG.L)

Go-Ahead Group Plc and its subsidiaries provide passenger transport services operating primarily in the bus and rail sectors in the United Kingdom. It operates a fleet of approximately 3,900 buses carrying on average approximately 1.7 million passengers every day. The company provides regulated services for Transport for London; and deregulated services in Oxford, East Anglia, the south east, southern, and north east England, as well as operates yellow school bus in North America. It also offers passenger rail services through its Southern, Southeastern, and London Midland franchises. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Best Performing Stocks To Buy For 2014: Ikanos Communications Inc.(IKAN)

Ikanos Communications, Inc. provides broadband semiconductor and software products for the digital home. The company develops and markets end-to-end products for the last mile and the digital home, which enable carriers to offer triple play services, including voice, video, and data. It offers broadband digital subscriber line (DSL) products, such as high-density and low-power asymmetric DSL, and very-high-bit rate DSL products; communications processors that support various wide area network topologies, including passive optical network, DSL, wireless broadband, and Ethernet; and other products for access infrastructure and customer premises equipment (CPE) to network equipment manufacturers and telecommunications service providers. The company?s products comprise digital subscriber line access multiplexers, optical network terminals, concentrators, modems, voice over Internet protocol terminal adapters, integrated access devices, and residential gateways. It primarily s erves original design manufacturers, contract manufacturers, network equipment manufacturers, and original equipment manufacturers through direct sales and third-party sales representatives worldwide. The company was formerly known as Velocity Communications and changed its name to Ikanos Communications, Inc. in December 2000. Ikanos Communications, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.

Best Performing Stocks To Buy For 2014: Crosstex Energy Inc.(XTXI)

Crosstex Energy, Inc., through its partnership interests in Crosstex Energy, L.P., engages in the gathering, transmission, processing, and marketing of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and crude oil in the United States. The company connects the wells of natural gas producers in its market areas to its gathering systems; processes natural gas for the removal of NGLs; fractionates NGLs; and markets and transports natural gas and NGLs. It also purchases natural gas from natural gas producers and other supply sources; and sells that natural gas to utilities, industrial consumers, other marketers, and pipelines. In addition, the company operates processing plants that process gas transported to the plants by interstate pipelines or from its own gathering systems. Further, it purchases natural gas from producers not connected to its gathering systems for resale, as well as sells natural gas on behalf of producers; and through its crude oil terminal facilities in south L ouisiana provides access for crude oil producers. As of February 8, 2012, the company operated approximately 3,300 miles of pipeline, 9 processing plants, and 3 fractionators. Crosstex Energy, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Stocks on the Move: Crosstex Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: XTXI) is up 71.5% at $35.33 on a merger with Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN). Crosstex Energy LP (NASDAQ: XTEX) is up 33.9% at $27.25 on the same news. Voxeljet AG (NYSE: VJET) is up 22.7% at $35.34. J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) is down 8.4% at $6.42, after posting another record low today.

Best Performing Stocks To Buy For 2014: Running Fox Resource Corp. (RUN.V)

Running Fox Resources Corporation, a resource sector company, engages in the exploration and development of mineral resource properties in Canada. The company owns 100% interests in the Brett Gold and Silver Project located in the north Okanagan region of southwest British Columbia. It also has an option interest in the Pincher Creek oil and gas Project located in Alberta. The company was incorporated in 1981 and is based in Claresholm, Canada.

Best Performing Stocks To Buy For 2014: First Liberty Power Corp (FLPC)

First Liberty Power Corp. (First Liberty), incorporated on March 28, 2007, is an exploration-stage company engaged in the exploration of mineral properties. The Company is primarily engaged in the business of the acquisition, exploration, development, mining, and production of domestic strategic energy and mineral properties, with emphasis on lithium, vanadium and uranium.

On May 31, 2012, the Company entered into a purchase agreement with GeoXplor Corp. Under this Lithium Agreement, the Company has been granted an exclusive four year exploration license in regards to the two mineral properties described in the Lithium Agreement. One property encompasses 58 placer claims (9280 acres) located in Lida Valley, Esmeralda County, Nevada for Lithium and Lithium Carbonate exploration (the Lida Valley Property), and the other encompasses 70 placer claims (11,200 acres) located in Smokey Valley, Esmeralda County, Nevada for Lithium and Lithium Carbonate exploration (the Smokey Valley Property).

The Uravan Mineral claims are located within the Colorado Plateau near the Utah-Colorado border. The uranium-vanadium deposits in the La Sal quadrangle occur in the uppermost sandstone of the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation. The Lida Valley Property is located in South Western Nevada, approximately 150 miles north of Las Vegas and within 15 miles of the Montezuma peak.

Best Performing Stocks To Buy For 2014: Skyline Corporation(SKY)

Skyline Corporation and its subsidiaries engage in designing, producing, and marketing manufactured houses, modular homes, and towable recreational vehicles to independent dealers and manufactured housing communities in the United States and Canada. The company?s manufactured homes include two to four bedrooms, kitchen, dining area, living room, one or two bathrooms, kitchen appliances, and central heating and cooling, as well as exterior dormers and windows, interior or exterior accent columns, fireplaces, and whirlpool tubs. Its towable recreational vehicles comprise travel trailers and fifth wheels offered under the Aljo, Bobcat, Koala, Layton, Mountain View, Nomad, Texan, Wagoneer, Walkabout, and Weekender brands; and park models under the Cedar Cove, Cutlass, Cutlass Elite, Deerfield, Forest Brook, Shore Park Homes, and Vacation Villa brands, which consists of sleeping, kitchen, dining, and bath areas. The company markets its manufactured and modular housing to subur ban and rural areas of the continental United States and Canada. Skyline Corporation markets its recreational vehicles to vacationing families, traveling retired couples, and sports enthusiasts pursuing four-season hobbies. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in Elkhart, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon] rch 12, Third Avenue Management sold 55.7% of its stake in Skyline Corp. for a total value of $3,394,689. It now has 361,805 shares, or 4.31% of the company.

  Third Avenue incurred a loss on Skyline. The firm has had the stock since before the second quarter of 2009 after it had been sliding for several years. That quarter, Third Avenue bought it for roughly $20 per share. Since 2009 its stock price has declined 60% and the firm has been mostly selling its shares since then. The stock closed at $7.98 per share on Friday.

  Third Avenue Management was founded by legendary value investor Martin Whitman and manages mutual funds, separate accounts and hedge funds. Third Avenue managers believe that the current balance sheet rather than projected future figures are the best measure of a company�� value. Companies they invest in are also usually cheap and safe.

  Skyline makes manufactured housing and recreational vehicles. Its revenue per share has been declining at a rate of 13.2% over the last 10 years, and 23.2% in the last 5 years. The company has been operating at a loss since 2008, and EBITDA and free cash flow has been negative since 2007.

  NWQ Managers and PrivateBancorp (PVTB) Bob Evans Farms (BOBE)

  On February 29, NWQ reduced its stake in PrivateBancorp (PVTB) by 28.48%. At $14.50 per share, the total value of the sale was $18.8 million. It now owns 3,253,454 shares or 4.49% of the company. NWQ initiated its holding in PrivateBancorp in the fourth quarter of 2009 with 4,334,692 shares at an average price of $12.15. It sold shares as the price rose during 2010, and added 2,008,454 shares in the third quarter of 2011 when its price dropped to an average of $10 per share. On Friday, the stock is trading near $15 per share.

  PrivateBancorp is a small, regional bank based in Chicago. After its stock fell to a 52-week low of $6.44 in late 2011, its 2011 fourth-quarter and full-year results helped push it up 38% to $15 in 2012. Afte

AT&T vs. Verizon: Which Is the Better Investment?

The telecommunications industry is one of the most profitable markets in the world, and the leaders in that market have long proven themselves to be solid stock investments.

Two of those leaders, AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ), are fantastic stock picks relative to the rest of the top companies in the industry, and when you compare them side-by-side with one another you are likely to find one to be a clear winner over the other.

Which one comes out on top may depend on your own analysis (and maybe your personal service provider too), but we'll try to help give you some solid information on both -- so you can decide Who Would You Rather…AT&T or Verizon?

Both stocks have had a very active 2013, with AT&T seeing its highest numbers in February, March, and April and Verizon seeing theirs around the same time in April, May, and June. AT&T saw an increase in shares of about 15 percent throughout that three month period, while Verizon's shares rose roughly 12 percent during their best three months.

That being said, conventional wisdom (and a simple check of the numbers) might tell you AT&T is probably the better stock. But Verizon has been the overall leading company in the market for the last several years, and still is. So does it stand to reason that Verizon is the better stock, even though AT&T has had a better year in 2013? Not necessarily.

Verizon spent the last 18 months putting together a number of partnerships, their most prominent arguably being with Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA). Verizon has been heading up sales of Comcast's cable TV and broadband division, and Comcast has been selling Verizon's wireless products and services. In so doing, both companies have established a loyal customer base that they might not have had the partnership not been in place.

Though that partnership was terminated this past October, it seems both companies reaped benefits from the mock-merger. With customer numbers being as high as they are, as a result of Verizon's partnerships with Comcast and other strong companies like Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), they continue to build a strong case as the better stock.

Then there is the issue of mobile web service. Back in the summer of 2012, Verizon began offering customers 4G LTE wireless connectivity in more than 300 markets -- while AT&T was offering it in fewer than 40.

It wasn't long before AT&T got on their horse and started offering their 4G LTE service in more markets, but by the time they did Verizon had increased its market share as well, and the gap has stayed largely the same ever since. They tried to make up the difference by offering the 4G HSPA+ connectivity in other markets, as opposed to the LTE service, but that actually ended up doing more harm than good -- since HSPA+ is a slower technology than the LTE.

At the end of the day we can't tell you which is the better stock to buy -- or more precisely, we shouldn't tell you.

Only you can decide which of these stocks you would rather add to your portfolio. But hopefully we've helped you to point out the pros and cons of each stock.

Posted-In: mobile web service telecommunications telecommunications industryNews Guidance Markets Tech Best of Benzinga

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

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Senators push for tighter expungement rules for brokers

A bipartisan duo of U.S. senators Monday pushed Finra to provide new details on a process that allows brokers to sanitize their disciplinary records.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) also said Wall Street's industry-funded securities regulator should respond to criticisms that whitewashed BrokerCheck reports could mislead investors.

“We believe that meaningful investor protection includes the disclosure of whether a customer dispute was settled,” the senators wrote. “Not just for transparency sake, but also to help prospective investors make informed decisions about which individuals or firms with whom to do business.”

The letter reignited a debate over the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. system that allows brokers to petition to clean their public disciplinary reports, which was catalyzed most recently by a group of lawyers that represent investors. An October report by the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association, found that Finra arbitrators granted “expungement” at least 90% of the time in the 1,625 cases in which the term was mentioned between 2007 and 2011.

PIABA recommended that Finra itself review requests to clean brokers' records and improve its training of the corps of volunteer arbitrators who currently decide when to grant such requests. PIABA also said Finra should ban settlements containing requirements that investors who file complaints agree to not oppose the expunging of brokers' records.

Top Heal Care Companies To Buy For 2014

Touting their letter as being in the interest of “fair financial markets and transparency,” the senators asked Finra to respond by Jan. 6 to PIABA's recommendations. They proposed draft legislation to empower Finra to ensure that slate-swiping is limited and also asked for details on when and why brokers' records are expunged.

Finra previously has said it shares PIABA's concerns and is providing additional guidance t

On the Job: Trust is key in the best workplaces

Earlier this year, the Gallup Organization asked Americans about the trust they had in various institutions, including Congress.

Congress received its lowest ratingever since Gallup began the poll in 1973. Only 10% of respondents said they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in Congress.

STORY: Top workplaces share trust, camaraderie
COLUMN: You can learn to trust at work again

Those results may not really surprise many Americans, but they might be taken aback to learn in their own work life, their colleagues, bosses or employees may not trust them, either.

Another Gallup survey finds that only 30% of the 100 million full-time workers are actively engaged in their work. That lack of engagement stems from a lack of trust in an organization or a boss, says Nan S. Russell, author of Trust Inc.

Just as a lack of trust among lawmakers slows down business, so does a lack of trust and engagement in the workplace. Gallup estimates that the 70% of workers who are not engaged cost $450 billion to $550 billion a year in lost productivity.

In addition, disengaged and distrustful workers are less collaborative and innovative, Russell says.

"Part of the problem is that we always believe the lack of trust is someone else's problem," she says. "But the answer to developing better trust comes person to person."

That means that a boss who wants to develop more trust within his team doesn't wait for human resources or a corporate training program but instead moves ahead on his own to improve team members' confidence in one another.

"I think the biggest mistake people make when they think about trust is that they get it backwards," she says. "We look for people we can trust, instead of thinking about whether we are worthy of their trust. It's a mindset."

In her book, Russell addresses several issues, such as the kinds of behaviors that diminish trust. If you want to have more people trust you, she suggests you stop behaviors such as these:

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1. Piling on the hype. If you over promise and under deliver, it shows you don't take your words seriously — so no one trusts them.

2. Broadcasting distrust. Dictating to others and micromanaging can convey loudly and clearly that you don't trust others to do what needs to be done.

3. Avoiding responsibility. Maybe you wimp out, make excuses or blame others and refuse to apologize.

But such behavior doesn't portray you as a mature adult who can own his or her actions.

4. Spending too much time covering your behind. Hitting "reply all" and "cc-ing" your boss, your boss's boss and everyone else is not only annoying but shows that you don't trust anyone.

Such feelings also can infect the rest of your team.

5. Being a glory hog. Even if you worked really hard and put together a terrific project, chances are good that you were helped along the way by those offering pointers, ideas, resources and encouragement.

If you don't recognize others for the aid they offer, it reduces trust.

6. Spinning the truth. People have such a dismal opinion of politics right now, and much of it has to do with the spin that lawmakers seem to put on every issue.

Doing the same by deliberately misleading colleagues or being evasive can hurt your personal integrity and the trust others have in you.

7. Wimping out. When delivering a tough message, you hide behind texts or e-mails.

By not stepping up and personally communicating difficult information, you show you don't have what it takes to be trusted.

8. Abandoning self-control. We've all wanted to fire off nasty e-mails or make a snide remark, but personal integrity and professionalism generally hold us back.

If you let snarky comments fly, those personal attacks kill trust.

To engender trust, take actions that benefit someone else, genuinely care about others and be passionate about what you do, Russell says.

"It's all about w! ho you ar! e and how you show up," she says. "You give trust to get trust."

Anita Bruzzese is author of 45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy ... and How to Avoid Them, www.45things.com. Twitter: @AnitaBruzzese.

What You Miss When You Don't Work on Christmas

PORTLAND, Ore. (TheStreet) -- My stepfather worked for FedEx (FDX) from the mid-'80s until the beginning of this year, when he accepted a buyout and an early retirement. This is the first Christmas Eve he'll spend without clocking in, thus ending a family tradition of working on the holidays.

Only when compared to the FedEx, UPS (UPS) and other delivery service employees working on Christmas Day itself does my stepfather's Christmas Eve routine of the last 25 years look ideal. He'd leave at roughly 2:30 a.m. and either deliver packages or direct those who did until just before the family showed up at 7 p.m. He'd have a glass of egg nog, give the toast at Christmas Eve dinner, have a bit of shrimp, crawfish or pierogi and then head straight to bed. By Christmas morning, he was rested enough to put down a bowl of shrimp and half a jar of cocktail sauce by himself, but it still took a while for him to get up to speed.

While it was clear he'd rather be anywhere but the terminal on Christmas Eve, I get a better understanding of why he went in 1995 -- when I took my first job in journalism as a newspaper sports intern at The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J. The National Basketball Association results, horse racing picks and transaction listings don't get a day off, and my first Christmas dinner away from home was spent cobbling together the sports section's agate page and failing miserably in doing so. I had only worked as a reporting and filing intern the summer before and got my trial by fire as a means of giving some of the other folks a night off.

It was terrifying, but it was great in its own right. That night the head of our sports desk, former Star-Ledger editor Rich Guenther, introduced me to the Italian Cheeseburger -- a three-patty burger on a hoagie roll coated in provolone cheese and a bit of marinara sauce and stuffed with french fries. It was served in a round aluminum container that caught excess cheese and fries and was a glorious holiday meal. It wasn't my grandmother's manicotti or my grandfather's candied yams, but it remains one of my favorite holiday meals. On and off for the next decade, I was a Christmas worker. I'd willingly take my spot on the copy or pagination desk at the Jersey Journal in Jersey City or Herald News in what's now called Woodland Park, N.J. -- formerly West Paterson, for fairly specious reasons -- and enjoy a relatively light night of pre-packaged stories, the occasional police brief and one of the grandest traditions in newsroom or office holiday culture, the Christmas potluck. I replicated my grandmother's manicotti as best I could and, in return, received a spread of samosas, barbecue ribs, pudding, paella and other treats that would stuff the kitchenette fridge with enough leftovers for the next night's shift. You'd hear stories about people's families, hear some tough phone calls home and occasionally flip on a Turner channel for the last showing of A Christmas Story, but it actually wasn't half bad. Occasionally, something newsworthy would actually happen -- like the Mars lander disappearing in 2003. It was peaceful, but not lonely. A survey by the Workforce Institute at Kronos Inc. and Harris Interactive conducted last year suggested me, my stepfather and our workmates were decidedly not anomalies when it came to working on the holidays. In fact, just 38% of all full-time U.S. workers took off on Christmas Eve last year, with 28% taking Christmas Day off. Then again, a full 26% of full-time workers said their workplaces were closed for the entire span between Christmas and New Year's Day.  Hey, sometimes the money comes in handy. Holiday pay amounted to time and a half in some cases and double time and a half at more generous employers. Those Christmas presents don't pay for themselves and heating bills only get costlier as East Coast winters wear on. Besides, unless it snows -- as it did one year when I tried to brave a sudden storm on Christmas night and nearly wrapped my Ford Taurus around a tree on West Paterson's Garret Mountain -- the commute's a breeze. It also makes those who celebrate the holiday increasingly aware of those who don't and really thankful to have them around. Eventually, though, it started to wear. When my new employers at the newspaper Metro in Lower Manhattan told me I had Christmas Eve and Day off in 2005, it occurred to me that I hadn't spent Christmas dinner with my family in 10 years. I'd missed my grandfather's last Christmas dinner in 2003 and felt that I probably shouldn't let something similar happen again. After transferring to a Metro outpost in Boston in 2007 and learning that I'd have to find a way up from New Jersey on Christmas morning to produce a copy of the paper that a small fraction of the city would read on the day after Christmas, I fell out of love with newspapers and became fond of the idea of holidays off. I haven't worked a Christmas Day since. While on assignment here in Portland recently, however, I found myself in a radio studio in the middle of that station's employee potluck dinner and felt just a bit nostalgic. Those nights and those shared experiences brought me closer to my coworkers than I could have imagined and made clear that, at least for that night, I had a surrogate family who was as willing to make the best out of the situation as I was. The multiple, steaming slow cookers, the disposable plates and the conference room that smelled like a family dining room all brought back experiences that left a bigger mark on me than I'd thought at the time. They're what you miss when you part ways with coworkers for the holidays, but they're not something I miss enough to trade for my first Christmas Eve beer with my stepfather in ages. -- Written by Jason Notte in Portland, Ore. >To contact the writer of this article, click here: Jason Notte. >To follow the writer on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/notteham. >To submit a news tip, send an email to: tips@thestreet.com. RELATED STORIES: >>Here's Your Thanksgiving Playlist >>Why The NFL Deserves A Thanksgiving Scolding >>Blockbuster's Self-Inflicted Tragedy Is Our Loss

Stock quotes in this article: FDX, UPS 

3 Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Professional traders running mutual funds and hedge funds don't just look at a stock's price moves; they also track big changes in volume activity. Often when above-average volume moves into an equity, it precedes a large spike in volatility.

>>5 Stocks Insiders Love Right Now

Major moves in volume can signal unusual activity, such as insider buying or selling -- or buying or selling by "superinvestors."

Unusual volume can also be a major signal that hedge funds and momentum traders are piling into a stock ahead of a catalyst. These types of traders like to get in well before a large spike, so it's always a smart move to monitor unusual volume. That said, remember to combine trend and price action with unusual volume. Put them all together to help you decipher the next big trend for any stock.

>>5 Stocks Set to Soar on Bullish Earnings

With that in mind, let's take a look at several stocks rising on unusual volume today.

Responsys

Responsys (MKTG) is a provider of on-demand software and professional services. This stock closed up 1.4% to $19.97 in Wednesday's trading session.

Wednesday's Volume: 1.07 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 471,748

Volume % Change: 145%

From a technical perspective, MKTG spiked higher here right off some near-term support at $19 with above-average volume. This move briefly pushed shares of MKTG into new all-time high territory, since the stock flirted with some near-term overhead resistance at $20.17. Shares of MKTG closed just below that level at $19.97. Market players should now look for a continuation move higher in the short-term if MKTG can manage to take out Wednesday's high of $20.33 with strong volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in MKTG as long as it's trending above support at $19 or above $18, and then once it sustains a move or close above $20.33 with volume that hits near or above 471,748 shares. If we get that move soon, then MKTG will set up to enter new all-time high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $24 to $25.

Taminco

Taminco (TAM) is a producer of alkylamines and alkylamine derivatives. This stock closed up 2.4% at $20.84 in Wednesday's trading session.

Wednesday's Volume: 319,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 86,192

Volume % Change: 315%

From a technical perspective, TAM spiked notably higher here back above its 50-day moving average of $20.44 with strong upside volume. This move is starting to push shares of TAM within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if TAM manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $21.93 to $22.12 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in TAM as long as it's trending above Wednesday's low of $19.78 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 86,192 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then TAM will set up to re-test or possibly take out its all-time high at $23.30. Any high-volume move above $23.30 will then give TAM a chance to tag $25 to $27.

AMC Networks

AMC Networks (AMCX) owns and operates several of cable television's brands delivering content to audiences. This stock closed up 2.6% to $64.98 in Wednesday's trading session.

Wednesday's Volume: 1.44 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 755,217

Volume % Change: 145%

From a technical perspective, AMCX spiked notably higher here with strong upside volume. This stock recently formed a double bottom chart pattern at $62.44 to $62.53. Following that bottom, shares of AMCX have started to spike higher and move within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if AMCX manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $65.84 to its 50-day moving average of $66.90 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in AMCX as long as it's trending above Wednesday's low of $63.85 or above $62.44 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 755,217 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then AMCX will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $70 to $72.

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To see more stocks rising on unusual volume, check out the Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

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At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

The Six Gaping Loopholes( Exemptions) to the Controversial Volcker Rule

Don't cry for me Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase. There are so many bloody loopholes in the supposedly tough as nails Volcker Rule limiting profitable trading with your own money that it's totally absurd to fear the future. That's because of the following exceptions to the proposed prohibition against proprietary trading by banking entities.

Herewith the EXEMPTIONS TO THE VOLCKER RULE:

1. Banks will be permitted to engage in the proprietary trading in U.S> government, agency, state and municipal obligations, and "in more limited circumstances" proprietary trading in the obligations of foreign sovereign nations and their political subdivisions. And here's the beauty of this exception; there are more trillions of these securities to trade than there are common stocks outstanding. How do you suppose Salomon Bros. became such a powerhouse bond firm in the old days?

2. Pay attention now to this loophole. US banks like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and their lot will be allowed to do proprietary trading of equities as long as they are risks taken in their "foreign banking entities." This exemption (a victory for all those JPM lobbyists) allows JPM, GS, C, MS and the rest to compete fully abroad with their foreign brethren… competitors, like DeutscheBank, HSBC, Barclays,Credit Suisse, the Dutch and French, Japanese and Chinese banks. All the Americans have to do is organize the trading decisions inside their British, German and French operations as well as hold the securities there as well. I call this the number one gaping hole in the Volcker rule and most likely someday the locus of the next financial meltdown; in highly leveraged Europe.

3. The investment bank underwriting operations in bond and stock IPOs and secondary offerings garnered the following loophole exception; their trading desk inventories must not "exceed… the reasonably expected near-term demands of customers." That seems to leave open a big enough hole to drive a truck through. Who will decide that underwriting position? How will it possibly be transparent to the regulators? And use the Croesus solution; divide the inventory between restrictive America and free as a lark Europe. Done!

4. I challenge you to quantify the amount of "risk-mitigating hedging" the banks will be allowed to do. I laughed out loud about the requirement of the bank to perform a so-called "correlation analysis" as part of the monitoring and recalibration of these hedged trades. I can see the nation will need a supply of correlation analysts to evaluate the "heightened compliance risks" involved in the art of hedging. Do you think the regulators will be able to stay on top of the hedging volume on a real time basis. I'd bet there isn't a chance. Don't cry for me Gary Gensler.

5. The going abroad exemption is a work of genius. The Volcker Rule's summary of an exempt transaction lets it occur with he foreign operations of a U.S. entity, in a cleared transaction with an unaffiliated market intermediary acting as principal or in cleared transactions through an unaffiliated market intermediary acting as agent, "conducted anonymously on an exchange or similar trading facility." I adore the concept of a transaction "conducted anonymously" as a kind of spin-off from a special CIA undercover piece of mischief. Will the public in any way, shape or form know what and how much and where all this anonymous conduct will take place? Please let me know if you are worried about the future of Goldman Sachs.

6. Some clarifying exclusions to the Volcker rule still to be finalized would include "trading solely as an agent, broker, or custodian, through a deferred compensation or similar plans, to satisfy a debt previously contracted; under certain repurchase and securities lending agreements; for liquidity management in accordance with a documented liquidity plan etc. etc.

And the coup de grace; " The final rules would require the banking entities to maintain documentation so that the agencies can monitor their activities for instances of evasion." Ha!

Where Will Nokia Go Next?

With shares of Nokia (NYSE:NOK) trading around $8, is NOK an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock's Movement

Nokia operates as a mobile communications company worldwide. It designs and develops mobile products and services; provides digital map information and related location-based content and services for mobile navigation devices, automotive navigation systems and Internet-based mapping applications; and provides mobile- and fixed-network infrastructure, communications, and networks service platforms, as well as professional services and business solutions to operators and service providers. Nokia operates in three segments: Devices & Services, HERE, and Nokia Siemens Networks.

Reuters reports Nokia has offered to pay the Indian government 270 million euros ($369 million) to unfreeze assets (including a Chennai plant) caught up in a tax dispute.Nokia threatened to pull out of India earlier this year due to frustration over its tax squabble. The government made a settlement offer in July.

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T = Technicals on the Stock Chart Are Strong

Nokia stock has been trending higher in the last several months. The stock is currently trading near highs for the year and looks set to continue. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Nokia is trading above its rising key averages, which signal neutral to bullish price action in the near-term.

(Source: Thinkorswim)

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

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
Nokia options	44.65%	66%	64%

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

	Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
December Options	Flat	Average
January Options	Flat	Average

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

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

E = Earnings Are Mixed Quarter-Over-Quarter

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

	2013 Q3	2013 Q2	2013 Q1	2012 Q4
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	-91.96%	100.00%	13.64%	-87.10%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	-18.31%	-40.38%	-23.40%	-20.68%
Earnings Reaction	10.37%	-0.24%	-12.93%	-8.92%

Nokia has seen mixed earnings and decreasing revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have not been happy about Nokia's recent earnings announcements.

P = Excellent Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has Nokia stock done relative to its peers, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY), Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC), and sector?

	Nokia	Apple	BlackBerry	Ericsson	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	102.30%	6.93%	-51.60%	21.09%	15.01%

Nokia has been a relative performance leader, year-to-date.

Conclusion

Nokia develops and delivers communications products to consumers and companies worldwide. The company has offered to pay the Indian government to unfreeze assets. The stock has moved higher in recent months and is currently trading near highs for the year. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been mixed while revenues have been decreasing which has left investors to expect more from the company. Relative to its peers and sector, Nokia has been a year-to-date performance leader. WAIT AND SEE what Nokia does this quarter.

Using Options to Capitalize on Strong Fundamentals for Gold

My trading partner JW and I had a great talk the other day which spurred to the creation of this interesting and educational gold futures trading article we wanted to share with you.

Throughout most of 2013, gold futures have been under major selling pressure. Gold opened the year trading around $1,675 per ounce. As of the 12/02/13 close, gold futures were trading around $1,220 per ounce which would mean that thus far in 2013, gold futures have lost more than 27% of their value.

Looking back to September of 2011, gold's all time high came in around $1,923 per ounce. In a little more than 2 years, gold prices have dropped around $700 per ounce representing a total loss of more than 36% based on the 12/02/13 closing price. I would say most analysts would agree that gold has been in a bear market over the past two years.

Before we begin looking at a few ways to use the gold etf GLD option structures to take advantage of higher future prices in the yellow metal, I thought I would focus readers' attention on some bullish fundamental data for gold. Let us begin with a chart of the Federal Reserve's Total Assets which is shown below.

The data shown above comes directly from the Federal Reserve's public database itself. Essentially, this is the Fed's balance sheet and its obvious that the money printing has gone parabolic. The Federal Reserve prints money to purchase Treasuries and mortgage backed securities which end up on the Federal Reserve's balance sheet.

Interestingly enough, the chart above illustrates the amount of money the Federal Reserve has been printing since the beginning of 2011. The chart below illustrates the price of gold futures during the same period.

Gold futures have moved lower in price while the Federal Reserve has printed an unprecedented amount of money through the quantitative easing program. It has been pointed out that the flow of liquidity is more important than the total money stock, but these two charts when viewed together are rather odd at the very least. However, we must all continue to remind ourselves that there is no manipulation of any kind going on . . .

Another odd situation has developed regarding the gold miners and the price of gold relative to production costs. The gold spot price has essentially moved down below the average 2013 cash cost of $1,250 – $1,300 per ounce. Price action in gold futures is rapidly approaching the marginal cost to produce gold which is around $1,125. The chart of the various gold production costs is shown below.

Chart Courtesy of zerohedge.com

Gold prices closed on 12/02/2013 at $1,218 per ounce. Based on the closing price, gold futures are less than $100 per ounce away from the marginal cost to produce gold. If the yellow metal's price moves below the cash and marginal cost of production gold mining volumes world wide will begin to decline.

The gold miners have likely already started lowering their production levels at current prices. The production slow down would only accelerate should prices move down below the marginal cost of production. I believe that these production costs will help put a floor underneath gold prices in the longer-term.

It is widely known that there is strong current demand for physical gold coming from Russia, India, and China. If the gold miners began to slow production levels considerably it is likely that physical gold prices could explode to the upside.

Should production levels decline while demand remains at the same level all of the manipulation in the world could not stop gold prices from arriving at their natural market based price. I think most readers and analysts would agree that the natural market based price is higher, not lower from the marginal and cash costs of production.

As many readers know, my primary focus as a trader is in the world of options where I focus primarily on implied volatility and probabilities to formulate new positions. Unfortunately options on gold futures are fairly limited and are not actively traded. However, the options on the gold ETF GLD are very liquid.

With the longer term fundamentals intact, I thought I would posit a few possible trading ideas using GLD options to get long GLD while giving the trader some duration to allow for the time needed for the trade to work.

A fairly cheap way to construct a longer-term bullish position in GLD would be to look at a June 2014 Call Debit Spread or a June 2014 Broken-Wing Call Butterfly Spread.

These trade structures use multi-legged constructions and would essentially allow traders to get long GLD.

Due to the inherent leverage built into options, these positions would not require near as much capital as buying an equity stake in GLD or being long gold futures. The trade structures mentioned above would also mitigate Theta risk, also known as time decay so the passage of time would not have a significant impact on the trade's overall profitability.

In fact, both of these trade structures would actually benefit from the passage of time in terms of profitability down the road. There are a variety of other trade structures that could be used to benefit from higher prices in GLD while simultaneously capitalizing on the passage of time as a profitability engine. Each trade construction carries a variety of different potential risks as well as required capital outlay or margin encumbrance.

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I want to be clear in stating that these trade structures are purely for educational purposes and should not be considered a solicitation or investment advice. Whether we are discussing gold futures, GLD, or GLD options these are all paper investments and they should not be viewed as a substitute for physical gold holdings. Physical gold would likely benefit the most from any supply shock in the future.

In closing, I believe that the fundamental picture for gold is improving by the day. While more downside is likely in the near-term, the longer-term picture for higher gold prices in 2014 and beyond seems quite likely.

In a world where central banks are printing fiat currency at record rates, at some point in the future physical gold prices will no longer be able to be held back from true price discovery.

To learn more about probability based option trading, consider becoming a member of www.OptionsTradingSignals.com for a totally different view of the markets and how to trade options for consistent profitability over the longer-term.

By: JW Jones & Chris Vermeulen