Top Safest Stocks To Watch For 2014

The day of Akshay Tritiya is a special occasion to acquire gold. To make this day truly auspicious, you should invest in Gold ETFs. Gold has a proven track record of generating safe returns. Historically it has shown stability even in times of severe crises. Keeping a part of your investments in gold for the longer term, will enable you to have a stable portfolio.

Why Gold on Akshaya Tritiya?

Buying gold is a popular activity on Akshaya Tritiya, as it is the ultimate symbol of wealth and prosperity. Gold and gold jewellery bought and worn on this day signifies never diminishing good fortune.

Gold a safe investment avenue for higher and secured returns against all other asset classes. The world's safest avenue as a hedge against inflation. Gold prices have increased by 32% since last Akshaya Tritiya on May 6, 2011. Gold should be an integral part of any asset allocation today forming 10% to 15% of the overall portfolio. Buying paper gold is a more tax-efficient and cheaper alternative to purchasing physical gold. Why Gold ETF?

Top Specialty Retail Companies To Watch In Right Now: Home BancShares Inc.(HOMB)

Home BancShares, Inc. operates as a holding company for the Centennial Bank that provides various commercial and retail banking, and related financial products and services to businesses, real estate developers, investors, individuals, and municipalities. It offers various deposit products, including checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also offers commercial real estate, construction and land development, commercial and industrial, residential real estate, agricultural, and consumer loans. In addition, it provides Internet banking and voice response information, cash management, overdraft protection, direct deposit, safe deposit boxes, the United States savings bonds, and automatic account transfers services. Further, the company provides trust services focusing on personal trusts, corporate trusts, and employee benefit trusts, as well as writes insurance policies for commercial and personal lines of businesses. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 49 branches in Arkansas, 9 branches in the Florida Keys, 6 branches in central Florida, 3 branches in southwest Florida, and 29 branches in the Florida Panhandle. Home BancShares, Inc. is headquartered in Conway, Arkansas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  What: Shares of Home BancShares (NASDAQ: HOMB  ) , the holding company of Centennial Bank, jumped as much as 13% after receiving an analyst upgrade.

Top Safest Stocks To Watch For 2014: Steelcase Inc.(SCS)

Steelcase Inc. designs, manufactures, and distributes furniture systems and seating products, user-centered technologies, and interior architectural products primarily in North America, Europe, and Asia. Its furniture systems portfolio consists of panel-based and freestanding furniture systems; and complementary products, such as storage, tables, and ergonomic worktools. The company also provides seating products, including ergonomic chairs; seating for collaborative or casual settings; and specialty seating for specific markets comprising healthcare and education. In addition, its interior architectural products include full and partial height walls and doors. Further, the company offers workplace strategy consulting, lease origination, and furniture and asset management services. Additionally, it designs, manufactures, and sells visual communication products, such as static and interactive electronic whiteboards to primary and secondary education markets, as well as manu factures and sells steel and ceramic surfaces to third-party fabricators for use in the manufacture of static whiteboards. It also designs and sells surface materials comprising textiles, wall coverings, shades, screens, and surface imagings primarily to architects and designers for use in business, residential, healthcare, and hospitality applications. It sells its products to corporate, government, healthcare, education, and retail customers through the Steelcase, Turnstone, Details, and Nurture brands; and Coalesse and Designtex brands. The company markets its products and services through a network of independent and company-owned dealers, as well as directly to end-use customers. The company was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap office furniture stock Steelcase Inc (NYSE: SCS) jumped 11.66% after beating earnings expectations, meaning it might be time to take a closer look at the stock along with potential office or commercial furniture stock peers like�HNI Corp (NYSE: HNI), Knoll Inc (NYSE: KNL) and Virco Mfg. Corporation (NASDAQ: VIRC). After all, the performance of any company selling office or commercial furniture would tend to give some insights into the office or employment markets.

Top Safest Stocks To Watch For 2014: Golden Star Resources Ltd(GSS)

Golden Star Resources Ltd., a gold mining and exploration company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of gold properties. It owns and operates the Bogoso/Prestea gold mining and processing operation that covers approximately 40 kilometers of strike along the southwest-trending Ashanti gold district in western Ghana; and the Wassa open-pit gold mine located to the east of Bogoso/Prestea in southwest Ghana. The company also has an 81% interest in the Prestea underground gold mine located in Ghana. In addition, it holds interests in various gold exploration projects in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Cote d?Ivoire, as well as holds and manages exploration properties in Brazil in South America. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Littleton, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Patricio Kehoe] ating price of the commodity, along with the geopolitical risks involved in mining in African nations such as Ghana, are just two of the obstacles the firm is facing. In addition, as one of the smallest gold mining firms in the industry, with a market cap of just $122 million, Golden Star has had a very difficult time financing its latest expansion projects. With share prices tumbling towards all-time lows, gurus such as Steven Cohen, Chuck Royce and Arnold Schneider have already sold out their positions in the troubled firm.

  Why Have Gurus Lost Faith in Golden Star?

  Despite aggressive expansion over the past decade, the Toronto-based gold mining firm has not been able to take advantage of its increased production output. Gold prices might have exploded over a ten-year period, yet the recent six-month decline has put a huge strain on Golden Star. The expedited maturation of its mines is particularly troubling, since the accelerated extraction rates, which allowed for short-term profits, are now falling considerably. The impact of the company�� excessive overproduction on profits and growth is clear: decreasing gold reserves mean less production, and thus reduced revenue for the gold miner. When the decline in metal prices are taken into account, the outlook is even more grim.

  In addition to overexpansion at the wrong time, Golden Star�� position has weakened due to its comparably less efficient operations. Unlike industry peers, such as IamGold Corp. (IAG) or Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI), the majority of the Toronto-based miner�� assets contain refractory ore, which is far more expensive to extract than non refractory ore. And, in an attempt to switch production to the lower cost gold ore, and thus increase margins, Golden Star has depleted its mines��non refractory ore. With low reserves and mounting cash costs, the firm inevitably turned to new acquisitions.

  Overpriced Acquisitions and Geopolitical Risk

  The purchase

• [By Sean Williams]

  Golden Star Resources (NYSEMKT: GSS  )
  It's simple physics: The bigger they are, the harder they fall. When gold prices nosedived earlier this week, gold miners with historically higher operating costs took the brunt of the hit. For the most part, that meant that development-stage miners, and those operating in Africa, where labor and political costs make cost-effective mining a challenge, took it on the chin. Possibly no stock was hammered more than Golden Star Resources, a gold miner in Ghana, which lost about one-quarter of its value on Monday alone.

Top Safest Stocks To Watch For 2014: AVG Technologies NV (AVG)

AVG Technologies N.V. (AVG), incorporated on March 3, 2011, provides software and online services. The Company is primarily engaged in the development and sale of Internet security software and online service solutions branded under the AVG name. The Company�� solutions include software and online services, include security, personal computer (PC) management, online backup and other products. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had approximately 15 million subscription users. AVG�� portfolio consists of Anti-Virus suite, Internet Security suite, Premium Security suite, AVG Mobilation, AVG Threatlabs, Family Safety, TuneUp Utilities and PC Tuneup, LiveKive and MultiMi. On January 4, 2011, the Company acquired DroidSecurity Ltd. On March 3, 2011, the Company established AVG Holding Cooperatief U.A. On May 18, 2011, the Company acquired iMedix Web Technologies Ltd. In August 2011, it acquired TuneUp Software GmbH. On August 19, 2011, AVG Technologies GER GmbH acquired TuneUp Software GmbH. On October 31, 2011, AVG Technologies Holdings B.V. acquired AVG Distribution Switzerland AG. In November 2011, the Company acquired Bsecure Solutions, Inc. On January 13, 2012, AVG Technologies USA, Inc. acquired OpenInstall, Inc. In May 2013, AVG Technologies NV acquired online privacy organisation PrivacyChoice.

The Company�� products include AVG Internet Security, AVG Anti-Virus, AVG Email Server Edition, AVG File Server Edition, AVG Linux Server Edition, AVG Rescue CD and AVG Remote Administration. The Company�� subsidiaries include AVG Technologies USA Inc., AVG Technologies CZ, s.r.o., AVG Technologies UK Ltd, AVG Exploit Prevention Labs, Inc., AVG Technologies GER, GmbH, AVG Technologies FRA SAS, AVG Technologies HK, Limited, AVG (Beijing) Internet Security Technologies Company Limited, AVG Mobile Technologies Ltd, AVG Netherlands B.V., AVG Ecommerce CY Ltd, AVG Technologies Holding B.V., TuneUp Software GmbH, TuneUp Distribution GmbH, TuneUp Corporation and AVG Distribution Switzerland AG! .

The Company competes with Microsoft, Google, Apple, Qihoo, Tencent, Facebook, UniBlue, Symantec, Trend Micro, Avast!, Avira, Symantec, Carbonite, Dropbox, Intel Corporation, Trend Micro, Eset, Kaspersky Labs, Panda Software, Sophos, Rising, Kingsoft, Check Point and F-Secure.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MONEYMORNING]

  For instance, in the March 15 Private Briefing report, "Double Your Money With this Cyber-Hacking of America Stock," we recommended AVG Technologies NV (NYSE: AVG), an Amsterdam-based cybersecurity whose shares we believed were good for a 100% gain in a year.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  AVG Technologies (NYSE: AVG  ) reported earnings on April 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), AVG Technologies beat expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

• [By Igor Novgorodtsev]

  InterActiveCorp (IACI) bought Ask.com for $1.85 billion in 2005. The new Perion will be worth only about 40% of that. After the merger, Perion will leapfrog its much larger rivals: Babylon and AVG (AVG). Finally, Perion should be able to increase its operating margins as it can spread its SG&A costs over a much larger base (Conduit EBITDA margin is 32% vs. Perion's 23%). Perion will keep its senior management team intact: Josef Mandelbaum will remain its CEO and Yacov Kaufman its CFO. Perion has successfully orchestrated a roll-up acquisitions of privately-held Sweetpacks and Smilebox, so I have high confidence that they know how to integrate a new business.

Top Safest Stocks To Watch For 2014: American Electric Power Company Inc (AEP)

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP), incorporated on December 20, 1906, is a utility holding company that owns, directly or indirectly, all of the outstanding common stock of its public utility subsidiaries and varying percentages of other subsidiaries. The service areas of AEP�� public utility subsidiaries cover portions of the states of Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. The generating and transmission facilities of AEP�� public utility subsidiaries are interconnected and their operations are coordinated. Transmission networks are interconnected with distribution facilities in the territories served. The public utility subsidiaries of AEP have provided electric service, consisting of generation, transmission and distribution, on an integrated basis to their retail customers. On December 31, 2011, Columbus Southern Power Company (CSPCo) merged with and into Ohio Power Company (OPCo) with OPCo being the surviving entity. In March 2012, the Company�� subsidiary, AEP Retail Energy acquired BlueStar Energy Holdings Inc. and its independent retail electric supplier BlueStar Energy Solutions.

Appalachian Power Company (APCo) is engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power to approximately 960,000 retail customers in the southwestern portion of Virginia and southern West Virginia, and in supplying and marketing electric power at wholesale to other electric utility companies, municipalities and other market participants. Among the principal industries served by APCo are paper, rubber, coal mining, textile mill products and stone, clay and glass products. In addition to its AEP System interconnections, APCo is interconnected with nonaffiliated utility companies: Carolina Power & Light Company, Duke Carolina and Virginia Electric and Power Company. APCo has several points of interconnection with Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and has entered into agreements with TVA under whic! h APCo and TVA interchange and transfer electric power over portions of their respective systems. APCo is a member of Pennsylvania - New Jersey - Maryland regional transmission organization (PJM).

Indiana Michigan Power Company (I&M) is engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power to approximately 582,000 retail customers in northern and eastern Indiana and southwestern Michigan, and in supplying and marketing electric power at wholesale to other electric utility companies, rural electric cooperatives, municipalities and other market participants. Among the principal industries served are primary metals, transportation equipment, electrical and electronic machinery, fabricated metal products, rubber and chemicals and allied products, rubber products and transportation equipment. In addition to its AEP System interconnections, I&M is interconnected with nonaffiliated utility companies: Central Illinois Public Service Company, Duke Ohio, Commonwealth Edison Company, Consumers Energy Company, Illinois Power Company, Indianapolis Power & Light Company, Louisville Gas and Electric Company, Northern Indiana Public Service Company, Duke Indiana and Richmond Power & Light Company. I&M is a member of PJM.

Kentucky Power Company (KPCo) is engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power to approximately 173,000 retail customers in an area in eastern Kentucky, and in supplying and marketing electric power at wholesale to other electric utility companies, municipalities and other market participants. Among the principal industries served are petroleum refining, coal mining and chemical production. In addition to its AEP System interconnections, KPCo is interconnected with nonaffiliated utility companies: Kentucky Utilities Company and East Kentucky Power Cooperative Inc. KPCo is also interconnected with TVA. KPCo is a member of PJM. Kingsport Power Company (KGPCo) provides electric service to approximately 47,000 retail customers in K! ingsport ! and eight neighboring communities in northeastern Tennessee. KGPCo does not own any generating facilities and is a member of PJM. It purchases electric power from APCo for distribution to its customers.

OPCo is engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power to approximately 1,460,000 retail customers in Ohio, and in supplying and marketing electric power at wholesale to other electric utility companies, municipalities and other market participants. Among the principal industries served by OPCo are primary metals, chemicals and allied products, health services, electronic machinery, petroleum refining, and rubber and plastic products. In addition to its AEP System interconnections, OPCo is interconnected with nonaffiliated utility companies: Duke Ohio, The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company, Dayton Power and Light Company, Duquesne Light Company, Kentucky Utilities Company, Monongahela Power Company, Ohio Edison Company, The Toledo Edison Company and West Penn Power Company. OPCo is a member of PJM.

Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) is engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power to approximately 532,000 retail customers in eastern and southwestern Oklahoma, and in supplying and marketing electric power at wholesale to other electric utility companies, municipalities, rural electric cooperatives and other market participants. Among the principal industries served by PSO are paper manufacturing and timber products, natural gas and oil extraction, transportation, non-metallic mineral production, oil refining and steel processing. In addition to its AEP System interconnections, PSO is interconnected with Empire District Electric Company, Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company, Southwestern Public Service Company and Westar Energy, Inc. PSO is a member of Southwest Power Pool regional transmission organization (SPP).

Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCo) is engaged in the generation, transmission an! d distrib! ution of electric power to approximately 521,000 retail customers in northeastern and panhandle of Texas, northwestern Louisiana and western Arkansas and in supplying and marketing electric power at wholesale to other electric utility companies, municipalities, rural electric cooperatives and other market participants. Among the principal industries served by SWEPCo are natural gas and oil production, petroleum refining, manufacturing of pulp and paper, chemicals, food processing, and metal refining. The territory served by SWEPCo also includes several military installations, colleges and universities. SWEPCo also owns and operates a lignite coal mining operation. In addition to its AEP System interconnections, SWEPCo is interconnected with Central Louisiana Electric Company (CLECO), Empire District Electric Company, Entergy Corp. and Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company. SWEPCo is a member of SPP.

AEP Texas Central Company (TCC) is engaged in the transmission and distribution of electric power to approximately 787,000 retail customers through REPs in southern Texas. TCC has sold all of its generation assets. Among the principal industries served by TCC are chemical and petroleum refining, chemicals and allied products, oil and gas extraction, food processing, metal refining, plastics and machinery equipment. In addition to its AEP System interconnections, TCC is a member of Electric Reliability Council of Texas regional transmission organization (ERCOT). AEP Texas North Company (TNC) is engaged in the transmission and distribution of electric power to approximately 186,000 retail customers through REPs in west and central Texas. TNC�� generating capacity has been transferred to an affiliate at TNC�� cost pursuant to an agreement effective through 2027. Among the principal industries served by TNC are petroleum refining, agriculture and the manufacturing or processing of cotton seed products, oil products, precision and consumer metal products, meat products and gypsum products. The territor! y served ! by TNC also includes several military installations and correctional facilities. In addition to its AEP System interconnections, TNC is a member of ERCOT.

Wheeling Power Company (WPCo) provides electric service to approximately 41,000 retail customers in northern West Virginia. WPCo does not own any generating facilities. WPCo is a member of PJM. It purchases electric power from OPCo for distribution to its customers. AEP Generating Company (AEGCo) is an electric generating company. AEGCo sells power at wholesale to OPCo, I&M and KPCo. AEP also owns a service company subsidiary, American Electric Power Service Corporation (AEPSC).

Utility Operations

Utility operations constitute most of AEP�� business operations. Utility operations include the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power to retail customers and the supplying and marketing of electric power at wholesale (through the electric generation function) to other electric utility companies, municipalities and other market participants. AEPSC, as agent for AEP�� public utility subsidiaries, performs marketing, generation dispatch, fuel procurement and power-related risk management and trading activities.

Electric Generation

As of December 31, 2011, AEP�� public utility subsidiaries owned or leased approximately 37,000 MW of domestic generation. AEP�� public utility subsidiaries procure coal and lignite under a combination of purchasing arrangements including long-term contracts, affiliate operations and spot agreements with various producers and coal trading firms. Through its public utility subsidiaries, as of December 31, 2011, AEP owned, leased or controlled more than 7,600 railcars, 634 barges, 16 towboats and a coal handling terminal with 18 million tons of annual capacity to move and store coal for use in its generating facilities. Through its public utility subsidiaries, AEP consumed nearly 167 billion cubic feet of natural gas, during the year ended Dec! ember 31,! 2011, for generating power. The Unit Power Agreement between AEGCo and I&M provides for the sale by AEGCo to I&M of all the capacity (and the energy associated therewith) available to AEGCo at the Rockport Plant. The Unit Power Agreement between AEGCo and OPCo provides for the sale by AEGCo to OPCo of all the capacity and associated unit contingent energy and ancillary services available to OPCo from the Lawrenceburg Plant.

Electric Transmission and Distribution

AEP�� public utility subsidiaries (other than AEGCo) own and operate transmission and distribution lines and other facilities to deliver electric power. Most of the transmission and distribution services are sold, in combination with electric power, to retail customers of AEP�� public utility subsidiaries in their service territories. AEP�� public utility subsidiaries (other than AEGCo) hold franchises or other rights to provide electric service in various municipalities and regions in their service areas. In some cases, these franchises provide the utility with the right to provide electric service. In addition to providing transmission services in connection with their own power sales, AEP�� public utility subsidiaries through RTOs also provide transmission services for non-affiliated companies. AEP�� System Transmission Integration Agreement provides for the integration and coordination of the planning, operation and maintenance of the transmission facilities of AEP East and AEP West companies.

Transmission Operations

AEP Transmission Company, LLC (AEP Transco), a subsidiary of AEP, has seven wholly-owned transmission companies, geographically aligned with its existing operating companies. These transmission companies will develop and own new transmission assets that are physically connected to AEP�� system. The transmission companies have been approved in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Oklahoma. AEPSC and other AEP subsidiaries provide services to the transmission companies throug! h service! agreements. The Company has established joint ventures with other incumbent electric utility companies for the purpose of developing, building and owning Extra High Voltage (EHV) transmission lines in North America. Its joint venture, Electric Transmission Texas, LLC (ETT), was established to construct, fund, own and operate electric transmission assets within ERCOT, including transmission projects in the Competitive Renewable Energy Zone (CREZ). Business services for the joint ventures are provided by AEPSC and the joint venture partner entity.

AEP River Operations

The Company�� AEP River Operations Segment transports coal and dry bulk commodities primarily on the Ohio, Illinois and lower Mississippi rivers. Almost all of its customers are nonaffiliated third parties who obtain the transport of coal and dry bulk commodities for various uses. AEP�� affiliated utility customers procure the transport of coal for use as fuel in their respective generating plants. AEP River Operations includes approximately 2,600 barges, 45 towboats and 25 harbor boats that it owns or leases.

Generation and Marketing

The Company�� Generation and Marketing Segment consists of non-utility generating assets and a power supply and energy trading and marketing business. It enters into short and long-term transactions to buy or sell capacity, energy and ancillary services primarily in the ERCOT market, and to a lesser extent Ohio in PJM and MISO. As of December 31, 2011, the assets utilized in this segment included approximately 310 megawatt of Company-owned domestic wind power facilities, 177 megawatt of domestic wind power from long-term purchase power agreements and 377 megawatt of coal-fired capacity which was obtained through an agreement effective through 2027 that transfers TNC�� interest in the Oklaunion power station to AEP Energy Partners, Inc. The power obtained from the Oklaunion power station is marketed and sold in ERCOT.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP  ) is one of the largest utilities around, with a total generation capacity just shy of 38,000 MW. Coal clocks in at 66% of the company's total capacity, creating plenty of potential for cheap generation. But similar to Southern, 22% of the utility's generation originates from natural gas and oil. American's 3.8% dividend yield is the lowest of the bunch, but the dividend stock has pushed up its payouts 14.6% in the past five years.

Top Safest Stocks To Watch For 2014: Plantronics Inc.(PLT)

Plantronics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of lightweight communications headsets, telephone headset systems, and accessories for the business and consumer markets under the Plantronics name worldwide. It also offers specialty telephone products, such as telephones for the hearing impaired and other related products for people with special communication needs under the Clarity brand name. The company?s products are designed for specific markets and applications, such as offices; contact centers; mobile devices comprising mobile phones and smart phones; computer and gaming; and residential applications, as well as for other specialty applications. It sells its products through a network of distributors, retailers, wireless carriers, original equipment manufacturers, and telephony service providers. The company was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Santa Cruz, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Can you hear me now?
  Unlike YRC, which I consider to be in awful shape, audio communication solutions maker Plantronics (NYSE: PLT  ) is merely a sell in my book based on its recent share price appreciation.