Why JPMorgan Is Headed Down the Toilet Today

After a quick spike in early trading, JPMorgan Chase  (NYSE: JPM  ) investors quickly started dumping shares. While all of the big banks are struggling this morning, JPMorgan has just come to an agreement on some old business that came back to bite it in the butt. With economic news not helping the market overall, JPM and its compatriots are in for a long fight in trading today.

Economic uncertainty
Investors hate not knowing what's going to happen. And yet that's part of the risk of participating in the stock market. Lately, overall performance has taken a break as investors try to reconcile conflicting economic data with the Fed's future plans for its stimulus policy. This morning's disappointing ADP jobs report showed a smaller than expected increase in private sector job growth. With only 135,000 jobs added, while expectations had rounded out at 167,000, the labor market has yet again given mixed signals to investors. While hiring is still slow, the recovery cannot gain speed, curbing the Fed's choices on reducing bond repurchases.

But the future is still uncertain, and banks are taking the brunt of the negative impact. But while the change in Fed policy may lead to investors pulling back in the market, slowing the recent big gains for banks, the possibility of higher interest rates should be an exciting long-term prospect for bank investors. Interest rate pressures have cut revenue growth and made it harder for banks to produce returns. We'll just have to wait and see how this plays out.

Down the drain
JPMorgan, much like Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) and Citigroup (NYSE: C  ) , is finding itself with new problems associated with old business. While JPM hasn't had to step back into the courtroom like its rivals, it does have to settle some old scores. Because of its sale of derivatives to municipalities back in the day, JPMorgan may be facing up to $1.5 billion in losses. While this pales is comparison to the $8.3 billion case Citi is facing, and the potential $60 billion settlement that could swallow B of A whole, the number is no small change for the bank.

JPMorgan sold derivatives and swaps to the municipality in Jefferson County, Ala., in order to finance a new sewer system back before the credit crisis. County taxpayers were hit hard during the financial crisis when variable interest rates on the debt saw the sewer bill increase and the county bonds were dumped by Wall Street during the credit freeze -- the county eventually had to declare bankruptcy in 2011.

The bank had already agreed to $722 million settlement back in 2009 with the SEC related to its Jefferson County financings, but now the bank has agreed to forgive $842 million in debt owed to it by the county. This move may be detrimental to the bank, but with the majority of its debt forgiven, the county will be closer than ever to exiting bankruptcy.

Just another headline
The news from Jefferson County may not be welcomed by bank investors, but it's just one more example of how old deals can come back and bite a business. And since the total cost of this deal is only a quarter of the London Whale's damage, the banks shouldn't have any problem moving forward, if history proves correct. As a Foolish long-term investor, be happy that this will resolve the issue and the bank can go back on its way.

With big finance firms still trading at deep discounts to their historic norms, investors everywhere are wondering if this is the new normal, or if finance stocks are a screaming buy today. The answer depends on the company, so to help figure out whether JPMorgan is a buy, check out The Motley Fool's premium research report on the company. Click here now for instant access!

Top Safest Stocks To Buy For 2014

Las Vegas is back, and it's just in time for some of the companies relying on a recovery. In May, the Las Vegas Strip saw gaming revenue climb 6.4%, to $505 million, and for the last year, revenue is up 4.3%, to $6.33 billion.�

This is in stark contrast to regional gaming, where casinos across the country are seeing revenue declines because of fierce competition. But Las Vegas plays a different game, drawing customers in for the party, and getting them to gamble while they're there. It's also more expensive to increase supply on the Las Vegas Strip, which has helped keep supply level since the financial crisis.

The next step
The top end of the market has been doing well over the past two years, and Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS  ) and Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN  ) have been the beneficiaries. Las Vegas Sands's Las Vegas�revenue was up 7% in the first quarter, while Wynn's�was up 6.6%. But MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM  ) and Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR  ) haven't seen the same success in the lower end of the market.

Top Safest Stocks To Buy For 2014: Under Armour Inc.(UA)

Under Armour, Inc. develops, markets, and distributes performance apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and youth primarily in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers products made from moisture-wicking synthetic fabrics designed to regulate body temperature and enhance performance regardless of weather conditions. The company provides its products in three fit types: compression (tight fitting), fitted (athletic cut), and loose (relaxed) extending across the sporting goods, outdoor, and active lifestyle markets. Its footwear offerings comprise football, baseball, lacrosse, softball, and soccer cleats; slides; performance training footwear; and running footwear. The company also provides baseball batting, football, golf, and running gloves, as well as licenses bags, socks, headwear, custom-molded mouth guards, and eyewear that are designed to be used and worn before, during, and after competition. Under Armour sells its products through retai l stores, as well as directly to consumers through its own retail outlets and specialty stores, Website, and catalogs. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Fernandez]

  Under Armour designs, develops, markets, and distributes performance apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and youth primarily in the United States and Canada.
  

  You’ve probably seen the company’s “Protect This House” or “Click-Clack” commercials, and probably seen anyone from the weekend warrior to professional sports teams wearing the company’s moisture-wicking synthetic fabrics, which are designed to keep perspiration away from the skin, and regulate body temperature regardless of weather conditions.

  I must admit for full disclosure that I am an Under Armour nut, and own about 20 pairs of their shorts, shirts and shoes.

  I can attest from personal experience as a natural bodybuilder and athlete that the Under Armour apparel are the best workout clothing I have ever worn, and they look pretty darn cool too.

  Now let me make a clear distinction between a great company, and a great stock.

  Up until recently, Under Armour was the former, but not the latter.

  It has now entered into a zone where the valuation metrics, even in the face of a consumer slowdown, is looking more and more attractive.

  In fact, Under Armour just released earnings Monday.

  They were pretty much in line with analyst’s expectations, and then Under Armour slightly lowered their forward guidance for the remainder of 2008 based on those same consumer headwinds.

  The market liked what it heard sending shares up 20% (of course, the overall market was up 10%, so…). Shares have since rebounded further are now up almost 50% from their lows just last week!

  This leads me to my investment thesis in shares of Under Armour.

  I believe that Under Armour represents one of the quintessential brands of this decade when it comes to sports apparel, the way Under Armour’s fiercest rival Nike (NYSE: NKE) dominated the 90’s.

  Until now the valuation of the company was not commensurate with the! projected profit and growth, which I thought were way too high, and still might be, along with certain inventory related problems that the company now seems to be getting a handle on.

  Still, with the spike in share price, along with the uncertainty in the market and overall economy, I feel that we will still be able to purchase shares of this great company at a great price in the near future and that we’re seeing a bit of a short squeeze in shares of Under Armour.

  Why I Like the Company: One of the quintessential brands of this decade; Valuation is reaching reasonable to “cheap” levels depending on direction of consumer market and Under Armour’s stock price; Dedicated and fully invested founder with over 77% voting power via class B shares; Improved business fundamentals via better inventory controls and operational structure, and new product offerings; Further expansion available outside the U.S.; Relatively higher margins than competition

• [By Roger]

  Under Armour (NYSE:UA), a maker and designer of apparel, footwear and accessories that target sports enthusiasts, has more than doubled in one year. But despite the advance, many research firms still have a “strong buy” recommendation on the stock. And S&P recently revised its annual target to $93.

  Technically UA has advanced on a series of stair steps, sometimes called “base moves.”? These are very bullish formations that resemble cups. UA reversed up recently following a signal from our proprietary Collins-Bollinger Reversal (CBR) indicator. If the recent pullback to its 50-day moving average (blue line) holds, then the next move up should break the prior high with a target of $85.

  Traders could take risk positions now with a target of $85 to $90. But be careful and use stop-loss orders to protect against a violent reversal, which could drop prices back to support at $62 where this volatile stock could be bought again.

• [By Glenn]  

  Current Price: $27.27 12-month target: $37

  I see potential in opportunities for new product adjacencies, and expanding distribution worldwide. Footwear growth will continue to increase. Revenues for these products have increased over 69% in 2009. Adding to this I still see growth in Under Armour’s apparel sales, which are up 8%. Under Armor had yet to even break into the international market, which offers a plethora of new opportunities for this growing brand. I believe sales will rise drastically in 2010 driven by international sales, new women’s clothing line, and expansion within their own footwear line.

Top Safest Stocks To Buy For 2014: Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras(PBR)

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. primarily engages in oil and natural gas exploration and production, refining, trade, and transportation businesses. The company?s Exploration and Production segment involves in the exploration, production, development, and production of oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas in Brazil. This segment supplies its products to the refineries in Brazil, as well as sells surplus petroleum and byproducts in domestic and foreign markets. Its Supply segment engages in the refining, logistics, transportation, and trade of oil and oil products; export of ethanol; and extraction and processing of schist, as well as holds interests in companies of the petrochemical sector in Brazil. The Gas and Energy segment involves in the transportation and trade of natural gas produced in or imported into Brazil; transportation and trade of LNG; and generation and trade of electric power. In addition, the segment has interests in natural gas transportation and d istribution companies; and thermoelectric power stations in Brazil, as well engages in fertilizer business. The Distribution segment distributes oil products, ethanol, and compressed natural gas in Brazil. The International segment involves in the exploration and production of oil and gas, as well as in supplying, gas and energy, and distribution operations in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Further, the company involves in biofuel production business. Petroleo Brasileiro was founded in 1953 and is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Sterman]

  Market Value: $173 billion
  Fall from 52-week high: 38%

  This Brazilian oil giant has lost $100 billion in market value since March 2011. That's a lot of dough. The sell-off is the result of a drop in oil prices, slightly stricter government policies regarding oil and gas royalties, and recent moves to issue more stock and debt to help fund business development. (Though the company now vows to stop issuing any more equity.)

  Indeed, this company has been sucking in cash for quite some time, generating a cumulative $40 billion in free cash flow loss in just the past two years. Pretty soon, though, losses will morph into outsized profits when the company's heavy investments to tap massive offshore oil fields finally bear fruit. In 2007, 2008 and again in 2009, Petrobras discovered three new offshore oil fields, known as Tupi, Jupiter, and yet-to-be-named site off of the state of Sao Paolo.

  It's the Tupi energy play that should pique your interest. It's the largest new find of oil since the Kashagan oil field was discovered in Kazakhstan in 2000 and instantly put Brazil's oil reserve base on par with industry giant Norway. Tally up all of its fields, and Petrobas' engineers estimate the country is sitting on more than 12 billion barrels of oil.

  The recent sell-off has put shares of Petrobras deep into bargain territory, trading at just 7.3 times projected 2011 profits and 1.2 times tangible book value.

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks To Own For 2014: Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(The)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides investment banking, securities, and investment management services to corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. Its Investment Banking segment offers financial advisory, including advisory assignments with respect to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense, risk management, restructurings, and spin-offs; and underwriting securities, loans and other financial instruments, and derivative transactions. The company?s Institutional Client Services segment provides client execution activities, such as fixed income, currency, and commodities client execution related to making markets in interest rate products, credit products, mortgages, currencies, and commodities; and equities related to making markets in equity products, as well as commissions and fees from executing and clearing institutional client transactions on stock, options, and fu tures exchanges. This segment also engages in the securities services business providing financing, securities lending, and other prime brokerage services to institutional clients, including hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds, and foundations. Its Investing and Lending segment invests in debt securities, loans, public and private equity securities, real estate, consolidated investment entities, and power generation facilities. This segment also involves in the origination of loans to provide financing to clients. The company?s Investment Management segment provides investment management services and investment products to institutional and individual clients. This segment also offers wealth advisory services, including portfolio management and financial counseling, and brokerage and other transaction services to high-net-worth individuals and families. In addition, it provides global investment research services. The company was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Top Safest Stocks To Buy For 2014: Fluor Corporation(FLR)

Fluor Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, and project management services worldwide. Its Oil & Gas segment offers design, engineering, procurement, construction, and project management services to upstream oil and gas production, downstream refining, chemicals, and petrochemicals industries. This segment also provides consulting services comprising feasibility studies, process assessment, and project finance structuring and studies. The company?s Industrial & Infrastructure segment offers design, engineering, procurement, and construction services to the transportation, wind power, mining and metals, life sciences, manufacturing, commercial and institutional, telecommunications, microelectronics, and healthcare sectors. Its Government segment provides engineering, construction, logistics support, contingency response, management, and operations services to the United States government focusing on the Departme nt of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense. The company?s Global Services segment offers operations and maintenance, small capital project engineering and execution, site equipment and tool services, industrial fleet services, plant turnaround services, temporary staffing services, and supply chain solutions. Its Power segment provides engineering, procurement, construction, program management, start-up and commissioning, and operations and maintenance services to the gas fueled, solid fueled, plant betterment, renewables, nuclear, and power services markets. The company also offers unionized management and construction services in the United States and Canada. Fluor Corporation was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

Top 10 Undervalued Stocks To Own For 2014

Every quarter, many money managers have to disclose what they've bought and sold, via "13F" filings. Their latest moves can shine a bright light on smart stock picks.

Today let's look at Tocqueville Asset Management, a portfolio manager with a contrarian bent, believing that "the best investment results over time are achieved outside the mainstream consensus" and seeking "undervalued companies that possess long-term earnings power."

The company's reportable stock portfolio totaled $8.8 billion in value as of March 31, 2013.

Interesting developments
So what does Tocqueville's latest quarterly 13F filing tell us? Here are a few interesting details.

The biggest new holdings are The Finish Line�and Aeropostale. Other new holdings of interest include biotech company Exelixis (NASDAQ: EXEL  ) , which received FDA approval last year for its thyroid cancer drug, Cometriq. The drug may also get approved to treat prostate cancer, and the company is looking at treating as many as nine different cancers with it. On the other hand, Cometriq is expensive, and the company's debt has been growing, along with its share count.

Top 10 Undervalued Stocks To Own For 2014: Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR)

Dollar Tree, Inc. operates discount variety stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer merchandise primarily at the fixed price of $1.00. The company operates its stores under the names of Dollar Tree, Deal$, Dollar Tree Deal$, Dollar Giant, and Dollar Bills. Its stores offer consumable merchandise, including candy and food, and health and beauty care, as well as household consumables, such as paper, plastics, household chemicals, in select stores, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise, which includes toys, durable housewares, gifts, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, and other items; and seasonal goods, such as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas merchandise. As of April 30, 2011, it operated 4,089 stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 88 stores in Canada. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sam Collins]

  Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) is a leading operator of discount variety stores. The stock has hugged its 50-day moving average since mid-February. But a recent minor revision of earnings for this year by several analysts and the recent market sell-off have resulted in a fall from its high of the year at over $70 to under $66. However, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) increased its price target to $73 from $69.

  Technically DLTR is oversold, according to MACD. A break below its 50-day moving average could result in a pullback to $64, but positions could be taken at the current market price. The trading target for DLTR is $72.

Top 10 Undervalued Stocks To Own For 2014: Schlumberger N.V.(SLB)

Schlumberger Limited, together with its subsidiaries, supplies technology, integrated project management, and information solutions to the oil and gas exploration and production industries worldwide. The company?s Oilfield Services segment provides exploration and production services; wireline technology that offers open-hole and cased-hole services; supplies engineering support, directional-drilling, measurement-while-drilling, and logging-while-drilling services; and testing services. This segment also offers well services; supplies well completion services and equipment; artificial lift; data and consulting services; geo services; and information solutions, such as consulting, software, information management system, and IT infrastructure services that support oil and gas industry. Its WesternGeco segment provides reservoir imaging, monitoring, and development services; and operates data processing centers and multiclient seismic library. This segment also offers variou s services include 3D and time-lapse (4D) seismic surveys to multi-component surveys for delineating prospects and reservoir management. The company?s M-I SWACO segment supplies drilling fluid systems to improve drilling performance; fluid systems and specialty tools to optimize wellbore productivity; production technology solutions to maximize production rates; and environmental solutions that manages waste volumes generated in drilling and production operations. Its Smith Oilfield segment designs, manufactures, and markets drill bits and borehole enlargement tools; and supplies drilling tools and services, tubular, completion services, and other related downhole solutions. The company?s Distribution segment markets pipes, valves, and fittings, as well as mill, safety, and other maintenance products. This segment also provides warehouse management, vendor integration, and inventory management services. Schlumberger Limited was founded in 1927 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dave Friedman]

  Institutional investors bought 66,328,670 shares and sold 64,611,410 shares, for a net of 1,717,260 shares. This net represents 0.14% of common shares outstanding. The number of shares outstanding is 1,250,000,000. The shares recently traded at $74.84 and the company’s market capitalization is $100,986,600,000.00. About the company: Schlumberger Limited is an oil services company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, provides a wide range of services, including technology, project management and information solutions to the international petroleum industry as well as advanced acquisition and data processing surveys.

Top 5 Value Stocks To Own For 2014: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. It operates through three lines of businesses: Machinery, Engines, and Financial Products. The Machinery business offers construction, mining, and forestry machinery, including track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. It also manufactures diesel-electric locomotives; and manufactures and services rail-related products and logistics services for other companies. The Engines business provides diesel, heavy fuel, and natural gas reciprocating engines for Caterpillar machinery, electric power generation systems, marine, petrol eum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications. It offers industrial turbines and turbine-related services for oil and gas, and power generation applications. This business also remanufactures Caterpillar engines, machines, and engine components; and offers remanufacturing services for other companies. The Financial Products business provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels, as well as offers loans and various forms of insurance to customers and dealers. It also offers financing for vehicles, power generation facilities, and marine vessels. The company markets its products directly, as well as through its distribution centers, dealers, and distributors. It was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc. in 1986. Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Caterpillar (CAT) is staging a textbook breakout in May. Shares of heavy equipment maker haven't exactly been kind to investors year-to-date; CAT has barely broken even during a time when the broad market has been in a historic rally. But a textbook breakout should change that.

  CAT started forming an inverse head and shoulders pattern back in early April. The inverse head and shoulders is formed by two swing lows that bottom out around the same level (the shoulders), separated by a lower low called the head; the buy signal comes on the breakout above the pattern's "neckline" level, which was just below $86 for CAT. That puts this stock's upside target right around $92.

  Even though CAT has nearly hit its upside target already (the post-breakout buying has been very quick), the longer-term implication for investors is a break of the downtrend that had been haranguing shares this year. Now, with that downtrend broken, CAT should have more room to move higher. I'd just expect some consolidation first.

• [By Dave Friedman]

  The shares closed at $91.37, up $1.56, or 1.74%, on the day. They have traded in a 52-week range of $63.34 to $116.55. Volume today was 10,450,473 shares, against a 3-month average volume of 9,960,260 shares. Its market capitalization is $59.03billion, its trailing P/E is 15.11, its trailing earnings are $6.05 per share, and it pays a dividend of $1.84 per share, for a dividend yield of 2.00%. About the company: Caterpillar Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets construction, mining, agricultural, and forestry machinery. The Company also manufactures engines and other related parts for its equipment, and offers financing and insurance. Caterpillar distributes its products through a worldwide organization of dealers.

Top 10 Undervalued Stocks To Own For 2014: Tupperware Corporation(TUP)

Tupperware Brands Corporation operates as a direct seller of various products across a range of brands and categories through an independent sales force. The company engages in the manufacture and sale of kitchen and home products, and beauty and personal care products. It offers preparation, storage, and serving solutions for the kitchen and home, as well as kitchen cookware and tools, children?s educational toys, microwave products, and gifts under the Tupperware brand name primarily in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company provides beauty and personal care products, which include skin care products, cosmetics, bath and body care, toiletries, fragrances, nutritional products, apparel, and related products principally in Mexico, South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, and Uruguay. It offers beauty and personal care products under the Armand Dupree, Avroy Shlain, BeautiControl, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics, Nuvo, and Swissgar de brand names. The company sells its Tupperware products directly to distributors, directors, managers, and dealers; and beauty products primarily through consultants and directors. As of December 26, 2009, the Tupperware distribution system had approximately 1,800 distributors, 61,300 managers, and 1.3 million dealers; and the sales force representing the Beauty businesses approximately 1.1 million. The company was formerly known as Tupperware Corporation and changed its name to Tupperware Brands Corporation in December 2005. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sam Collins]

  Household name Tupperware Brands Corp. (NYSE:TUP) is a global direct seller of products with multiple brands through an independent sales force of 2.4 million people. Its product line focuses on kitchen storage and serving solutions, as well as personal-care products. Over 60% of sales in 2011 are expected to come from Europe and Asia, and the stock has appeal as an emerging markets story.

  S&P estimates that 2011 earnings will increase to $4.54 versus $3.53 in 2010, and it increased its rating to a “five-star strong buy” with a recently revised 12-month target of $81, up from $73. The 2005 purchase of Sara Lee’s (NYSE:SLE) direct-sales business, which has a high growth rate, should be a long-term benefit. TUP’s annual dividend yield is 1.92%.

  Technically TUP had a pullback following a new high at over $70 and is currently oversold. Buy TUP at the current market price with a trading target of $70, but longer term a much higher target will likely be attained.

10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now

Back on April 2nd, esteemed Seeking Alpha contributor Hawkinvest penned a piece wherein he posited there were five reasons why General Electric (GE) shares could have potentially significant downside risks from current levels. His reasons are as follows: 1) GE's relative underperformance over the past month or so 2) GE's decline during the financial crisis means it is not worthy of the "blue chip" moniker it covets 3) GE's dependence upon a booming global economy 4) GE's debt load 5) GE's payout ratio. Now, I won't go through his points in depth as you can read them for yourself but I've captured the essence of his arguments above. I intend to use this article to express my variant view on the author's theses and to counter them with bullish arguments.

Before I begin, I'd like to mention that I have a tremendous amount of respect for Hawkinvest and his work; I don't intend to be harsh or overly critical here, I just wanted to bring a differing viewpoint to the discussion.

10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now: Chevron Corporation(CVX)

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment involves in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products; marketing of crude oil and refined products primarily under the Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex brand names; transportation of crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacture and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives. It a lso produces and markets coal and molybdenum; and holds interests in 13 power assets with a total operating capacity of approximately 3,100 megawatts, as well as involves in cash management and debt financing activities, insurance operations, real estate activities, energy services, and alternative fuels and technology business. Chevron Corporation has a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Goodwin]

  Chevron (CVX-N94.663.183.48%) is the world's second-largest energy company, after fellow Dow component Exxon Mobil (XOM-N73.951.121.54%).

  But, analysts favour Chevron's stock, which receives positive reviews from 76 per cent of researchers in coverage. In contrast, Exxon receives positive reviews from 42 per cent of analysts, ranking third-worst in the Dow. Chevron is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results on Jan. 28. Its third-quarter adjusted earnings tally of $1.87 (reflecting 8.7 per cent year-over-year growth) missed the consensus forecast of $2.15 by 13 per cent, sending shares down modestly. The sales figure, at $49-billion, missed by 1.9 per cent. Chevron has integrated global operations and sells at a peer discount.

  Its stock trades at a trailing earnings multiple of 11, a forward earnings multiple of 8.9, a book value multiple of 1.8, a sales multiple of 1 and a cash flow multiple of 6.2, 43 per cent, 52 per cent, 58 per cent, 67 per cent and 32 per cent discounts to oil-and-gas industry averages. Based on forward earnings, Chevron is the fourth cheapest Dow stock. It also pays a 72-cent quarterly dividend, translating to a 3.1 per cent dividend yield, seventh highest in the Dow. It has boosted the payout 7.9 per cent a year, on average, over a three-year span and 10 per cent a year, on average, over a five-year span. Chevron has $15-billion of cash, compared to $11-billion of debt.

  Bullish Scenario: Macquarie expects Chevron's stock to rise 21 per cent to $114 in 12 months.

  Bearish Scenario: JPMorgan, despite rating Chevron “overweight”, has a $90 target.

• [By Hawkinvest]

  Chevron Corporation (CVX) is a leading integrated energy company with exposure to oil, natural gas, refining, etc. This could be one of the most undervalued stocks in the market. Chevron pays a dividend that beats many other stock and bond yields, plus it has a below market price to earnings ratio of about 8 times earnings. The average stock in the S&P 500 Index currently trades for over 12 times earnings. If oil prices continue to rise, the already healthy profit estimates for Chevron might be too low. With oil prices showing strength this early in the season, Chevron could be poised to beat earnings in the coming months. However, the stock is trading at the upper end of the recent trading range. Recently, it has been possible to buy this stock at about $102 per share, so waiting for dips could pay off.

  Here are some key points for CVX:

  Current share price: $104.25

  The 52 week range is $85.63 to $110.01

  Earnings estimates for 2012: $12.66 per share

  Earnings estimates for 2013: $13.20 per share

  Annual dividend: $3.42 per share which yields 3.1%

• [By Louis Navellier]

  Chevron (NYSE:CVX) provides support to its subsidiaries in the following fields: petroleum operations, chemicals operations, mining operations, power generation and energy services. While many stocks on the NYSE have underperformed in 2011, Chevron stock is up 8% year to date.

10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now: Philip Morris International Inc(PM)

Philip Morris International Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside of the United States. Its international product brand line comprises Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, Chesterfield, Bond Street, Lark, Muratti, Next, Philip Morris, and Red & White. The company also offers its products under the A Mild, Dji Sam Soe, and A Hijau in Indonesia; Diana in Italy; Optima and Apollo-Soyuz in the Russian Federation; Morven Gold in Pakistan; Boston in Colombia; Belmont, Canadian Classics, and Number 7 in Canada; Best and Classic in Serbia; f6 in Germany; Delicados in Mexico; Assos in Greece; and Petra in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It operates primarily in the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The company is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MelvinPasternak]

  Philip Morris International Inc. (PM), through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cigarettes and other tobacco products. The company has raised distributions since the spin-off from Altria Group in 2008. The last dividend increase was 20.30% to 77 cents/share. Analysts are expecting that Philip Morris International will earn $5.22/share in 2012. I expect that the quarterly distribution will reach 85 cents/share in 2012. Yield: 3.90%

• [By Louis Navellier]

  Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) is involved with the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in over 180 countries across the globe. Year to date, PM stock is up 16%, compared to a loss of nearly 2% for the Dow Jones.

Top 10 Biotech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL)

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. It offers oral care products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouth rinses, as well as dental floss and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals; personal care products, such as liquid hand soap, shower gels, bar soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, shampoos, and conditioners; and home care products comprising laundry and dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, bleaches, dishwashing liquids, and oil soaps. The company offers its oral, personal, and home care products under the Colgate Total, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate 360 Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Hesler]

  Colgate-Palmolive Company(NYSE: CL), together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. This dividend champion has raised distributions for 48 years in a row and currently yields 2.80%.

• [By Louis Navellier]

  Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) is a staple of consumer products, selling its oral, personal, home care and pet nutrition products in over 200 countries. A nice year-to-date return of 16% has helped keep Colgate stock holders happy all year.

• [By ChuckCarlson]

  Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL), together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. The company has raised distributions for 48 years in a row. The 10 year annual dividend growth rate is 12.40%/year. The last dividend increase was 9.40% to 58 cents/share. Analysts are expecting that Colgate Palmolive will earn $5.52/share in 2012. I expect that the quarterly dividend will be raised to 64 cents/share in 2012. Yield: 2.60%

10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now: Apple Inc.(AAPL)

Apple Inc., together with subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication and media devices, and portable digital music players, as well as sells related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications worldwide. The company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, retail stores, direct sales force, third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. In addition, it sells third-party Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores; and digital content and applications through the iTunes Store. The company sells its products to consumer, small and mid-sized business, education, enterprise, government, and creative markets. As of September 25, 2010, it had 317 retail stores, including 233 stores in the United States and 84 stores internationally. The company, formerly known as Apple Computer, Inc., was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Kathy Kristof]

  Headquarters: Cupertino, Cal.
  
  52-Week High: $701.91
  
  52-Week Low: $362.02
  
  Annual Sales: $108.3 bill.
  
  Projected Earnings Growth: 23% annually over the next five years 
  
  Apple led Kiplinger’s list of top stocks back in January 2011, when its share price was a mere $330. And at more than double that price today, Apple shares still appear to be bargain-priced. 
  
  The stock has a number of additional catalysts. The company just won a patent suit against arch rival Samsung that is likely to force Apple’s key competitors to revamp their handsets. The verdict couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. Millions of Apple loyalists are ready to upgrade to Apple’s new iPhone, introduced on September 12. Moreover, Apple has barely cracked China’s market, which is likely to generate additional profit growth for years to come. 
  
  Of course, Apple can’t maintain an astronomical growth rate forever. But even if the company can simply achieve analysts' expectations for the next three to five years, you’ll want to have the stock in your portfolio for a long time to come.

• [By Kevin M. O'Brien]

  Apple Inc. (AAPL) will reach $500.00/share at some point in 2012. I view Apple as trading at an extreme discount right now. I am expecting to see a run-up in price ahead of the company's next earnings call on January 17, 2012. I am also expecting that this earnings release is going to be absolutely fantastic. It would be a wise choice to block out all the negative rumors and sentiment surrounding Apple right now. This is a stock that is so attractively priced right now that it will not stay at this level for very long. Check back with me after January 17th next year.

• [By Jim Jubak]

   Not all my picks for 2013 are riding trends. Some, including Apple (AAPL), make their own trends. If Apple's remarkable and maddening stock performance in 2012 demonstrated anything, it was that this stock dances to its own music. Apple shares are capable of climbing when everything else is tumbling and of plunging while the rest of the market is slowly moving ahead.

  The stock ended 2012 in deep retreat as sentiment, rather than fundamentals, turned against it. (And sentiment on this baby can quickly go into reverse.) Apple fell from $589 on Nov. 11 to $509 on Dec. 14 -- and that's after a plunge from $702 on Sept. 19 to $526 on Nov. 15.

  Investors sold Apple at the end of 2012 on downgrades from Wall Street analysts that cited order reductions to Apple suppliers. But curiously, sellers seem not to have read all the way through these opinions. For example, the analyst at Canaccord Genuity who cut his target price to $750 from $800 (while maintaining a buy rating) wrote that reduced orders to iPhone suppliers could be a result of softer-than-expected sales in international markets or Apple's intention to launch a new iPhone model in June. Other technology analysts,most notably Horace Dediu on Asymco, have argued that Apple is moving to a six-month cycle from a new-model-every-year cycle. This would be a huge change, and I find the argument convincing.

10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)

McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Quickel]

  McDonald's, is just such a solid stock with the combination of growth, safety and income. We believe that MCD should be headed to $110 this year, which will not be as strong as some of our other targets. Yet, we also will be picking up a solid 2.8% yield that is attractive. Further, MCD has done a great job dealing with currency issues and has not seen a slowdown despite issues in Europe and China. We believe that MCD will continue to offer growth and value this year, and we like it to offset value and growth plays with income investing.

  Entry: $99.58

  Allocation: $2500

  Target: $105, $110

• [By Jeff Reeves]

  McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) isn’t quite as dramatic as Apple when it comes to stock performance. The company has “only” doubled since 2007 and “only” tripled since 2005 — compared with 330% gains since 2007 and 900% gains since 2005 for Apple.

  But you have to admit, those gains still are incredibly impressive — especially for a mammoth blue chip like McDonald’s that is dominant worldwide.

  Also worth consideration is the fact that, since 2007, McDonald’s has paid dividends totaling $9.26 per share. Since McDonald’s stock was trading around $45 four years ago, that means on top of doubling your money via the share appreciation, you would have gotten back about 20% of your initial investment via dividends alone. Or if you reinvested those funds, you really could have supercharged your returns even more.

  Looking forward, McDonald’s shows no signs of slowing down. It has surpassed analysts’ expectations in?four of its past five earnings reports, most recently with second-quarter numbers boasting a 15% increase in profits. While its revenue has risen at a modest 3.6% annual rate during the past five years, net income has surged at a 14.6% annual rate — proving MCD can maintain margins and grow profits even if sales don’t soar.

  McDonald’s, like Apple, knows how to deliver small-cap gains despite its blue-chip size. That makes this pick a keeper.

• [By ETF_Authority]

  McDonald’s Corporation (MCD), together with its subsidiaries, operates as a foodservice retailer worldwide. The company has raised distributions for 35 years in a row. The 10 year annual dividend growth rate is 26.50%/year. The last dividend increase was 14.75% to 70 cents/share. Analysts are expecting that McDonald's will earn $5.73/share in 2012. I expect that the quarterly dividend will reach 77 cents/share in 2012. Yield: 2.80%

• [By Brian Gorban]

   Fast food giant and world-renowned company McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) is undoubtedly a name you’ve heard of, as “the golden arches” are ubiquitous--and with good reason: The company operates over 33,000 restaurants in 119 countries. With over $27 billion in revenue and a market capitalization near $90 billion, McDonald’s is simply a juggernaut and should continue to be a beneficiary of the global growth story happening predominately in the “BRIC” (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries in the years and decades to come.

  Of course, those countries have not been spared the current economic carnage and that has caused the company to miss the past two quarters’ consensus estimates, but that has created a buying opportunity. With the stock trading not far above its $83.31 52-week low, McDonald’s is now yielding an attractive 3.5% dividend yield, and with a low 54% payout ratio, look for the dividend to not only be safe but be raised in the near future. Add in the fact that the company has a comparatively and historically low 16x forward and trailing P/E, and I think MCD should serve investors well for the long-term while one can wait and happily collect the nice 3.5% dividend.

10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM)

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. Its Global Technology Services segment provides IT infrastructure and business process services, including strategic outsourcing, process, integrated technology, and maintenance services, as well as technology-based support services. The company?s Global Business Services segment offers consulting and systems integration, and application management services. Its Software segment offers middleware and operating systems software, such as WebSphere software to integrate and manage business processes; information management software for database and enterprise content management, information integration, data warehousing, business analytics and intelligence, performance management, and predictive analytics; Tivoli software for identity management, data security, storage management, and datacenter automation; Lotus software for collaboration, messaging, and so cial networking; rational software to support software development for IT and embedded systems; business intelligence software, which provides querying and forecasting tools; SPSS predictive analytics software to predict outcomes and act on that insight; and operating systems software. Its Systems and Technology segment provides computing and storage solutions, including servers, disk and tape storage systems and software, point-of-sale retail systems, and microelectronics. The company?s Global Financing segment provides lease and loan financing to end users and internal clients; commercial financing to dealers and remarketers of IT products; and remanufacturing and remarketing services. It serves financial services, public, industrial, distribution, communications, and general business sectors. The company was formerly known as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. and changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. IBM was founded in 1910 and is based in Armonk, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul]

  IBM. Emerging markets are a big growth driver for this computer systems and software provider. Not only that, Resendes says, IBM has "a bullet-proof balance sheet that will allow it to weather the current storm and position it for superior growth and profitability in the long term." He thinks the stock, which recently traded at $93, is worth $120 a share: ''There are some obvious companies that offer much bigger discounts, but you have to incorporate the safety factor. You're getting a premium company here that's a good spot to be in within the tech space."

• [By Peter Hughes]

  International Business Machines (IBM) -- our aggressive pick for the year -- is one of the world's most dominant technology companies, with annual revenues of $105 billion and net income of $16 billion.

10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now: Visa Inc.(V)

Visa Inc., a payments technology company, engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company owns and operates VisaNet, a global processing platform that provides transaction processing services. It also offers a range of payments platforms, which enable credit, charge, deferred debit, debit, and prepaid payments, as well as cash access for consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company provides its payment platforms under the Visa, Visa Electron, PLUS, and Interlink brand names. In addition, it offers value-added services, including risk management, issuer processing, loyalty, dispute management, value-added information, and CyberSource-branded services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeff Reeves]

  Despite a very rough 2011 so far, payment processor Visa (NYSE:V) is right there beside Apple with gains of nearly 30% since the first of the year. Visa stock continues to set 52-week highs and is within striking distance of new all-time highs above $97.

  Visa doesn’t have quite the track record of many blue chips, having only gone public in 2008. However, there are some big reasons to expect that the recent growth is not just a flash in the pan.

  For starters, the demographic trends are hard to ignore. The percentage of cashless transactions continues to rise. Despite rapid growth from fees for payment processing, 40% of all transactions in the U.S. still are done with cash or paper checks. That’s to say nothing of rapid growth of debit and credit card business in emerging markets. Visa’s logo is everywhere and will only be accepted in more places as the months go by.

  And don’t forget, Visa is not a financial stock. Service fees account for more than one-third of revenue — meaning the stock is little more than a toll-taker on the road between a merchant and a customer’s checking account. It is not exposed to bad debt the way financial stocks like Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and others are.

  Visa has seen year-over-year earnings growth every single quarter since going public, and it should keep up that growth. Additionally, revenue was up 17% from fiscal 2009 to fiscal 2010 and is forecast to jump another 12% in fiscal 2011.

  There is big growth to be had at Visa. It might not be Apple, but its strong growth potential and dominant brand make it a go-to stock for large-cap investors.

Why Isn't the Dow Bouncing Back More?

On countless occasions during the past four years, the stock market has responded to substantial short-term drops by recovering all of its losses in fairly short order. Yet when you look at what happened this morning, you get a troubling sign that the trend toward immediate gratification might finally have reversed itself. After climbing as much as 100 points, the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) gave up much of those gains despite comments from St. Louis Fed President James Bullard that explained his dissent in Wednesday's Fed decision. Yet rather than appeasing investors by making it clear that the Fed is considering both sides of the monetary-policy debate, the comments only added to concerns about how the Fed can address disparate views among policymakers. At 10:50 a.m. EDT, the Dow was up about 33 points.

One problem holding the Dow back from a recovery involves renewed concerns about long-running scandals. For instance, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) leads the Dow's decliners with a 2.7% drop as banking regulators consider doubling the minimum capital requirements for it and several other large banks. The move could force B of A, Citigroup (NYSE: C  ) , and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) to stop paying dividends until their capital reserves rise enough to meet the new standards. Further, given reports that one investigator has found that mortgage-servicing companies have provided inaccurate information to the financial institutions that act as trustees for mortgage-bond investors, banks that have already suffered greatly from billions of dollars in lawsuit settlements could potentially see further hits. Citigroup has fallen the most of the three, down 3.6%, while JPMorgan's loss is minimal at 0.8%.

On the other side of the coin, though, is strong performance from consumer stocks. Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG  ) is leading the Dow upward with gains of about 2%. After confounding conservative investors who had hoped the stock would provide better protection against downturns than it has, P&G is finally seeing its valuation return closer to levels at which defensive investors can feel more confident of their beneficial traits in resisting downturns. Consumers aren't nearly as quick to respond to changing economic conditions as the stock market is, so investors can expect consumer-facing companies to hold up well so long as their customers don't lose their own optimism about the economic recovery.

The Dow's failure to bounce back more convincingly after a two-day, 550-point drop is troubling to short-term traders who look for greater conviction after steep losses. But for long-term investors seeking better investing opportunities, the best news in the world would be further stock market losses, even in the face of improving fundamentals for promising companies.

Bank of America's stock doubled in 2012. Is there more yet to come? With significant challenges still ahead, it's critical to have a solid understanding of this megabank before adding it to your portfolio. In The Motley Fool's premium research report on B of A, analyst Anand Chokkavelu, CFA, and financials bureau chief Matt Koppenheffer lift the veil on the bank's operations, detailing three reasons to buy and three reasons to sell. Click here now to claim your copy.

Banks Are Scared of Their Own Investors

When making an investment decision, prudent investors seek to understand exactly how a company makes its money and what risks, current and future, could derail the company's earning potential. To do that, investors of public companies need information. 

Banks apparently don't see it that way. Quietly hiding behind industry lobbying groups, banks are fighting regulations that would require increased granularity in fee income sources in their quarterly financial reports.

After witnessing banks like Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC  ) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) pay hundreds of millions of dollars for malpractices surrounding these very fees, and as TD Bank (NYSE: TD  ) pre-emptively refunds customers before regulators force the issue, it's clear that this granularity is needed.

In the video below, Motley Fool contributor Jay Jenkins discusses how the new regulatory landscape is more pertinent than ever for investors, as the risk of millions of dollars of fines and reputation risk to the franchise warrant the increased disclosures.

With so much of the financial industry getting bad press these days, it may be a greedy when others are fearful moment. Not surprisingly, some of Warren Buffett's biggest investments are in the space. In the Motley Fool's free report, "The Stocks Only the Smartest Investors Are Buying," you can learn about a small, under-the-radar bank that's too tiny for Buffett's billions. Too bad, because it has better operating metrics than his favorites. Just click here to keep reading.

Why Citigroup Is Trading Up Solidly Today

After the thrashing it took last week, Citigroup (NYSE: C  ) stock is trading up today, a full 2.15% about two hours into trading, as markets look for some clarity from the Federal Reserve -- which they may just get.

Waiting for Bernanke
This Wednesday, the Fed's Open Market Committee will meet. The FOMC is where Fed monetary policy is made. It's the minutes from these meetings investors pour over to divine the central bank's future intentions.

And the future intentions on everyone's mind right now is the fate of quantitative easing: the Fed's monthly bond-purchase program, and possibly the driving force behind the country's nascent economic recovery. Bernanke himself has said on several occasions that QE will be tapered back as the economy improves, and investors fear that time might be now.

Foolish bottom line
The Fed has been expanding its balance sheet in the hopes of boosting the U.S. economy since September 2013, to the tune of $85 billion per month. About half of that goes to the purchase of mortgage-backed securities, in the hopes of boosting the housing market in particular, which can contribute as much as 18% to GDP when it's going strong -- which it is right now.

In addition, unemployment is down, and the country has seen positive economic growth while the eurozone languishes in recession. QE can't go on forever, but investors fear its removal. Though it hasn't been around for very long, QE feels like it's always been there.

So the markets have been risk-on, risk-off a lot lately. Investors want some certainty, but whatever the Fed says on Wednesday, there will be none of that. QE will start to go away, probably this year; it's a matter of when, not if. In the meantime, investors should look toward the companies they're invested in in particular for focus, direction, and certainty.

In that regard, Citi investors should feel quite secure. The superbank has come a long way since the financial crisis. Both revenue and earnings were up on a year-over-year basis for the first quarter of 2013, Citi has a strong overseas presence -- which I believe will be one of its greatest strengths moving forward -- and it has a steady-Eddie banker's banker in charge now:  Michael Corbat.

So take a long-term view of Citi, fellow Fools, as you should with all of your investments. Tune out the market noise, and tune into the fundamentals of the companies you're invested in. Leave the obsessive ticker checking to the day traders. Your portfolio will thank you, even if your broker won't. 

Looking for in-depth analysis on Citi?
Then look no further than our new premium report. Inside, Motley Fool senior banking analyst Matt Koppenheffer cracks the superbank's code: revealing how it makes money, how profitable it is, and what areas investors need to watch going forward. He'll also give you three reasons to buy and three reasons to sell. And with quarterly updates included, this premium report could quite literally be the last source of investment research you'll ever need on Citigroup. For immediate access, simply click here now.

How Google Infiltrates the iPhone

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) has been working hard to rid its iOS platform of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) services. The Siri personal assistant wants to replace Google searches in many cases, and then there's the Apple Maps debacle that followed when Google's mapping app was given the boot from your default iPhone and iPad screen.

But Google is not above writing iOS apps like any other third-party developer, and has gained or regained significant footholds in various parts of Apple's world. In the video below, Fool contributor Anders Bylund discusses the current state of Google on iOS hardware in the light of fresh data from mobile security firm Onavo. For example, 32% of iPhone users are back to using Google maps even if they have to find and install it by hand. In some cases, Apple users flock to Google alternatives that can't offer any real benefits due to Apple's rigorous limits on developer choices. Which begs the question: Why won't Apple turn this subtle platform invasion around? Anders has the answer to that mystery, too.

It's incredible to think just how much of our digital and technological lives are almost entirely shaped and molded by just a handful of companies. Find out "Who Will Win the War Between the 5 Biggest Tech Stocks?" in The Motley Fool's latest free report, which details the knock-down, drag-out battle being waged by the five kings of tech. Click here to keep reading.

Beware of Rising Interest Rates

The year 1987 started out terrific for the stock market.

 

The S&P 500 gained 32% between November 1986 and August 1987. Investors were giddy. They were making piles of cash. And almost no one seemed concerned about what was going on over in the bond market...

 

After declining sharply for most of 1986, the interest rate on the 30-year Treasury bond had surged from 7.4% in late 1986 to 9.2% less than a year later. "Don't worry," the stock market pundits said. "Rising rates are a sign of economic strength."

 

The stock market fell 30% two months later.

 

Investors faced a similar situation in 1994 – though not as dramatic.

 

The stock market gained a respectable 10% from August 1993 to February 1994. Meanwhile, 30-year interest rates popped from 5.8% to over 7.2% – a 24% increase. "Don't worry," the pundits said again. "Rising rates are a sign of economic strength."

 

The stock market was down 10% two months later.

 

Then there was 2000...

 

The stock market gained 25% from February 1999 to February 2000. Interest rates went from 5.1% to 6.7% in the same time frame. Again, the pundits told us not to worry. "Rising rates are a sign of economic strength," they said.

 

The stock market gave up all of its gains by the end of 2000.

 

Fast-forward to today...

 

Investors love the stock market. And why not? The S&P 500 is up 25% over the past year.

 

Interest rates are up, too. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond has risen from less than 2.5% last July to more than 3.6% today. That's a massive 44% rise in a year.

 

There are a few folks pointing at the rise in rates and advising caution. But a lot more are saying, "Don't worry. Rising rates are a sign of economic strength."

 

All you need to do is look at history to know interest rates have been falling for the past 30 years. As you can see, there have been times when that trend has reversed for several months. But overall, the cost of debt has been falling for a generation.

 

Now, it is likely that trend has changed. And that's a problem for the stock market...

 

Higher interest rates mean less cheap money for companies to use to expand. They cut into the bottom-line profit margins. And they mean other investments – like low-risk CDs and savings accounts – offer investors an attractive alternative to the stock market.

 

Yes, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has promised to keep interest rates low through 2014 and into 2015 if necessary. But the Fed only has direct control over short-term interest rates. The financial markets determine the fate of long-term rates.

 

So far, the Fed has been able to manipulate longer-term rates lower as well through its $85 billion quantitative easing program. But there is a point when the supply of debt accelerates beyond the Fed's ability to create demand. It is at that point that long-term rates will rise, despite Bernanke's promise to keep them low.

 

I suspect we reached that point last July. Since then, the trend has shifted in favor of longer-term interest rates. That would help explain why, despite the Fed's efforts to suppress it, the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond is 44% higher today.

 

Of course, I could be wrong. Maybe this blip up in rates is nothing more than a short-term pop higher, and they will head lower once again – just like they did after every other short-term pop higher over the past 30 years.

 

But it doesn't matter... Remember, the stock market hit a rough patch following each of those pops higher. So whether the long-term trend has changed or this is just a temporary uptick in rates, the outlook for stocks – at least in the short term – isn't good.

 

Best regards and good trading,

 

Jeff Clark

Will American Capital Agency Earnings Force Another Dividend Cut?

American Capital Agency (NASDAQ: AGNC  ) will release its quarterly report on Monday, and the real estate investment trust faces the toughest environment it has seen in years. With big share-price declines, the pressure will be on to see if American Capital Agency earnings can sustain the company's generous dividend payouts -- or whether it will have to make further cuts in its dividend that could send the stock falling further.

For years, American Capital Agency has benefited from interest rate policies that have provided cheap financing and appreciating values of the mortgage-backed securities it relies on for its investment portfolio. But the recent boom in bond yields led to steep price declines that took the wind out of the mortgage REIT business, and threats that the Federal Reserve will taper its buying of bonds could put further pressure on the company. Let's take an early look at what's been happening with American Capital Agency over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report.

Stats on American Capital Agency

Analyst EPS Estimate	$1.45
Year-Ago EPS	($0.88)
Revenue Estimate	$334.87 million
Change From Year-Ago Revenue	(12.8%)
Earnings Beats in Past 4 Quarters	1

Source: S&P Capital IQ.

Will American Capital Agency earnings be enough to keep income investors happy?
Recently, analysts have boosted their views on American Capital Agency earnings for the June quarter, with one analyst boosting GAAP estimates for the quarter by nearly 45%. Full-year estimates have also been rising gradually over the past quarter, yet the share price remains firmly in the red, having plunged more than 30% just since late April.

Those declines began after the company reported first-quarter earnings in early May, with American Capital Agency posting a comprehensive loss of $557 million, including unrealized losses on mark-to-market mortgage-backed securities. Fears about the Fed's exit from its quantitative easing program helped stoke mortgage-securities losses, and what turned out to be an ill-timed secondary offering ended up contributing to the poor results.

But those fears continued to expand in the second quarter, and the bond market finally made significant moves that hurt bond prices and sent yields soaring. In response, many mortgage REITs expanded their purview to go beyond their traditional agency-backed securities. Annaly Capital (NYSE: NLY  ) , for instance, started adding securities backed by commercial mortgages, while Armour Residential (NYSE: ARR  ) set the stage for a shift by changing its charter to allow non-agency purchases. But because American Capital Agency has a sister REIT, American Capital Mortgage (NASDAQ: MTGE  ) , that has a broader scope, CIO Gary Kain plans to keep American Capital Agency's investing strategy true to its name by staying focused on agency-backed bonds.

The other shoe dropped in June, as American Capital Agency cut its dividend by $0.20 to $1.05 per share. With Annaly and Armour both having had to make multiple cuts within the past year, American Capital Agency had actually done a good job of preserving its payout.

The big question for American Capital Agency will be whether its hedging program helps it avoid big losses. CYS Investments (NYSE: CYS  ) reported a big loss last week, with its book value taking a large hit because of hedging practices that didn't work as well as CEO Kevin Grant would have liked. If its hedges work, then American Capital Agency earnings could give investors a nice surprise next week, forestalling any need for further dividend cuts -- at least for now.

Dividend stocks can make you rich. It's as simple as that. But you need the best you can find, and with this in mind, our analysts sat down to identify the absolute best of the best when it comes to rock-solid dividend stocks, drawing up a list in this free report of the only nine that fit the bill. To discover the identities of these companies before the rest of the market catches on, you can download this valuable free report by simply clicking here now.

Click here to add American Capital Agency to My Watchlist, which can find all of our Foolish analysis on it and all your other stocks.

Top 5 Tech Companies To Watch For 2014

U.S. stocks recorded another day of gains -- that's now seven up days over the past eight sessions -- as the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) rose 0.25% and 0.14%. That pushed the S&P 500 up to another all-time high closing price.

Consistent with those gains, the VIX (VOLATILITYINDICES: ^VIX  ) , Wall Street's fear gauge, rose today by 1%, to close at 13.71. (The VIX is calculated from S&P 500 option prices and reflects investor expectations for stock market volatility over the coming 30 days.)

Apple is back on top
As the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting got under way today, technology stocks led the broad market -- by a wide margin -- as the S&P 500's information technology sector increased 1.2%. (The runner-up, telecommunication services, managed only a 0.4% return.) Information technology was also the best-performing sector yesterday. The largest driver of those gains were shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) , which were up 2.9% today, for a 6.1% return on the week thus far. That two-day return has added $32.3 billion to the company's market capitalization, enough to wrest the title of most valuable company in the world back from ExxonMobil.

Top 5 Tech Companies To Watch For 2014: COMS PLC ORD GBP0.001(COMS.L)

Coms plc engages in the development and commercialization of Internet telephony services, and supply and distribution of associated equipment to small and medium sized businesses in the United Kingdom. The company?s Internet telephony enables telephone calls to be transmitted as data over the Internet. It offers hosted VoIP, voice optimized broadband for business, PSTN CPS business telephone, audio and video conferencing, inbound numbers, number porting, and enterprise VoIP services. The company?s Internet telephony services related equipment comprises Internet telephony handsets, VOIP gateways, video phones, and integration consulting and SIP trunks. Coms plc was founded in 2000 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Top 5 Tech Companies To Watch For 2014: Pixelworks Inc.(PXLW)

Pixelworks, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, and marketing of video and pixel processing semiconductors and software for digital video applications. Its products include ImageProcessor integrated circuits (ICs), which comprise embedded microprocessors, digital signal processing technology, and software that control the operations and signal processing within high-end display systems, such as projectors and high-resolution flat panels; Video Co-Processor ICs that work in conjunction with an image processor to post-process video signals to enhance the performance or feature set of the overall video solution; and Networked Display ICs, which allow the same video stream to be networked across multiple displays. The company serves the manufacturers of digital display and projection devices, such as liquid crystal display (LCD) large-screen televisions and 3LCD, and digital light processing digital front projectors, as well as the flat pa nel display market, including digital signage. Pixelworks, Inc. sells its products through its direct sales force, distributors, and manufacturers? representatives in Japan, Taiwan, China, Korea, the United States, Europe, and southeast Asia. The company was founded in 1997 and is based in San Jose, California.

10 Best Stocks To Buy For 2014: Liquidity Services Inc.(LQDT)

Liquidity Services, Inc. operates various online auction marketplaces for surplus and salvage assets in the United States. Its auction marketplaces include liquidation.com, which enables corporations and selected government agencies located in the United States to sell surplus and salvage consumer goods and capital assets; govliquidation.com that enables government agencies to sell surplus and scrap assets; govdeals.com, which enables local and state government entities, including city, county, and state agencies, as well as school boards and public utilities located in the United States to sell surplus and salvage assets. The company also operates secondipity.com that provides consumers a source of products and a socially conscious online experience through donating a portion of the proceeds of every sale to charity; and truckcenter.com, a marketplace for the sale of idle, surplus, and used fleet and transportation equipment. Its marketplaces provide professional buyers a ccess to supply of surplus and salvage assets presented with customer focused information, including digital images and other relevant product information along with services to complete the transaction; and enable corporate and government sellers to enhance their financial return on excess assets by providing liquid marketplaces and value-added services that integrate sales and marketing, logistics, and transaction settlement. The company offers approximately 500 products organized into various categories, including consumer electronics, general merchandise, apparel, scientific equipment, aerospace parts and equipment, technology hardware, energy equipment, industrial capital assets, fleet and transportation equipment, and specialty equipment. Liquidity Services, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Washington, District of Columbia.

Top 5 Tech Companies To Watch For 2014: Scancell Holdings PLC (SCLP)

Scancell Holdings PLC is a United Kingdom-based company. The Company�� principal activity of the consists of the discovery and development of monoclonal antibodies and vaccines for the treatment of cancer. In April 2012, the Company completed recruitment to the Phase 1 clinical trial of SCIBI. In May 2012, the Company commenced recruitment and treatment of the first patient in the second part of it Phase 1/2 clinical trial of SCIBI. The Phase 2 part of the trial is conducted in five United Kingdom centers in Nottingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds, and Southampton. On August 15, 2012, the Company announced the development of a platform technology, Moditope.

Top 5 Tech Companies To Watch For 2014: Warwick Valley Telephone Company(WWVY)

Warwick Valley Telephone Company provides communication services to the residential and business customers. It operates in two segments, Telephone and Online. The Telephone segment provides telecommunication services, including local network services, network access services, and long distance services; directory services comprising publishing and selling yellow and white page advertising in print and online; wholesale services, such as origination and termination services to carriers and business customers; and voice conferencing services. It also offers billing and collections services to other carriers; and resells toll telephone services. The Online segment provides broadband and dial-up Internet access services, voice over Internet protocol services, and video over its landline network. It also offers digital television services, domain name registration, and Web hosting services. The company provides its services primarily in the towns of Warwick, Goshen, and Wallkil l, New York; and the townships of Vernon and West Milford, New Jersey. Warwick Valley Telephone Company was founded in 1902 and is based in Warwick, New York.

Alaskan Telecoms Pool Resources to Fight Verizon and AT&T

AT&T (NYSE: T  ) entered the small Alaskan telecom marketplace in 2007 when it bought Dobson Communications. Verizon (NYSE: VZ  ) shoved its foot in that door when it purchased spectrum licenses in 2010, and just last month it turned on its 4G LTE network.

But to say the Alaskan market for wireless services is small would be an understatement. It is minuscule. The state has only around 723,000 residents, and more than half of them, 393,000, live in and around Anchorage.

For what that means to a telecom operating in the 49th state, read what Alaska Communications (NASDAQ: ALSK  ) CEO Anand Vadapalli touted during his company's second quarter 2012 earnings conference call after it got the iPhone:

"Our net subscriber adds of about 2,900 was the highest subscriber growth we've had in four years."

For comparison, Verizon (NYSE: VZ  ) added 1.2 million and AT&T (NYSE: T  ) 1.3 million net subscribers during that same period.

The indigenous Alaskan telecoms, such as Alaska Communications, had, of course, been dreading the entrance of the mainland duopoly into their turf, and the two largest of those -- before the entrance of AT&T and Verizon -- have finally closed on an agreement that they hope will help them survive.

Alaska Communications and General Communications, (NASDAQ: GNCMA  ) , or GCI, today signed the network sharing agreement they proposed last summer.

That deal has both companies pooling their wireless infrastructure, their spectrum licenses, and whatever wireless assets they have, to design, build, and operate the statewide 4G LTE wireless network they're calling the Alaskan Wireless Network, or AWN.

"The wireless business is capital intensive, requires scale to compete successfully against national carriers, and demands more spectrum than either of our two companies individually owns," said Alaska Communications CEO Vadapalli and GCI CEO Ron Duncan.

"By combining our respective wireless assets, we can provide a state-of-the-art Alaska wireless network owned and operated by Alaskans for Alaskans. We believe that The Alaska Wireless Network will ... [allow] us to compete more effectively in the retail market."

The AWN will be owned one-third by Alaska Communications and two-thirds by GCI. Alaska Communications will get $100 million in cash and could get up to $190 million in preferred distributions over the first four years of the network's operations. GCI will get whatever distributions are remaining during that time period. After that, all distributions will be made on an ownership percentage basis.

However, even though the two companies will be using the same network, they will remain separate companies and competitors for the retail market. The deal could work, but it still leaves four companies fighting over a very small pie.

Actually, I think in this case, we'd have to call it a cupcake.

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Why ITC Remains an Electric Opportunity

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, electricity transmission specialist ITC Holdings (NYSE: ITC  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at ITC and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

ITC facts

Headquarters (founded)	Novi, Mich. (2001)
Market Cap	$4.8 billion
Industry	Electric utilities
Trailing-12-Month Revenue	$851.1 million
Management	Founder/CEO Joseph Welch CFO Cameron Bready
Return on Equity (average, past 3 years)	14.1%
Cash / Debt	$72.7 million / $3.4 billion
Dividend Yield	1.6%
Competitors	American Electric Power El Paso Electric Northeast Utilities

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 96% of the 295 members who have rated ITC believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Just last week, one of those bulls, fellow Fool Billy Kipersztok (TMFTailwind), succinctly summed up the outperform case for our community:

ITC is a utility focused solely on one activity -- electricity transmission. This laser-focus on a core competency PLUS favorable public policy should provide continued development opportunities for this growing, acquisitive company. EPS have grown at a compounded annual rate of nearly 20% over the last 5 years, and CEO (/founder/chairman/president) Joseph Welch is very experienced, having spent his entire career in the utility industry.

If you want market-thumping returns, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Of course, despite a strong five-star rating, ITC may not be your top choice.

In fact, one home run investing opportunity has been slipping under Wall Street's radar for months. But it won't stay hidden much longer. Forward-thinking energy players like GE and Ford have already plowed sizable amounts of research capital into this little-known stock... because they know it holds the key to the explosive profit power of the coming "no choice fuel revolution." Luckily, there's still time for you to get on board if you act quickly. All the details are inside an exclusive report from The Motley Fool. Click here for the full story!

Why the Market Can't Make up Its Mind Today

Blue-chip stocks are mixed in intraday trading following the release of disappointing housing data and downbeat quarterly results from McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) . With roughly an hour left in the trading session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) is up a negligible two points, while the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) is up by 0.2%.

The National Association of Realtors announced this morning that sales of previously occupied homes fell by 1.1% in June compared to May. On the flip side, the good news is that they were up by a double-digit percentage compared to the same month last year.

As NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun noted: "Affordability conditions remain favorable in most of the country, and we're still dealing with a large pent-up demand. However, higher mortgage interest rates will bite into high-cost regions of California, Hawaii and the New York City metro area market."

Fast-food giant McDonald's further fueled pessimism by reporting lackluster financial results for the three months ended June 30. While the company increased its revenue and earnings on a year-over-year basis, the market's reaction to the results shows that investors were more concerned with its 0.2% decline in June same-store sales -- for the quarter overall, the worldwide figure rose by a mere 1%.

Shares of McDonald's are down by 2.5% at the time of writing, making it the worst-performing component on the Dow this afternoon.

On the other end of the spectrum, shares of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) are up by 1.6%, qualifying it for the day's best performance. Analysts at Wells Fargo said that fears over the company's exposure to the dying personal-computer industry are overdone, noting that the segment accounts for less than 10% of HP's net earnings. The megabank also noted that it expects HP's operating profit to pick up over the next fiscal year.

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These Are Obamacare's Top Promoters

The clock continues to tick down toward Oct. 1, when enrollment opens in state-run health exchanges under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Source: White House on Flickr.

As we examined three weeks ago, there are a lot of factors yet to tackle to ensure that health-insurance enrollment for individuals runs smoothly. One gigantic hurdle in that equation is in ensuring that all of the cloud-based technology is properly in place and capable of accessing multiple government divisions such as Social Security, Medicaid, and the IRS, all at once. Since the passing of the PPACA, also known as Obamacare, in 2010 through the end of March 2013, the Government Accountability Office reported $394 million in contract expenses just to meet the huge technological needs of the state-run exchanges.

However, there's another side to the equation of getting America ready for open enrollment under Obamacare: the educational aspects.

Obamacare's top promoter
It's not enough for Obamacare to merely get the health exchanges ready for a large influx of new enrollee's if no one understands what Obamacare is, how each plan will benefit them, and how to physically get insurance. That's where the following big promoters come in for Obamacare.

As you might imagine, the states themselves will deliver a good chunk of information to the public; however, not all states should be counted on to do so. Although the money being used to educate the public about, and raise awareness for, Obamacare is federal money, not all state governors support the bill. To that end, while there will be health exchanges offered in all 50 states, only 16 states have chosen to operate their own health exchange. It's these 16 states that are likely to be its biggest promoters.

There will obviously be a heavy advertising blitz on television, in print, and online as we get much closer to the Oct. 1 deadline for the opening of the health exchanges (likely within 15 days or less of Oct. 1), but according to The Washington Post, some states have other creative ideas in mind to create awareness of the bill.

Some of the ideas have been genius, like Oregon's plan to use local musicians to explain the benefits of enrollment in television and radio ads. Oregon is also planning to place advertisements on branded coffee cups and in bus shelters in order to spread awareness.

Other ideas have bordered a bit on the "you've got to be kidding" side of the equation. My home state of Washington is actually considering the idea of plastering educational Obamacare information on the sides of portable toilets at concerts. Not to be outdone, Connecticut is spending some of its resources on banners to be flown over state beaches by plane. Like I said, some ideas are better than others, but they're all working toward the same goal of increasing awareness and education.

Additional promoters will also play a large role
In addition to the states themselves, our nation's youth and certain companies are expected to step up in a big way to help get people enrolled in their respective states' health exchange.

Understanding that parents are more likely to listen to their own children than pay attention to a panel on the side of a bus, California authorized spending nearly $1 million of its $37 million federal grant on educating children in the Los Angeles Unified School District about Obamacare. The hope is that these children will take what they've learned about Obamacare home with them and share that knowledge with their parents. It's actually an incredibly smart idea if you think about it, and it has the potential to spread to other school districts around the country.

One company that's put a lot on the line with regard to the implementation of Obamacare is WellPoint (NYSE: WLP  ) , which purchased AMERIGROUP last year to become the nation's largest insurer of people on Medicaid. Under the proposed expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare, 16 million people will be newly eligible for some form of government health care subsidy, and WellPoint is looking for a big chunk of that pie.

First, WellPoint, the operator of Blue Cross Blue Shield health plans, announced a partnership with the largest Spanish-language network in the U.S., Univision, in late June to explain the benefits of Obamacare to Hispanics in California, New York, Colorado, and Georgia. The partnership will feature radio and TV ads, an online insurance center, news media broadcasts, and 70 town halls meetings devoted at raising awareness of the bill within the Hispanic community .

WellPoint wasn't done, though. Just last week it announced a strategic partnership with drugstore Walgreen (NYSE: WAG  ) who I'm certain would love to get a big helping of the numerous new prescriptions that are likely to be filled. As my Foolish colleague Keith Speights explains, Walgreen will be handing out brochures as its stores explaining how Obamacare works and where to get insurance, but the two will be collaborating on a website, LearnAboutReform.com, which will act as a one-stop information trough on Obamacare .

Keep in mind, though, that WellPoint isn't the only insurer that's angling for these Medicaid members. CIGNA (NYSE: CI  ) paid a hefty sum of $3.8 billion to buy Healthspring in 2011 and Aetna (NYSE: AET  ) is purchasing Coventry Health Care (NYSE: CVH  ) for $5.7 billion all with the intent of garnering the guaranteed money associated with Medicaid. Don't be surprised if these insurers form alliances as well to promote Obamacare in order to serve their own interests in gaining new members.

Source: Paul Keleher, commons.wikimedia.org.

But not everyone's on board
As you might have already suspected, not everyone is on board with Obamacare. Regulators reached out for support from the National Football League in the hope that it, being the most watched sport in the country, would help promote Obamacare to the American public. However, after some thinking the NFL punted the idea back to regulators following concerns about the negative publicity it could bring the league. Don't forget, public opinion of the PPACA is near an all-time low, and the NFL is unlikely to jeopardize its position as America's most-watched sport by getting tied up in a highly politicized bill like Obamacare.

A big hurdle to clear
It's probably going to be a few more weeks before the dust settles and we've got a better idea of which companies aside from WellPoint and Walgreen will be pounding the table on Obamacare. What I can say with some degree of certainty is I'm personally concerned that the government and businesses reliant on health care insurance aren't leaving themselves enough time to properly inform the public on how to use the new exchanges. Obamacare will remain a hot-button topic moving forward, but if the educational aspects aren't there on Oct. 1, the bill could be in for a bumpy ride.

Are you still in the dark about how Obamacare might affect you and your portfolio? Don't worry -- you're not alone. To help prepare investors for the massive changes coming to the American health care system, The Motley Fool created a special free report that makes this complex topic easily understandable. Download "Everything You Need to Know About Obamacare" and discover how the law may impact your taxes, health insurance, and investments. Click here for your free copy today.