The Mexican, fast-casual dining chain has signed 10 best-selling writers to create ultra-short stories -- up to 250 words each -- that will appear, at least temporarily, on its bags and cups.
The move comes at a time chains in the intensely competitive fast-food industry will do just about anything to distinguish themselves. One method requiring little investment: packaging.
The story concept was the brainchild of best-selling author Jonathan Safran Foer, whose books include Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Eating Animals, and Everything is Illuminated. Among other top authors whose work will appear on Chipotle packaging: Toni Morrison (Beloved), Malcolm Gladwell (The Tipping Point) and Michael Lewis (Moneyball).
Hot Freight Companies To Own In Right Now: Xueda Education Group(XUE)
Xueda Education Group provides tutoring services for primary and secondary school students in the People?s Republic of China with a focus on offering personalized tutoring services. Its services include consultation and assessment, formulation of a customized study plan, personalized tutoring, and delivery of supporting services. The company also provides course offerings that cover various academic subjects taught in primary and secondary schools, such as mathematics, English, physics, Chinese, and chemistry; and self-designed courses beyond the standard curriculum in certain subjects, as well as in subjects not taught at public primary and secondary schools. As of December 31, 2010, its tutoring service network comprised 207 learning centers and approximately 9,650 full-time service professionals, serving customers located in 53 economically developed cities across 27 of China?s 31 provinces and municipalities. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Beij ing, the People?s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
In trading on Friday, non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.09 percent. Among the leading sector stocks, gains came from Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) and Xueda Education Group (NYSE: XUE). Financial sector was the leading decliner in the US market today.
10 Best Prefered Stocks To Watch Right Now: Occidental Petroleum Corporation(OXY)
Occidental Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company primarily in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Oil and Gas; Chemical; and Midstream, Marketing, and Other. The Oil and Gas segment explores for, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and condensate and natural gas. Its domestic oil and gas operations are located in Texas, New Mexico, California, Kansas, Oklahoma, Utah, Colorado, North Dakota, and West Virginia; and international oil and gas operations are located in Bahrain, Bolivia, Colombia, Iraq, Libya, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. As of December 31, 2010, this segment had proved reserves of approximately 3,363 million barrels of oil equivalent. The Chemical segment manufactures and markets basic chemicals, including chlorine, caustic soda, chlorinated organics, potassium chemicals, and ethylene dichloride products; vinyls, such as vinyl chloride monomer and polyvinyl chloride; and other chemicals comprising chlorinated isocyanurates, resorcinol, sodium silicates, and calcium chloride products. The Midstream, Marketing, and Other segment gathers, treats, processes, transports, stores, purchases, and markets crude oil that includes natural gas liquids and condensate, as well as natural gas and carbon dioxide. This segment also involves in the power generation; and trades around its assets comprising pipelines and storage capacity, as well as oil and gas, other commodities, and commodity-related securities. Occidental Petroleum Corporation was founded in 1920 and is based in Los Angeles, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Kelley Wright]
Based on this criteria, here are our current Timely Ten selections:
Chevron Corp. (CVX)��ielding 3.3%
CVS Caremark (CVS)��ielding 1.6%
Coca-Cola (KO)��ielding 2.9%
Baxter International (BAX)��ielding 3.0%
Walgreen (WAG)��ielding 2.3%
McDonalds Corp. (MCD)��ielding 3.3%
PepsiCo (PEP)��ielding 2.8%
ExxonMobil (XOM)��ielding 2.9%
Occidental Petroleum (OXY)��ielding 2.7%
Wal-Mart Stores (WMT)��ielding 2.5%
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- [By Dan Caplinger]
6. Texas
Texas imposes taxes on the poor equal to 12.6% of their income, compared with just 3.2% in tax on its wealthiest taxpayers. Like many of the states on this list, Texas doesn't have an income tax, relying instead on more regressive sales taxes of 6.25% statewide, with an average of 1.89% added on for local taxes. Oil revenue does play a major role in funding state government, with Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY ) and EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG ) far outpacing their peers in total oil production during 2012. But that doesn't keep the state from ranking in the top 30% of states for sales-tax collections, hitting the poor especially hard.
10 Best Prefered Stocks To Watch Right Now: Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones-Provida S.A.(PVD)
Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones Provida S.A. offers private pension fund administration and related services in the Republic of Chile. Its services include collection for individual capitalization accounts, voluntary savings accounts, voluntary pension savings, life and disability benefits, investment services, and accounts administration. The company also holds investments in private pension fund administrators operating in Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. As of June 30, 2005, it operated 134 branches. The company was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Santiago, Chile. Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones Provida SA operates as a subsidiary of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, Chile S.A.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
While America�� middle class appears to be shrinking with little upward mobility, small cap wealth management stocks Noah Holdings Limited (NYSE: NOAH) and A.F.P Provida SA (NYSE: PVD)�plus larger cap Affiliated Managers Group, Inc (NYSE: AMG) are managing money in places where the ranks of the middle class and the wealthy are still growing strong. Specifically, Noah Holdings Limited is based in China, Chile based A.F.P Provida SA is spreading its footprint into other Latin American countries and the�Affiliated Managers Group is growing�a global footprint. For those reasons, you have probably not heard of these wealth management stocks, but here are some reasons why you might want to consider investing in one:
10 Best Prefered Stocks To Watch Right Now: Spreadtrum Communications Inc.(SPRD)
Spreadtrum Communications, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a fabless semiconductor company that designs, develops, and markets baseband processor and RF transceiver solutions for wireless communications and mobile television markets. It offers a portfolio of integrated baseband processor solutions that support a range of wireless communications standards, including global system for mobile communication (GSM), general packet radio service (GPRS), enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE), time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA), and high speed packet access (HSPA), as well as offer an array of multimedia capabilities, such as MP3 digital audio playback, touch screen, JAVA acceleration, digital camera support, motion JPEG, MPEG4, AVS and H.264 digital video playback, and 64-channel polyphonic ringtone playback. The company also provides single-chip CMOS multi-mode RF transceivers that perform across various standards covering GSM/GP RS, EDGE, wideband code division multiple access, TD-SCDMA, and high speed uplink/downlink packet access. In addition, it designs, develops, and markets a CMMB-based channel demodulator and audio/video decoder processor solution for the mobile television market. The company sells its products directly, as well as through distributors to brand manufacturers, independent design houses, and original design manufacturers primarily in China, Hong Kong, and Macau. Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People?s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Brian Pacampara]
What: Shares of Chinese smartphone chip maker Spreadtrum Communications (NASDAQ: SPRD ) surged 17% today after Tsinghua University, through its subsidiary Tsinghua Unigroup, offered to acquire it for $1.4 billion.
10 Best Prefered Stocks To Watch Right Now: Drew Industries Inc (DW)
Drew Industries Incorporated, incorporated on March 20, 1984, is a supplier of components for recreational vehicle (RVs) and manufactured housing. The Company operates in two segments: the RV products segment (RV Segment), and the manufactured housing products segment (MH Segment). The Company�� operations are conducted through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Lippert Components, Inc. and its subsidiaries (Lippert) and Kinro, Inc. and its subsidiaries (Kinro), each of which has operations in both the RV Segment and the MH Segment. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the RV Segment accounted for 87% of net sales and the MH segment accounted for 13% of net sales. On February 21, 2012, the Company acquired the business and certain assets of the United States RV entry door operation of Euramax International, Inc. In February 2014, the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Lippert Components, Inc has acquired Innovative Design Solutions, Inc. (IDS).
RV Segment
The Company through its wholly owned subsidiaries manufactures and markets a variety of products used in the production of RVs, including steel chassis for towable RVs, axles and suspension solutions for towable RVs, slide-out mechanisms and solutions, thermoformed bath, kitchen and other products, manual, electric and hydraulic stabilizer and lifting systems, aluminum windows and screens, chassis components, furniture and mattresses, entry, baggage, patio and ramp doors, entry steps, awnings, and other accessories. The Company also supplies certain of these products to the RV aftermarket, and to adjacent industries, including manufacturers of truck caps, buses and trailers used to haul boats, livestock, equipment and other cargo. Operations of the Company's RV Segment consist primarily of fabricating, welding, painting and assembling components into finished products. The Company's RV Segment operations are conducted at 23 manufacturing and warehouse facilities throughout the United States, located in proximity to the cus! tomers they serve. Of these facilities, six also conduct operations in the Company's MH Segment. It markets extruded aluminum parts to manufacturers in other industries. The Company's RV Segment products are sold primarily to manufacturers of RVs such as Thor Industries Forest River (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, and other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and to distributors of aftermarket products.
MH Segment
The Company through its wholly owned subsidiaries manufactures and markets a variety of products used in the production of manufactured homes and to modular housing and mobile office units, including vinyl and aluminum windows and screens, steel chassis, steel chassis parts, axles, thermoformed bath and kitchen products, steel and fiberglass entry doors, and aluminum and vinyl patio doors. The Company also supplies windows, doors, and thermoformed bath products as replacement parts to the manufactured housing aftermarket, and to adjacent industries. MH Segment customers manufacture both manufactured homes and modular homes, and certain of the products manufactured by the Company are suitable for both types of homes. Operations of the Company's MH Segment consist primarily of fabricating, welding, thermoforming, painting and assembling components into finished products. The Company's MH Segment operations are conducted at 13 manufacturing and warehouse facilities throughout the United States, located in proximity to the customers they serve. Of these facilities, six also conduct operations in the Company's RV Segment. The Company's manufactured housing products are sold primarily to producers of manufactured homes such as Clayton Homes, Cavco Industries, Inc., Champion Home Builders, Inc., Skyline Corporation, and other OEMs, and to distributors of aftermarket products.
The Company competes with Kober Corporation and Dexter Axle Company.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
The CEO of recreation vehicle (RV) stock Winnebago Industries, Inc (NYSE: WGO) recently appeared on CNBC to say that the economy is improving for RV makers, meaning its time to take a closer look at the stock plus take a look at the performance of other small cap RV stocks like Drew Industries, Inc (NYSE: DW), Skyline Corporation (NYSEMKT: SKY) and Thor Industries, Inc (NYSE: THO).
- [By Grace L. Williams]
Shares of Winnebago have gained 4.4% to $28.47 today at 3pm. Thor Industries (THO), which also makes recreational vehicles, has ticked up 0.1% to $57.56, Drew Industries (DW) has risen 0.3% to $48.74, Arctic Cat (ACAT) has advanced 1% to $59.87 and Polaris Industries (PII) has fallen 0.3% to $132.08.
10 Best Prefered Stocks To Watch Right Now: Mohawk Industries Inc. (MHK)
Mohawk Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and sale of floor covering products for residential and commercial applications primarily in the United States and Europe. The company operates through three segments: Mohawk, Dal-Tile, and Unilin. The Mohawk segment designs, manufactures, sources, distributes, and markets floor covering product lines, which include carpets, ceramic tiles, laminates, rugs, carpet pads, hardwood, and resilient. This segment offers its products under the brand names of Mohawk, Aladdin, Mohawk ColorCenters, Mohawk Floorscapes, Portico, Mohawk Home, Bigelow, Durkan, Horizon, Karastan, Lees, and Merit. In addition, this segment markets and distributes its soft and hard surface products through independent floor covering retailers, home centers, mass merchandisers, department stores, commercial dealers, and commercial end users, as well as through private labeling programs. The Dal-Tile segment designs, manufactur es, sources, distributes, and markets a line of ceramic tile, porcelain tile, and natural stone products. This segment offers its products primarily under the Dal-Tile and American Olean brand names through company-owned service centers, independent distributors, home center retailers, tile and flooring retailers, and contractors. The Unilin segment offers laminate and hardwood flooring under the brand names of Quick-Step, Columbia Flooring, Century Flooring, and Universal Flooring through retailers, independent distributors, and home centers. This segment also produces roofing systems, insulation panels, and other wood products. Mohawk Industries, Inc. was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Calhoun, Georgia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Traders Reserve]
Mohawk Industries (MHK) is primed to benefit from strength in housing. Even before January this stock was cheap relative to expected profit growth. Today it is 5% cheaper. Analysts expect the company to grow profits by 27% in 2014. At current prices shares trade for 17 times 2014 estimated earnings. Mohawk is an easy January dog to buy during this recent pullback.
- [By David Goodboy]
The leading company in this industry, Mohawk Industries (NYSE: MHK) boasts a market cap of more than $9 billion, and its stock is up nearly 65% over the past year. However, at nearly $130, the share price precludes many investors from making a substantial long-term investment in the company. Using this performance as a guide, I scanned for lower-priced stocks in the same business with similar performance.
10 Best Prefered Stocks To Watch Right Now: Monsanto Co (MON)
Monsanto Company (Monsanto), incorporated on February 9, 2000, along with its subsidiaries, is a provider of agricultural products for farmers. The Company's seeds, biotechnology trait products, and herbicides provide farmers with solutions that improve productivity, reduce the costs of farming, and produce better foods for consumers and better feed for animals. It manages business in two segments: Seeds and Genomics, and Agricultural Productivity. In April 2010, the Company completed the acquisition of a corn and soybean processing plant located in Paine, Chile from Anasac, a company that provides seed processing services. In October 2009, the Company completed the acquisition of Seminium, S.A. (Seminium), a corn seed company. In February 2011, the Company acquired Divergence, Inc. In September 2011, the Company acquired Beeologics. In June 2012, the Company purchased a planting technology developer, Precision Planting, Inc. In January 2013, it purchased select assets of Agradis, Inc. In June 2013, Monsanto Company acquired GrassRoots Biotechnology Inc. In November 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of The Climate Corporation.
Seeds and Genomics Segment
Through the Company's Seeds and Genomics segment, it produces seed brands, including DEKALB, Asgrow, Deltapine, Seminis and De Ruiter, and it develops biotechnology traits that assist farmers in controlling insects and weeds. It also provides other seed companies with genetic material and biotechnology traits for their seed brands. It has a global distribution and sales and marketing organization for its seeds and traits. It sells products under Monsanto brands and license technology and genetic material to others for sale under their own brands. Through distributors, independent retailers and dealers, agricultural cooperatives, plant raisers, and agents, it markets DEKALB, Asgrow and Deltapine branded germplasm to farmers globally. In the United States, it markets regional seed brands under it! s American Seeds, LLC and Channel Bio, LLC businesses to farmers directly, as well as through dealers, agricultural cooperatives and agents. It markets and sells trait technologies with branded germplasm, pursuant to license agreements with its farmer customers. In Brazil and Paraguay, its has implemented a point-of-delivery, grain-based payment system. It contracts with grain handlers to collect applicable trait fees when farmers deliver their grain. In addition to selling its products under its own brands, the Company licenses a range of germplasm and trait technologies to large and small seed companies in the United States and certain international markets. Those seed companies in turn market its trait technologies in their branded germplasm; they may also market its germplasm under its own brand name. Its vegetable seeds are marketed in more than 100 countries through distributors, independent retailers and dealers, agricultural cooperatives, plant raisers and agents, as well as directly to farmers.
The Company�� row crop seeds brands include DEKALB, Channel Bio, Asgrow and Deltapine. Its DEKALB and Channel Bio are corn hybrids and foundation seed. Its Asgrow are soybean varieties and foundation seed. Its Deltapine are cotton varieties, hybrids and foundation seed. Canola is its row crop variety and hybrid. Its vegetable seed brands are Seminis and De Ruiter. These are open field and protected-culture seed for tomato, pepper, eggplant, melon, cucumber, pumpkin, squash, beans, broccoli, onions, and lettuce, among others. Its Biotechnology traits include SmartStax, YieldGard, YieldGard VT Triple, VT Triple PRO, VT Double PRO, Roundup Ready and Roundup Ready 2 Yield and Genuity. Its SmartStax, YieldGard, YieldGard VT Triple, VT Triple PRO and VT Double PRO have applications for corn, and Bollgard and Bollgard II have application for cotton. It enables crops to protect themselves from borers and rootworm in corn and leaf- and boll-feeding worms in cotton, reducing the need for application! s of inse! cticides. Its Roundup Ready and Roundup Ready 2 Yield have application for soybeans. The Company�� Genuity is a global umbrella trait brand. It enables crops, such as corn, soybeans, cotton, and canola to be tolerant of Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicides. Monsanto also offers farmers stacked-trait products, which are single-seed products in which two or more traits are combined.
Agricultural Productivity Segment
Through the Company's Agricultural Productivity segment, it manufactures Roundup brand herbicides and other herbicides and provide lawn-and-garden herbicide products for the residential market. Its products include Glyphosate-based herbicides, Selective herbicides and Lawn-and-garden herbicides. Its Glyphosate-based herbicides have applications in nonselective agricultural, industrial, ornamental and turf applications for weed control. Its Selective herbicides control preemergent annual grass and small seeded broadleaf weeds in corn and other crops. Its residential lawn-and-garden has applications for weed control. It uses the same distribution and sales and marketing organization for its crop protection products as for its seeds and traits. It also has separate distribution and sales and marketing organizations for its crop protection products. It sells crop protection products through distributors, independent retailers and dealers and agricultural cooperatives. In some cases outside the United States, it sells such products directly to farmers. It also sells certain of the chemical intermediates of its crop protection products to other agricultural chemical producers, who then market their own branded products to farmers. The Company markets its lawn-and-garden herbicide products through The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
In an effort to create�the next generation of advanced weed and insect control technology in corn, Monsanto (NYSE: MON ) and Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW ) have agreed to cross-license technology. Resulting products will be competitively sold by the company that develops them.
- [By Alyce Lomax]
A meme that's recently enjoying some frequent sharing through social media like Facebook�lists well-known consumer brands and companies, stating they are "owned" by genetically modified seeds giant Monsanto (NYSE: MON ) �and therefore, anyone who doesn't want to consume GMO foods should avoid them. Actually, though, it's not really accurate.
- [By Dividend]
Monsanto (MON) has a market capitalization of $51.42 billion. The company employs 21,500 people, generates revenue of $13.504 billion and has a net income of $2.087 billion. Monsanto�� earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $3.928 billion. The EBITDA margin is 29.09% (the operating margin is 23.31% and the net profit margin 15.45%).
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