Having repurchased 23 million shares, or $1 billion worth of company stock, in the second quarter, oil services giant Halliburton (NYSE: HAL ) announced today it had approved an increase to $5 billion in its buyback program.
The board of directors said that with just�$0.7 billion of repurchasing capacity remaining on the existing authorization that was initiated in 2006, it would increase by another $4.3 billion its ability to buy back shares. It also declared its third-quarter dividend of $0.125 per share, the same rate it's paid for the last two quarters after having increased the payout 39% from $0.09 per share.
Noting the first-quarter dividend hike reflected management's increased confidence in the strength of the company's outlook, Halliburton Chairman, President, and CEO�Dave Lesar said, "We believe that our relentless focus on generating best-in-class returns and our commitment to shareholder distributions will deliver increased value to our shareholders going forward."
Hot Gold Stocks For 2015: Gulf Resources Inc (GURE)
Gulf Resources, Inc. (Gulf Resources), incorporated on February 28, 1989, is engaged in manufacturing and trading of bromine and crude salt, and manufacturing and selling of chemical products used in oil and gas field exploration, oil and gas distribution, oil field drilling, wastewater processing, papermaking chemical agents and inorganic chemicals. As of December 31, 2011, its products have been sold only within the People�� Republic of China. The Company operates in three segments: bromine, crude salt and chemical products. It manufactures and trades bromine and crude salt through Shouguang City Haoyuan Chemical Company Limited (SCHC), and manufactures chemical products for use in the oil industry and paper manufacturing industry through Shouguang Yuxin Chemical Industry Co., Limited (SYCI). On December 22, 2011, the Company acquired substantially all of the assets owned by Liangcai Zhang in the Shouguang City Yangkou Township Area.
Bromine and Crude Salt
The Company manufactures and distributes bromine through its wholly owned subsidiary, SCHC. Bromine (Br2) is a halogen element and it is a red volatile liquid at standard room temperature, which has reactivity between chlorine and iodine. Elemental bromine is used to manufacture a variety of bromine compounds used in industry and agriculture. Bromine is also used to form intermediates in organic synthesis. Its bromine is used in brominated flame retardants, fumigants, water purification compounds, dyes, medicines and disinfectants. Its production sites are located in the Shandong Province in northeastern China. Its production feeds include natural brine, vitriol, chlorine, sulfur and coal.
Crude Salt
The Company also produces crude salt, which is produced from the evaporation of the wastewater after its bromine production process. Once the brine is returned to the surface and the bromine is removed, the remaining brine is pumped to onsite containing pools and then exposed to natural sunshine. T! his causes the water to evaporate from the brine, resulting in salt being left over afterwards. Crude salt is the principal material in alkali production, as well as chlorine alkali production and is used in the chemical, food and beverage, and other industries.
Chemical Products
The Company produces chemical products through its wholly owned subsidiary, SYCI. The products it produces include hydroxyl guar gum, demulsified agent, corrosion inhibitor for acidizing, bactericide, chelant, iron ion stabilizer, clay stabilizing agent, flocculants agent, remaining agent, expanding agent, bromopropane, environmental friendly additive products, solid lubricant and polyether lubricant.
Gulf Resources competes with Shandong Yuyuan Group Company Limited, Shandong Haihua Group Company Limited, Shandong Dadi Salt Chemical Group Company Limited, Shandong Haiwang Chemical Company Limited, Shandong Weifang Longwei Industrial Company Limited, Shandong Caiyangzi Saltworks, Beijing Tianqing Chemical Company Limited, Shandong Weifang Shuangxing Pesticides Company Limited, Zibo Dacheng Pesticides Company Limited, Befar Group Company Limited, China Eastar (Group) Chemical Industry Company Limited and Pecome Technologies Limited.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Paul Ausick]
Big Earnings Movers: Gogo Inc. (NASDAQ: GOGO) is up 28.3% at $24.05. Gulf Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: GURE) is up 15.8% at $2.46.
Stocks on the Move: ViroPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: VPHM) is up 25.4% at $49.38 on a $4.2 billion buyout offer from London-listed Shire. Zalicus Inc. (NASDAQ: ZLCS) is down 72.3% at $1.30 on a failed drug trial.
- [By Roberto Pedone]
Another under-$10 basic materials player that's starting to move within range of triggering a major breakout trade is Gulf Resources (GURE), which manufactures and trades bromine and crude salt, and manufactures and sells chemical products used in oil and gas field exploration. This stock has been a favorite target of the bulls so far in 2013, with shares up sharply by 140%.
If you take a look at the chart for Gulf Resources, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending strong for the last six months, with shares soaring higher from its low of $1.10 to its recent high of $3.10 a share. During that uptrend, shares of GURE have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of GURE within range of triggering a major breakout trade.
Market players should now look for long-biased trades in GURE if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $2.87 to its 52-week high at $3.10 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 467,986 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then GURE will set up to enter new 52-week high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $4 to $4.50 a share.
Traders can look to buy GURE off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some near-term support levels at $2.38 a share, or near its 50-day moving average of $2.23 a share. One can also buy GURE off strength once it starts to clear those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.
Best Oil Service Companies To Own In Right Now: VAALCO Energy Inc (EGY)
VAALCO Energy, Inc. (VAALCO), incorporated in 1985, is an independent energy company principally engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas. VAALCO owns producing properties and conducts exploration activities as operator in Gabon, West Africa, conducts exploration activities as an operator in Angola, West Africa, and has conducted exploration activities as a non-operator in the British North Sea. The Company owns minor interests in production activities as a non-operator in the United States. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Etame, Avouma, South Tchibala and Ebouri fields produced approximately 8.1 million barrels of oil (2.3 million barrels of oil net to the Company).
Offshore Gabon
The Company�� primary source of revenue is from the Etame Production Sharing Contract related to the Etame Marin block located offshore the Republic of Gabon. VAALCO operates the Etame Marin block on behalf of a consortium of companies. As of December 31, 2010, VAALCO owned a 30.35% interest in the exploration acreage within the Etame Marin block. The Company owns a 28.1% interest in the development areas surrounding the Etame, Avouma, South Tchibala and Ebouri fields, each of which is located on the Etame Marin block. The Company produces from the Etame, Avouma, South Tchibala and Ebouri fields on the block.
Onshore Gabon
The Mutamba Iroru block is ocated onshore near the coast in central Gabon. The Mutamba Iroru block contains an exploration area of approximately 270,000 acres.
Offshore Angola
The Company has 40% working interest in Offshore Angola. The four year primary term with an optional three year extension awards the Company exploration rights to 1.4 million acres offshore central Angola.
Onshore Domestic-Texas
In July 2011, the Company acquired a 480 acre lease in the Granite Wash formation in North Texas. In November 2011, the Company commen! ced drilling a second well on the initial Granite Wash formation lease.
Onshore DomesticMontana
In May 2011, the Company acquired a 70% working interest in approximately 5,200 acres (3,640 net acres) in Sheridan County, Montana in the Middle Bakken formation. In September 2011, it acquired a 65% working interest in approximately 22,000 gross acres covering the Middle Bakken and deeper formations in the East Poplar unit and the Northwest Poplar field in Roosevelt County, Montana.
DomesticOutside Operated
The Company has minor interests in Brazos County, Texas producing from the Buda/Georgetown formations. The Company also owns certain minor non-operated interests in the Ship Shoal area of the Gulf of Mexico and in Pickens County, Alabama.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Laura Brodbeck]
Thursday
Earnings Expected From: AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVEO), Kirkland��, Inc (NASDAQ: KIRK), Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG), Stein Mart, Inc. (SMRT: NASDAQ), Mattress Firm Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: MRFM), SeaWorld Entertainment (NYSE: SEAS), Vaalco Energy Inc (NYSE: EGY) Economic Releases Expected: Chinese retail sales, French CPI, Brazilian retail sales, US retail sales, Japanese industrial productionFriday
- [By Nitish]
VAALCO Energy, Inc. (EGY) last month reported net income of $24.7 million or $0.43 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2014 compared to net income of $7.1 million or $0.12 per diluted share for the comparable period in 2013. Second quarter 2014 revenues were $52.1 million compared to$29.1 million in the second quarter of 2013, primarily due to the higher volumes of crude liftings in the second quarter of 2014 as compared to the second quarter of 2013.
- [By Eric Volkman]
Vaalco Energy (NYSE: EGY ) hopes to put some power into its common stock by repurchasing a chunk of outstanding shares. The company's board has authorized a repurchase program for up to $25 million worth of stock. The initiative will be in force for one year.
- [By Garrett Cook]
Energy services shares fell by 0.12 percent on Friday. Top losers in the sector included Basic Energy Services (NYSE: BAS), down 8.6 percent, and Vaalco Energy (NYSE: EGY), off 5.7 percent.
Best Oil Service Companies To Own In Right Now: Mediobanca Banca di Credito Finanziario SpA (MB)
Mediobanca Banca di Credito Finanziario SpA is an Italy-based bank. Together with its subsidiaries, the Company's activities are divided into three main segments: Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), Principal Investing (PI) and Retail and Private Banking (RPB). In the CIB segment, the Bank is engaged in the investment banking activities, leasing services and trading investments. The PI segment comprises the Bank�� shareholdings in companies involved in the insurance sector, multimedia publishing activities and telecommunication services, as well as stakes acquired as part of merchant banking activity and investments in private equity funds. The RPB consists of financial products and services provided to retail customers, including consumer credit products, mortgages, deposit accounts, private banking and fiduciary activities. In September 2013, the Company launched the sale of its investment in Telco. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bloomberg]
Mattel (MAT), the world's largest toymaker, agreed to buy Mega Brands (MB) for $460 million, acquiring the biggest challenger to Lego A/S in the construction-toy market. Mattel is offering C$17.75 ($16) a share, according to a statement today, a 36 percent premium over yesterday's closing price. The board of Montreal-based Mega Brands unanimously approved the transaction, and investors holding 39 percent of the stock, including Chief Executive Officer Marc Bertrand and Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH), agreed to the deal. The purchase of Mega Brands, the world's second-largest maker of snap-together blocks, will fill a product hole for Mattel. It doesn't have its own construction line, locking it out of a $4 billion market in the U.S. and Europe. The category also is a bright spot in a toy industry that has seen growth stall in the U.S. Mattel considered starting its own construction line, then opted instead to buy Mega Brands because it would be faster and less risky, Mattel CEO Bryan G. Stockton said on a call with reporters. Mattel got its first taste of construction in 2012 when it debuted blocks for its Barbie brand through a licensing deal with Mega Brands. Mattel realized that replicating this kind of expertise would take years, Stockton said. 'About Growth' "This acquisition is all about growth," Stockton said. "We see an opportunity to expand our brands in this category across boys, girls and preschool." Mattel shares rose 0.8 percent to $37.44 at 10:34 a.m. in New York. They had declined 9 percent over the past year through yesterday. Shares of Montreal-based Mega Brands surged 36 percent to C$17.73 today in Toronto. Mattel is coming off a lackluster holiday season, with sales sinking 6.3 percent -- the biggest quarterly drop since 2009. The El Segundo, California-based toymaker has looked to acquisitions to boost sales in the past. In February of 2012, it paid $680 million to buy HIT Entertainment, owner of Thomas the Tank Engine. It also acq
Best Oil Service Companies To Own In Right Now: Atlas Energy LP (ATLS)
Atlas Energy, L.P. (Atlas Energy), incorporated on December 15, 2005, is a limited partnership. The Company's assets consist of the Company's ownership interests in the Atlas Resource Partners, L.P. (ARP), an independent developer and producer of natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL), with operations in basins across the United States; Atlas Pipeline Partners, L.P. (APL) a midstream energy service provider engaged in natural gas gathering, processing and treating services in the Anandarko and Permian Basins of the United States, and Lightfoot Capital Partners, LP (Lightfoot LP) and Lightfoot Capital Partners GP, LLC (Lightfoot GP), the general partner of Lightfoot L.P. (collectively, Lightfoot), entities which incubate new master limited partnerships (MLPs) and invest in existing MLPs. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had an approximate 16% general partner interest and 12% limited partner interest in Lightfoot.
On April 30, 2012, ARP acquired 277 billion cubic feet equivalent of proved reserves, including undeveloped drilling locations, in the core of the Barnett Shale from Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. (Carrizo). The assets include 198 gross producing wells. On July 26, 2012, ARP acquired Titan Operating, L.L.C. (Titan), which owned approximately 250 billion cubic feet equivalent of proved reserves and associated assets in the Barnett Shale on approximately 16,000 net acres. Titan's assets are located in close proximity to the assets acquired from Carrizo in the Barnett Shale. On September 24, 2012, ARP acquired Equal Energy, Ltd�� (Equal) remaining 50% interest in approximately 8,500 net undeveloped acres. On December 20, 2012, ARP acquired 210 billion cubic feet equivalent of proved reserves in the Fort Worth basin from DTE Energy Company (DTE). The assets include 261 gross producing wells on over 88,000 net acres. The acreage position includes approximately 75,000 net acres prospective for the Marble Falls play, in which there are over 700 identified vertical drilling l! ocations..
In February 2012, APL acquired a gas gathering system and related assets, at its WestOK region. In June 2012, APL acquired a gas gathering system and related assets in the Barnett Shale in Tarrant County, Texas. In December 2012, APL acquired 100% interests held by Cardinal Midstream, LLC (Cardinal) in three wholly owned subsidiaries. The assets of these companies include gas gathering, processing and treating facilities in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas as the Tupelo plant, the East Rockpile treating facility, a fixed fee contract gas treating business, a 60% interest in Centrahoma Processing, LLC (Centrahoma), the Coalgate and Atoka plants, and the prospective Stonewall plant.
Atlas Resource Partners
During the year ended December 31, 2012, ARP�� average daily net production was approximately 77.2 million cubic feet equivalent. As of December 31, 2012, ARP owned production positions, including the Barnett Shale and Marble Falls play in the Fort Worth Basin in northern Texas; the Appalachia basin, including the Marcellus Shale and the Utica Shale; the Mississippi Lime and Hunton plays in northwestern Oklahoma, and the Chattanooga Shale in northeastern Tennessee, the Niobrara Shale in northeastern Colorado, the New Albany Shale in southwestern Indiana, and the Antrim Shale in Michigan. ARP has ownership interests in over 525 wells in the Barnett Shale and Marble Falls play. ARP has ownership interests in over 10,200 wells in the Appalachian basin, including approximately 270 wells in the Marcellus Shale. The Chattanooga Shale in northeastern Tennessee, the Niobrara Shale in northeastern Colorado, the New Albany Shale in southwestern Indiana, and the Antrim Shale in Michigan.
Atlas Pipeline Partners
APL conducts its business in the midstream segment of the natural gas industry through two reportable segments: gathering and processing, and transportation, treating and other. The gathering and processing segment consist! s of the A! rkoma, WestOK, WestTX and Velma operations, which are comprised of natural gas gathering and processing assets servicing drilling activity in the Anadarko, Arkoma and Permian Basins, and natural gas gathering assets located in the Barnett Shale play in Texas and the Appalachian Basin in Tennessee. Gathering and processing revenues are derived from the sale of residue gas and NGLs and the gathering and processing of natural gas.
APL's gathering and processing operations, own, have interests in and operate 12 natural gas processing plants with aggregate capacity of approximately 1,090 million cubic feet per day located in Oklahoma and Texas; a gas treating facility located in Oklahoma, and approximately 10,100 miles of active natural gas gathering systems located in Oklahoma, Kansas, Tennessee and Texas. APL's gathering systems gather natural gas from oil and natural gas wells and central delivery points and deliver this gas to processing plants, as well as third-party pipelines.
APL's gathering and processing operations are located in Golden Trend, Mississippian Limestone and Hugoton field in the Anadarko Basin; the Woodford Shale; the Spraberry Trend, which is an oil play with associated natural gas in the Permian Basin, and the Barnett Shale. APL's gathering systems are connected to approximately 8,600 receipt points, consisting of individual well connections and secondarily, central delivery points, which are linked to multiple wells.
APL's transportation and treating operations consists of 17 gas treating facilities used to provide contract treating services to natural gas producers located in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, and a 20% interest in West Texas LPG Pipeline Limited Partnership (WTLPG), which owns a common-carrier pipeline system, which transports NGLs from New Mexico and Texas to Mont Belvieu, Texas for fractionation. WTLPG is operated by Chevron Pipeline Company, an affiliate of Chevron Corporation (Chevron), which owns the remaining 80% i! nterest. ! The contract gas treating operations are located in various shale plays, including the Avalon, Eagle Ford, Granite Wash, Haynesville, Fayetteville and Woodford.
The Company competes with Access Midstream Partners, LP; Caballo Energy, LLC, Carrera Gas Company; Copano Energy, LLC; Crosstex Energy Services, L.P.; DCP Midstream, LLC; Energy Transfer Partners, LP.; Enogex, LLC; Lumen Midstream Partners, LLC; MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P.; Mustang Fuel Corporation; ONEOK Field Services Company, LLC; Scissor Tail Energy, LLC; SemGas, L.P.; Southern Union Company; Superior Pipeline Company, LLC; Targa Resources Partners LP, and West Texas Gas, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Teresa Rivas]
Targa Resources Partners (NGLS) is buying the oil and gas limited partnerships Atlas Pipeline Partners (APL) and Atlas Energy�(ATLS), sending the shares of both stocks up double digits.
Best Oil Service Companies To Own In Right Now: THERMOGENESIS Corp.(KOOL)
ThermoGenesis Corp. designs, develops, and sells medical products that enable the practice of regenerative medicine worldwide. It offers automated and semi-automated devices, and single-use processing disposables that enable the collection, processing, and cryopreservation of stem cells and other cellular tissues used in the practice of regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine is a field that uses cell-based therapies to repair or restore lost or damaged tissue and cell function. The company?s products include the AXP System, a medical device that isolates and retrieves stem cells from umbilical cord blood; the BioArchive System, a robotic cryogenic medical device used by cord blood banks for the cryopreservation and archiving of cord blood stem cell units for transplant; the MarrowXpress or MXP System that isolates and concentrates stem cells from bone marrow; Res-Q 60 BMC, a point-of-care bone marrow stem cell processing system; and Res-Q 60 PRP, which is used for t he preparation of autologous platelet rich plasma from a sample of blood at the point of care. It also offers ThermoLine product line, which includes ultra-rapid plasma ThermoLine Freezer and ultra-rapid plasma ThermoLine Thawer; and CryoSeal System, an automated system, which is used to prepare an autologous hemostatic surgical sealant. ThermoGenesis Corp. was founded in 1986 and is based in Rancho Cordova, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Monica Gerson]
ThermoGenesis (NASDAQ: KOOL) moved up 29.81% to $2.9857. ThermoGenesis' trailing-twelve-month revenue is $17.49 million.
Infosonics (NASDAQ: IFON) shares jumped 22.64% to $2.06. Infosonics shares have jumped 170.97% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 23.35% in the same period.
- [By John Udovich]
The controversy over stem cell research or their usage seems to have ebbed in recent years as stem cell science moves beyond the use of embryos and lately there has been a steady flow of overlooked good news from the sector or from small cap stem cell stocks like Cellular Dynamics (which will IPO soon), ThermoGenesis Corp (NASDAQ: KOOL) and BioRestorative Therapies (OTCBB: BRTX) for investors to digest. Just consider the following news:
Best Oil Service Companies To Own In Right Now: XO Group Inc (XOXO)
XO Group Inc. (XO Group), formerly The Knot, Inc., is a media and technology company. The Company is engaged in the business of weddings, pregnancy and everything in between, providing young women with the information, products and advice to guide them through the transformative events of their lives. Its family of brands began with the wedding brand, The Knot, and it also include WeddingChannel.com, The Nest, The Bump and Ijie.com. XO Group has its presence in all media from the Web to social media and mobile, magazines and books, and video - and social platforms. XO Group has businesses in online sponsorship and advertising, registry services, ecommerce and publishing.
The Company has a network of Websites under several different brands, TheKnot.com, the wedding Website, WeddingChannel.com, the wedding registry site and wedding vendor review site with nearly 350,000 reviews, TheNest.com, a site for newlyweds and new couples, and TheBump.com, a pre-natal and pregnancy Website. These sites offer content and services tailored to the engaged, newly married, and pregnant audiences. Weddings, nesting, and first-time pregnancy are information-intensive events requiring research, planning, and decision-making.
The sites provides future brides and grooms with databases that draw on thousands of articles about weddings, including planning advice, etiquette, Q&As, real wedding stories, tips on getting engaged, fashion, beauty, grooms, the wedding party, and honeymoons. TheNest.com offers information and resources on merging bank accounts and making dinner, with searchable databases for recipes, home decor, and real estate. For couples who are getting ready for a baby, the same urgent need for information surfaces, which the Company provides at TheBump.com with baby naming tools, nursery decor ideas, and a host of health and development-related information. Each of the content areas offers articles, ideas, hundreds of photo slideshows, and videos, all covering a wide range of styles,! perspectives, budgets, traditions, lifestyles and ethnicities.
Active Community Participation and Social Networking
The community areas on XO Group websites generate member involvement through message boards, blogs, and personalized interactive services. Women who are planning their weddings actively seek forums to exchange ideas and ask questions. The community areas feature 24-hour activity.
User-Generated Content
Through blogs, message boards, and photo-posting features, all XO Group sites feature many forms of user-generated content related to the particular interests of its audience. Recent brides post wedding photos, vendor reviews, and their own wedding advice for future brides. Recent home purchasers post home-buying stories, before and after photos, and photos of their own home decor ideas. Pregnant women post chronicles of their pregnancies, reviews of their doctors, photos of their nurseries, and stories of their newborns at key developmental stages.
Interactive Tools
TheKnot.com offers, personalized wedding planning tools, including checklists, budgeters, guest list managers, calendars, and reminder services. An online scrapbook gives users the ability to save favorite dresses, articles, photos, vendors, honeymoons, wedding supplies, and other planning information. After a couple�� wedding day, these personalized tools are automatically converted to its newlywed Website, TheNest.com, to help them organize their new life as a married couple. The guest list manager is used to track thank-you notes, and couples receive an entirely new checklist and budgeter to help them organize their newlywed to-dos and finances. On TheBump.com, it offers checklists, budget tools, a baby name tool, and tools to track everything from ovulation to breastfeeding. These tools are also available on mobile platforms, which provide its users the ability to modify budgets and check off tasks from the convenience of their mobile phones. !
The Company offers personal pregnancy and baby websites through TheBump.com. XO Group Websites offers tools to assist with shopping for key elements of a wedding. Its wedding planning sites highlight a searchable bridal gown database with more than 5,000 gown images from over 200 designers, plus searchable databases for bridesmaid, mother-of-the-bride, and flower girl dresses, bridal accessories, engagement and wedding rings and tuxedos. The sites also offer search tools for honeymoon resorts, jewelry, and tabletop products. Local Resource Listings
The local resource areas on XO Group websites provide access to the local wedding market through online regional guides that host nearly 21,000 local vendors who display over 28,000 profiles, highlighting offerings for reception halls, bands, florists, caterers and other wedding-related products and services across 85 local markets in North America.
One-Stop Registry Shopping Service
WeddingChannel.com is the registry site online. Its patented registry aggregation service offers couples and their guests one place to view all their gift registries via a registry system that searches approximately 4.5 million registries from many retail partners, including Macy��, Crate & Barrel, Williams-Sonoma, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target, Amazon.com, Tiffany & Co., JCPenney and others. TheBump.com uses the same patented registry aggregation service to focus on baby registries, including Target, Buy Buy Baby, Diapers.com, Pottery Barn Kids and more.
The Company integrates informative content with online shops that feature an array of attendant gifts, favors, and supplies that relate to the wedding itself, as well as apparel, toys, gifts, and other goods for babies. It sells directly to consumers through its integrated shopping destinations, The Knot Wedding Shop, the WeddingChannel Store and The Bump Baby Shop. These online stores offer over 4,000 products, including cocktail napkins, wedding bubbles and bells, candy! and cook! ies, ring pillows, toasting flutes, reception decorations, table centerpieces, goblets and glasses, garters, and unity candles.
Broadband Video Content
The Knot TV is a continuous video stream that includes a range of wedding content, including shows about choosing a creative cake, hiring the videographer, planning dream honeymoons and learning about real weddings across the country. It produces video on demand content for The Knot, The Nest, and The Bump brands, covering everything from wedding fashion to home tours to mommy advice. The Knot TV On Demand provides video content from bridal fashion runway shows for brides to watch when they want, including programs on the trends in dresses, silhouettes, necklines, and accessories. Its video content is also distributed to MSN.com video, YouTube, and Sling Media. The Knot TV also features live programming with limited runs of The Knot LIVE, a weekly magazine format show.
Informative E-mail
Members of XO Group Websites subscribe to newsletters and e-mail updates, many of which are targeted with information for members in a specific stage of the wedding planning process. Other newsletters and e-mails are focused on specific topics, including honeymoon deals and personalized e-mails containing relevant local information or offers, such as bridal events or dress sample sales. E-mails are also sent to members of The Nest and The Bump with sponsored promotions and information about their stage of pregnancy or the age of their newborn.
Niche Website Network and Sister Sites
The Company also owns and operates a network of targeted websites that offer services of interest to its core audience of engaged couples. These include niche weddings sites such as ChineseWeddingsbyTheKnot.com, BeachWeddingsbyTheKnot.com, GayWeddingsbyTheKnot.com and over 300 other sites tailored to the searched-for wedding destinations and themes. The sites features local listings, forums, real wedding photos an! d local p! lanning advice.
The Company sells both the national and local editions of The Knot Weddings magazines through newsstands, bookstores, and on its Website, and it distributes local editions of The Bump pregnancy guide to doctors��offices across the country. It also offers a library of books complementing the content on its lifestages websites.
The Knot Weddings National Magazine
It publishes The Knot Weddings magazine four times a year. It features hundreds of dresses from the industry�� top designers. Also featured is an array of photos of wedding party attire and accessories, including bridesmaid, mother-of-the-bride, and flower girl dresses, as well as veils, shoes, and tuxedos.
The Knot Weddings Local Magazines
It publishes regional wedding magazines semi-annually in 17 markets in the United States. The Knot�� regional magazines combine national editorial content with up-to-date, region-specific information, including sections featuring real weddings within the market, making these publications a must-have wedding planning companion for engaged couples.
The Bump Magazine
A pocketbook-sized magazine for first-time moms, The Bump magazine features local resources and modern advice from its editors and nationally-recognized experts.
The Company sells both the national and local editions of The Knot Weddings magazines through newsstands, bookstores, and on its Website, and it distributes local editions of The Bump pregnancy guide to doctors��offices across the country. It also offers a library of books complementing the content on its lifestages Websites. It publishes The Knot Weddings magazine four times a year.
The Company publishes regional wedding magazines semi-annually in 17 markets in the United States. The Knot�� regional magazines combine national editorial content with up-to-date, region-specific information, including sections featuring real weddings within the ! market, m! aking these publications a must-have wedding planning companion for engaged couples.
A pocketbook-sized magazine for first-time moms, The Bump magazine features local resources and modern advice from our editors and nationally-recognized experts. Distributed at no charge through OB/GYN offices in 20 markets nationwide, The Bump magazine is specifically designed to connect first-time parents with the information and resources they need to prepare for a baby. It publishes The Bump magazine semi-annually.
The Company offers a library of up-to-date wedding books authored by itsChief Content Officer Carley Roney and published by divisions of Random House and Chronicle Books. Its first three-book wedding planning series published by Random House�� Broadway Books includes The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner, The Knot Complete Guide to Weddings in the Real World, and The Knot Guide to Wedding Vows and Traditions. These books feature information on everything a bride and groom need to know when planning their wedding and includes worksheets, checklists, etiquette, and answers to frequently asked questions. Its gift book series published by Chronicle Books includes The Knot Book of Wedding Gowns, The Knot Book of Wedding Flowers, The Knot Guide for the Mother of the Bride, and The Knot Guide for the Groom. Its second planning series, published by Random House�� Clarkson Potter, includes The Knot Guide to Destination Weddings, The Knot Book of Wedding Lists and The Knot Bridesmaid Handbook.
The Company offers a series of books for The Nest brand published by Clarkson Potter. The first book in the series, The Nest Newlywed Handbook, goes on the topics of interest to the newlywed, from changing its name to deciding how to divide up the daily chores. The second title, The Nest Home Design Handbook, is a four-color, photo-filled book on home decoration and design.
The Company competes with Brides magazine (published by Conde Nast), Bridal Guide (published by RFP LLC) ! and Marth! a Stewart Weddings.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Wallace Witkowski]
Shares of XO Group Inc. (XOXO) fell 16% to $10 on light volume after the weddings and pregnancy website operator reported adjusted earnings of 2 cents a share on revenue of $32.6 million, and appointed current president Michael Steib as the new chief executive, replacing David Liu, who will continue on as chairman.
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares climbed around 0.22 percent in trading on Friday. Leading the sector was strength from American Public Education (NASDAQ: APEI) and XO Group (NASDAQ: XOXO). In trading on Friday, telecommunications services shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.41 percent. - [By Vera Yuan]
For the calendar year-to-date, the Fund�� Investor Class returned +2.9% compared to +8.3% for the S&P 500 and +7.0% for the Russell 3000. DIRECTV (DTV) (+25% on AT&T�� buyout offer), Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) (+30% on its acquisition of Texas Industries) and Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) (+12%, and in the news for its hostile takeover battle for Allergan) benefited from the robust deal environment in different ways. Interval Leisure (IILG) (-37%) was the largest detractor and one of our few companies where business value declined. Our earnings estimates fell roughly 15% when Interval announced that four large, multi-year corporate relationships renewed at less favorable rates in their timeshare exchange business. We think the stock has overreacted to this news, and the company continues to add strategically to its platform. Other small-cap stocks that detracted from year-to-date results included XO Group (XOXO) (-25%) and Redwood Trust (RWT) (-11%). Broader themes behind the relative shortfall include our overweight position in consumer discretionary companies (the weakest sector in the market year-to-date), our lack of near-term big winners in health care and technology (the strongest sectors in the market year-to-date) and our conservative portfolio positioning in the first half of the year. We are not pleased with recent results. It is natural for our concentrated investing style to be out of step with the market at times.
Best Oil Service Companies To Own In Right Now: Firstbank Corporation(FBMI)
Firstbank Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides commercial banking products and services. It accepts checking, savings, and time deposits. The company also provides commercial, mortgage, agricultural, real estate, real estate mortgage, real estate construction, home improvement, automobile, and consumer loans. In addition, it offers trust, security brokerage, and title insurance services, as well as armored car services. The company operates 53 branch offices in central Michigan. Firstbank Corporation was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Alma, Michigan.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Louis Navellier]
A great example of these small banks with big potential is Firstbank Corp. (FBMI), a $155 million market-cap stock that operates 53 branch offices in central Michigan. Firstbank provides commercial banking products and services, including traditional deposit accounts and loans tailored to meet the needs of its business customers. FBMI also offers trust, security brokerage and title insurance services, and even armored car services. This bank stock has been rated an “A” all year, and the fundamentals just keep getting better. FBMI shares remain a “strong buy” at current prices.
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