Takeshi Fujimaki, a former adviser to billionaire George Soros and now a member of Japan's upper house of parliament, said a fiscal crisis in Asia's second- biggest economy is inevitable and neither a higher sales tax nor the 2020 Olympics will be able to stop it.
“I decided to become a politician because I think financial crisis will come sooner or later,” Fujimaki said in a Sept. 24 interview in Tokyo. “This total debt will continue to increase. I don't think Japan can survive until 2020.”
Yields on 10-year Japanese government bonds may jump to 70% based on what happened in Russia when it defaulted in 1998, Fujimaki said. The benchmark yield is now the lowest in the world at 0.68% and the cost to protect the sovereign debt from default is near a four-month low at 62 basis points.
CVR Energy, Inc. (CVR Energy), incorporated September 2006, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, acts as an independent petroleum refiner and marketer of transportation fuels in the mid-continental United States. In addition, the Company, through its majority-owned subsidiaries, acts as an independent producer and marketer of nitrogen fertilizer products in North America. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned the general partner and approximately 70% of CVR Partners, LP (the Partnership), a limited partnership which produces nitrogen fertilizers in the form of ammonia and an aqueous solution of urea and ammonium nitrate used as a fertilizer (UAN). The Company operates in two segments: the petroleum segment and the nitrogen fertilizer segment. On December 15, 2011, the Company acquired Gary-Williams Energy Corporation and its subsidiaries (GWEC).
Petroleum Business
The Company operates a 115,000 barrels per day complex full coking medium-sour crude oil refinery in Coffeyville, Kansas and, as of December 15, 2011, a 70,000 barrels per day crude oil unit refinery in Wynnewood, Oklahoma. Its combined production capacity represents approximately 15% of its region's output during the year ended December 31, 2011. The Coffeyville facility is situated on approximately 440 acres in southeast Kansas, approximately 100 miles from Cushing, Oklahoma, a crude oil trading and storage hub. The Wynnewood facility is situated on approximately 400 acres located approximately 65 miles south of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and approximately 130 miles from Cushing, Oklahoma. During 2011, its Coffeyville refinery's product yield included gasoline (mainly regular unleaded) (44%), diesel fuel (42%), and pet coke and other refined products, such as natural gas liquids (NGL) (propane and butane), slurry, sulfur and gas oil (14%). Its Wynnewood refinery's product yield included gasoline (54%), diesel fuel (31%), asphalt (6%), jet fuel (3%) and other products (6%) during 2011.
The Company! owns and operates a crude oil gathering system serving Kansas, Oklahoma, western Missouri and southwestern Nebraska. The system has field offices in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Plainville, Kansas and Winfield, Kansas. The system consists of approximately 350 miles of feeder and trunk pipelines, 100 trucks, and associated storage facilities for gathering sweet crude oils purchased from independent crude oil producers in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri. It also leases a section of a pipeline from Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. (Magellan), which is incorporated into its crude oil gathering system. During 2011, the Company�� crude oil gathering system had a gathering capacity of approximately 38,000 barrels per day. During 2011, it gathered an average of approximately 35,000 barrels per day.
CVR Energy owns a pipeline system capable of transporting approximately 145,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Caney, Kansas to its refinery. Crude oils sourced outside of its gathering system are delivered by common carrier pipelines into various terminals in Cushing, Oklahoma, where they are blended and then delivered to Caney, Kansas via a pipeline owned by Plains Pipeline L.P. (Plains). The Company also owns associated crude oil storage tanks with a capacity of approximately 1.2 million barrels located outside its Coffeyville refinery, 0.5 million barrels of crude oil storage at Wynnewood, Oklahoma, and lease an additional 3.3 million barrels of storage capacity located at Cushing, Oklahoma and other locations. In addition to crude oil storage, it owns approximately 4.5 million barrels of combined refinery related storage capacity.
CVR Energy has access to foreign crude oil from Latin America, South America, West Africa, the Middle East, the North Sea and Canada. It purchases domestic crude oil from Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas, North Dakota, Missouri, and offshore deepwater Gulf of Mexico production. During 2011, its Coffeyville crude oil supply blend consisted of approx! imately 8! 0% light sweet crude oil, 2% light/medium sour crude oil and 18% heavy sour crude oil. During 2011, Wynnewood's crude oil supply blend consisted of approximately 88% sweet crude oil and 12% light/medium sour crude oil.
During 2011, approximately 35% of the Coffeyville refinery's products were sold through the rack system directly to retail and wholesale customers, while the remaining 65% was sold through pipelines via bulk spot and term contracts. The Company makes bulk sales (sales into third party pipelines) into the mid-continent markets via Magellan and into Colorado and other destinations utilizing the product pipeline networks owned by Magellan, Enterprise Products Operating, L.P. (Enterprise) and NuStar Energy, LP (NuStar). Approximately 60% of the Wynnewood refinery's finished products sold are distributed in Oklahoma. Customers for its petroleum products include other refiners, convenience store companies, railroads and farm cooperatives.
The Company competes with BP, Conoco Phillips, HollyFrontier, NCRA, Valero, Flint Hills Resources, CHS and Shell.
Nitrogen Fertilizer Business
The nitrogen fertilizer business, operated by the Partnership, is the nitrogen fertilizer plant in North America. It utilizes a pet coke gasification process to produce nitrogen fertilizer. The nitrogen fertilizer facility's primary input is pet coke. The nitrogen fertilizer facility includes a 1,225 ton-per-day ammonia unit, a 2,025 ton-per-day UAN unit and a gasifier complex having a capacity of 84 million standard cubic feet per day. Linde LLC (Linde) owns, operates, and maintains the air separation plant that provides contract volumes of oxygen, nitrogen and compressed dry air to the gasifier for a monthly fee.
The primary geographic markets for the nitrogen fertilizer business' fertilizer products are Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Colorado and Texas. The nitrogen fertilizer business markets the ammonia products to industrial and agricu! ltural cu! stomers and the UAN products to agricultural customers. The nitrogen fertilizer business sells ammonia to agricultural and industrial customers. Agricultural customers include distributors such as MFA, United Suppliers, Inc., Brandt Consolidated Inc., Gavilon Fertilizer LLC, Transammonia, Inc., Agri Services of Brunswick, LLC, Interchem and CHS Inc. Industrial customers include Tessenderlo Kerley, Inc., National Cooperative Refinery Association, and Dyno Nobel, Inc. The nitrogen fertilizer business sells UAN products to retailers and distributors.
The Company competes with Agrium, Koch Nitrogen, Potash Corporation and CF Industries.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Robert Rapier]
CVR Partners’ fertilizer plant is located in Coffeyville, Kansas, adjacent to the refinery owned by CVR Refining (NYSE: CVRR). CVR Energy (NYSE: CVI), majority-owned by Carl Icahn via Icahn Enterprises (NYSE: IEP), is the general partner and owns most of the units for both CVR Partners and CVR Refining.
- [By Eric Volkman]
CVR Energy (NYSE: CVI ) is reaching into its coffers to provide additional cash for shareholders. The company has declared a special dividend of $6.50 per share. This will be paid on June 10 to stockholders of record as of June 3. All told, the extraordinary payout will cost CVR Energy roughly $564 million. So far this year, it has dispensed around $1.1 billion in dividends.
- [By Igor Greenwald]
He paid $30 a share for refiner and fertilizer maker CVR Energy (CVI) and that stock has appreciated 43% in 18 months, earning Icahn a total return of $2.9 billion through June.
- [By Brian Pacampara]
Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, petroleum refiner CVR Energy (NYSE: CVI ) has earned a respected four-star ranking.
10 Best Japanese Stocks To Invest In 2015: Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited(CLWT)
Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited, through its subsidiaries and associated companies, engages in marketing and trading air, water, and waste water related process control, analytical, and testing instruments, as well as disinfection equipment and related automation systems. The company distributes a range of advanced air and water pollution control equipment, chlorination equipment, laboratory instruments, analyzers, test kits, and related supplies; and power generation related equipment, including recorders and power quality analyzers. It also manufactures air and water analytical instruments and testing equipment, as well as undertakes air, water, and waste-water treatment engineering projects. Euro Tech primarily sells its products through its retail shops and representative offices, as well as through independent sub-distributors to commercial customers, governmental agencies, or instrumentalities in Hong Kong and the People?s Republic of China. The company was found ed in 1971 and is headquartered in Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By James E. Brumley]
If you're like most investors, you've probably never heard of Euro Tech Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ:CLWT). I have a confession to make - until a few days ago, I hadn't heard of it either. Yet, in just the few short days I've had to get to know CLWT, I've come to the conclusion that if you're the kind of person who would be just as comfortable taking an extra $1000 to the casino as you would be in putting that money into a brokerage account and putting into a crazy stock, then Euro Tech Holdings may be worth a shot to you.
10 Best Japanese Stocks To Invest In 2015: Spdr Kbw Regional Banking (KRE)
SPDR KBW Regional Banking ETF (the Fund), formerly KBW Regional Banking ETF, is a non-diversified investment company. The Fund seeks to replicate as closely as possible the performance of the KBW Regional Banking Index (the Index). The Fund has entered into an investment advisory agreement with SSgA Funds Management, Inc.
The Regional Banking Index is an equal weighted index of geographically diverse companies representing regional banking institutions listed on the United States stock markets. It is created and maintained by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion: 10 Best Japanese Stocks To Invest In 2015: SPDR S&P Russia ETF (RBL)
SPDR S&P Russia ETF (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P Russia Capped BMI Index (the Index). The Index is a float adjusted market cap index designed to define and measure the investable universe of publicly-traded companies domiciled in Russia. The Index component securities are a subset, based on region, of component securities included in the S&P Global BMI Equity Index. The Global BMI Equity Index is a comprehensive, float-weighted, rules-based benchmark that is readily divisible and customizable. The Fund generally invests substantially all, but at least 80%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the Index or in American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) or Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) based on securities comprising the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is SSgA Funds Management, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Barbara Kollmeyer]
As for U.S. investor exposure, the pain was there for all to see as the week wound down. Among exchange-traded funds, the iShares MSCI Russia ETF (ERUS) �and the SPDR S&P Russia ETF (RBL) �each fell more than 6% for the week, contrasting with a 0.1% gain for the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) .
- [By John Waggoner]
First up: SPDR S&P Russia (ticker: RBL), which concentrates on Russian stocks. The fund has more than 16% of its assets in Gazprom, and plunged 7.9% in early Monday trading. Following close behind: Market Vectors Russia ETF (RSX), in contrast, has just 7.8% of its assets in Gazprom. It tumbled 6.9% Monday.
- [By Charles Sizemore]
But what exactly are you buying when you buy Russian stocks? Let�� take a look under the hood at the ETFs that track the Russian market: the Market Vectors Russia ETF (RSX), the iShares MSCI Russia Capped Index (ERUS) and the SPDR S&P Russia (RBL).
10 Best Japanese Stocks To Invest In 2015: Ishares Msci Italy Index Fund (EWI)
iShares MSCI Italy Index Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded securities in the aggregate in the Italian market, as measured by the MSCI Italy Index (the Index). The Index seeks to measure the performance of the Italian equity market. The Index is a capitalization-weighted index that aims to capture 85% of the (publicly available) total market capitalization. Component companies are adjusted for available float and must meet objective criteria for inclusion in the Index. The Index is reviewed quarterly.
The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Dan Caplinger]
4. Italy
Some developed markets have also outperformed the Dow Jones Industrials. Italy's market is up 14%, and even the euro's weakness has given U.S. investors in iShares MSCI Italy (NYSEMKT: EWI ) a 12% gain. Europe has made progress toward emerging from recession, and Italy has recovered more than some of its economically healthier peers because of the close brush with sovereign-debt issues that cut confidence in the Mediterranean nation's stock market substantially. As long as the government can keep debt under control, Italy could keep outperforming the Dow.
10 Best Japanese Stocks To Invest In 2015: TRW Automotive Holdings Corporation(TRW)
TRW Automotive Holdings Corp., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells automotive systems, modules, and components for automotive original equipment manufacturers and related after-markets. It operates in four segments: Chassis Systems, Occupant Safety Systems, Electronics, and Automotive Components. The Chassis Systems segment offers product lines relating to steering gears and systems, foundation brakes, modules, brake controls, and linkage and suspension. The Occupant Safety Systems segment provides airbags, seat belts, steering wheels, and occupant restraint systems. The Electronics segment offers various products comprising safety electronics, radio frequency electronics, chassis electronics, powertrain electronics, and driver assist systems. The Automotive Components provides body controls, engine valves, and engineered fasteners and components. The company offers its products for passenger cars, light trucks, and commercial vehicles worldwid e. TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. was founded in 1904 and is based in Livonia, Michigan.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Vera Yuan]
On the morning of September 15, TRW Automotive Holdings (TRW) announced it was going to be acquired by ZF Friedrichshafen for $105.60 per share. This was of more than a passing interest to us because at the time TRW was the largest holding in Oakmark Select. It was also the culmination of a process we applauded because TRW stock began 2012 at $33 per share, and was only up to $74 at the end of 2013. Over the years, takeovers have contributed significantly to Oakmark and Oakmark Select�� returns. In 2014 both Funds benefited when AT&T offered to buy DirecTV and when Actavis purchased Forest Laboratories. Additionally, Oakmark Fund owned Covidien, which increased from $72 to $92 after announcing its merger with Medtronic. Obviously, we welcome takeover activity in any of our holdings.But when TRW announced news of the acquisition at 8:16 a.m. Chicago time, it took less than an hour ��9:04 to be exact ��for the first law firm to announce its threat to sue TRW for accepting too low a price. Within 10 days I had counted at least 27 similar press releases from various law firms purporting to represent shareholders, threatening legal action to block the takeover. How do you square the law firms all jumping in to protect the shareholders while as a large shareholder ourselves, we were cheering the news?Merger objection lawsuits aren�� unique to the TRW deal. In fact, each of the takeovers we were invested in had multiple law firms trying to block the deals, alleging that shareholders weren�� getting paid a high enough price. And it isn�� just those takeovers. Within minutes of almost any takeover announcement, many law firms race to file press releases. Ten years ago, less than 10% of announced acquisitions of public companies were followed by merger objection suits. Today, almost every deal produces multiple suits. The overwhelming majority of these suits result in zero benefit to the shareholders, but almost all result in payments to law firms. Effecti
- [By Vera Yuan]
Like much of the mutual fund industry, our Oakmark Funds had higher than normal capital gains distributions in 2014. Going into year six of the market advance, there just weren�� many losses left to offset the gains realized on stocks we sold. The Oakmark Select Fund, with a distribution of 12% of its value, unfortunately made some lists of tax-unfriendly funds due to its double-digit distribution. Oakmark Select�� 2014 performance benefited from three mergers: DirecTV (DTV) being acquired by AT&T (T), Forest Laboratories (FRX) by Actavis (ACT) and TRW Automotive Holdings (TRW) by ZF Friedrichshafen. A year ago those three acquirees accounted for 18% of the Oakmark Select portfolio, and their sales accounted for the majority of our gains. Unless we wanted to hold stock in the acquiring companies, there simply wasn�� a good way to avoid recognizing those taxable gains. But given the disconnect between our large distributions this year and our claims to be a tax-sensitive fund family, an explanation might be helpful.
- [By Vera Yuan]
During the quarter, the Fund initiated positions in eight companies and strategically added to positions in sixteen companies. Over the same time period, the Fund eliminated its holdings in six companies and strategically decreased its holdings in another five companies. Positions initiated during the last three months include: Dorman Products, Inc. (DORM), Dover Corp. (DOV), DSW Inc. (DSW), First Niagara Financial Group (FNFG), Packaging Corporation of America (PKG), Patterson Companies, Inc. (PDCO), The Travelers Companies Inc. (TRV), and Universal Health Services Inc (UHS). Positions eliminated during the past quarter include: ABB Ltd. (ABB), Ann Inc. (ANN), Baxter International (BAX), International Game Technology (IGT), TRW Automotive Holdings (TRW), and URS Corporation (URS).
- [By Patricio Kehoe]
Automobile manufacturers have been performing well as of late, largely due to increasing sales pushed by a recovering U.S. economy and growing emerging markets. Auto parts suppliers, such as TRW Automotive Holdings Corp (TRW) and Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI), are bound to benefit largely from rising sales, and thus present themselves as interesting investment opportunities. However, due to their focus on different industry segments, and their current stock valuation, investing in only one of these companies makes sense.
Safety Sells
10 Best Japanese Stocks To Invest In 2015: Hill International Inc. (HIL)
Hill International, Inc. provides project management and construction claims services worldwide. It operates through two segments, Project Management and Construction Claims. The Project Management segment offers construction and project management services, including program management, project management, construction management, project management oversight, troubled project turnaround, staff augmentation, estimating and cost management, project labor agreement consulting, and management consulting, as well as commissioning, labor compliance, and other services. It manages and undertakes construction process, including planning, scheduling, estimating, budgeting, design review, constructability analyses, value engineering, regulatory compliance, development of project procedures, procurement, project reporting, expediting, inspection, quality assurance/quality control, safety oversight, contract administration, change order processing, and claims management on behalf of project owners and developers, as well as on-site management of contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers. The Construction Claims segment provides claims preparation, analysis and review, litigation support, cost/damages assessment, delay/disruption analysis, contract review and adjudication, risk assessment, lender advisory, and expert witness testimony services to clients. It advises clients for preventing or resolving claims and disputes based upon schedule delays, cost overruns, and other problems on construction projects. The company serves the United States and other national governments, state and local governments, and their agencies, as well as clients in the private sector. Hill International, Inc. was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Marlton, New Jersey.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Lisa Levin]
Hill International (NYSE: HIL) shares surged 11.11% to reach a new 52-week high of $5.00 as the company surpassed $1 billion in total backlog at the end of 2013.
- [By Laura Brodbeck]
Monday
Earnings Releases Expected: Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN), United Natural Foods, Inc (NASDAQ: UNFI), Hill International, Inc. (NYSE: HIL) Economic Releases Expected: �Spanish CPI, Italian industrial production, eurozone investor confidence Tuesday
- [By Laura Brodbeck]
Notable earnings releases expected on Monday include:
United Natural Foods(NASDAQ: UNFI) is expected to report second quarter EPS of $0.56 on revenue of $1.64 billion, compared to last year�� EPS of $0.46 on revenue of $1.45 billion. Urban Outfitters(NASDAQ: URBN) is expected to report fourth quarter EPS of $0.55 on revenue of $928.43 million, compared to last year�� EPS of $0.56 on revenue of $856.83 million. Hill International(NYSE: HIL) is expected to report fourth quarter EPS of $0.01 on revenue of $134.74 million, compared to last year�� loss of $0.04 per share on revenue of $110.77 million. Economics
