The Next Big Growth Industry Like 3D Printing: Cosmetic Surgery Stocks

American are getting older but looking younger. According to recent data at the United States Census, persons over 55 years old now make up 25% of the population. According to an article published by Stony Brook University School of Medicine, 3.3 million Americans over the age of 55 underwent cosmetic procedures in 2010, and facelifts are up 14% just for men. The article emphasizes the fact that older Americans are turning to cosmetic surgery to compete in the job marketplace.
Innovative procedures in cosmetic surgery, and especially liposuction, have made huge advances recently. The procedure is now much quicker, safer, and with a much faster recovery period. Casey Research has published an outstanding report on the history of cosmetic surgery and the the latest technology in the field.
Will this industry be the next hot industry? Will the stocks in this field rise by 200% in a year like the 3D printing stocks? It is hard to know when revenues will start to skyrocket and investors will jump on the stocks in a narrow niche. There are about a half a dozen cosmetic surgery product companies in this business according to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, and surprisingly, many of these companies are debt free with a lot of cash on a per share basis.
One of the leaders in the field is Cynosure (CYNO), which produces Smartlipo® LaserBodySculpting™ Workstations used for treating localized fat deposits using a minimally invasive technique, and makes three laser options that take different approaches to treat cellulite: Cellulaze, SmoothShapes XV, and Triactive. The company just released PicoSure, the first picosecond device to remove tattoos. The stock trades at 43 times trailing earnings and 30 times forward earnings. The company has $807,000 in debt, with $5.97 in cash per share. Revenues for the latest reported quarter ending September 30 were up 31.1%. The company reports year-end earnings on February 12 before the market opens.
Solta Medical (SLTM) produces the Thermage CPT non-invasive treatment for skin tightening, and the Liposonix system to destroy unwanted fat cells resulting in waist circumference reduction. The stock trades at 29 times forward earnings, has $27.8 million in debt, and $0.56 in cash per share, amounting to about 22% of the stock price. Revenue for the latest quarter rose by 27.8%. The company reports on February 19.
There are other companies that participate on a peripheral basis of the look-good, look-younger industry. For example, Align Technology (ALGN) makes the Invisilign systems, an invisible orthodontics process for straightening teeth. The stock has a trailing price to earnings ratio of 35 and a forward PE of 24. The company has no debt with $4.03 in cash per share.
PhotoMedex (PHMD) makes XTRAC laser products for psoriasis and vitiligo, NEOVA for premature skin aging, and Omnilux Light-emitting diode for wrinkles and acne. The stock has a PE of 19 and a forward PE of 10. It has $17,000 in debt, with $2.55 in cash per share.
To access a free list of of the cosmetic surgery stocks, and stocks in related industries, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.The list includes the trailing PE, the forward PE, the total debt, the cash per share and the business.
Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.
By Stockerblog.com

Stock Tip of the Week: Short Puts

It may sound strange but shorting puts can be one of the safest ways to invest. Put and call options are ways of speculating on the price movements of stocks providing much greater percentage returns (and percentage losses). A call is the right to buy a stock at a particular price within a particular amount of time. The call purchaser hopes that the stock will go up and if it does, the percentage gain will be far more than if just the stock is purchased. If the call is not exercised by the expiration date, the call expires worthless. If you sell (short) a call and you own the stock, if your stock doesn't get called and the call expires worthless, you get to keep the proceeds, the premium, which is a way of generating income, or additional income if the stock is already a dividend payer, on the stock. Options are traded on a per share basis but representing 100 shares. In other words, If a call option is selling for 3.75, it means that the option cost would be $375 and it would give the buyer the right to buy 100 shares.

A put is the reverse. It is the right to sell a stock at a specific price within a particular period of time. Often, owners of a stock buy a put to protect them on the downside. There could be several reasons for this: postponing a capital gain to the following year, uncertainty about upcoming earnings call, belief in a potential market drop. Another reason to buy a put is to speculate that the stock will drop; an alternative to shorting the stock. However, the seller of a put is hoping that the stock will go up and the put will become worthless. If the stock drops, the price of the put will increase and the trader who shorts the put would lose money but would lose less money than if the stock was purchased.

This is where an overlooked trading technique comes in to play. Let's look at a hypothetical example. Suppose XYZ stock is trading at 21 a share. Assume that a one month put with an exercise price, or strike price, of 20 is selling at 1. The buyer of the hopes that it drops significantly. If the stock drops to 17, the put buyer can buy the stock at 17 and 'put' it to the seller of the put at 20, for a 3 point gross profit or after the investment of 1, a net profit of 2, not counting commissions. Or as a simpler alternative, the put would be worth 3 points and could just be sold, for a 200% profit.

Now let's look at the seller of the put. If you are bullish on XYZ stock, you can buy 100 shares of the stock for 21. If the stock does nothing, you make nothing. If the stock goes up 1 point to 22, you make a $100 profit. if it drops to 17, you lose $400. Now here's the tip. If you short the put, and the stock does nothing, the put will expire worthless and you make $100. If the stock goes to 22, the value of the put drops to zero still expiring worthless, and you make a $100 profit. Now suppose that the stock drops to 17, the put is now worth 3, and since it was shorted at 1, it is a net loss of 2 or $200, a much lower loss than if you had bought the stock.

The alternative is that you could have had the stock put to you, meaning that you would be forced to buy the stock at 20. But you would still have been better off than if you had just bought the stock at 21. You end up buying a stock that you wanted, but at a dollar less per share, plus you get to keep the one dollar premium so your cost basis is actually 19. This on a stock that you were willing to pay 21 for. Therefore, the breakeven is 19. If the stock drops drops to 19, the value of the put is 1 which is where you shorted it at.

If you really want the stock, there are other ways to play the short put. You could short an at-the-money or slightly in-the-money put, giving you a greater chance of getting put to, and still capturing the premium on the option.

This technique has the advantage of time in your favor. The closer to expiration, the faster the value of the put depreciates. Now the disadvantages. Unless the stock is put to you, you lose upside potential. Also, not every investor is eligible to do this. You would have to be cleared for option trading and spreads by your brokerage firm before you will be allowed to short puts. Also, it is really a good idea to have some experience trading options before trying this.

Stocks Reporting Earnings Tomorrow, Tuesday, Jan 29

Stocks reporting earnings tomorrow, Tuesday, January 29.

AK Steel Holding (AKS)

Amazon.com (AMZN)

Broadcom Corp. (BRCM)

Corning Inc. (GLW)

Crane Co. (CR)

DR Horton (DHI)

Dolby Laboratories (DLB)

Ford Motor Company (F)

Harley-Davidson (HOG)

International Paper (IP)

Illinois Tool Works (ITW)

Peabody Energy (BTU)

Pentair (PNR)

Pfizer Inc. (PFE)

If you like lists like this, check out the many free stock lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the Second Week of February

  Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, you have to be extremely careful, and may need to avoid the technique during those times.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date, the yield, and the market capitalization.

FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) 2/5/2013 5.51% $16.8B

Intel Corporation (INTC) 2/5/2013 4.30% $104.3B

Rentech Nitrogen Partners LP (RNF) 2/5/2013 8.51% $1.8B

Summit Midstream Partners LP (SMLP) 2/5/2013 7.89% $1.0B

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP) 2/6/2013 4.25% $21.6B

Belo Corp. (BLC) 2/6/2013 3.91% $766.1M

Unilever plc ADR (UL) 2/6/2013 3.15% $51.5B

Unilever N.V. ADR (UN) 2/6/2013 3.16% $51.7B

Oritani Financial Corp. (ORIT) 2/6/2013 3.73% $701.2M

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Monthly Dividend Stock List
Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.


Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Health Food Stocks May Make Your Portfolio Healthier

As baby boomers age, they pay closer attention to their health. As a matter of fact, as seniors start to age, their conversations seem to become more and more peppered with medical issues, weight, and food. The connection between the food you eat and your health and wellness continues to become stronger and stronger. Of course, it is not just older Americans that are concerned about their food and beverage consumption; young people are jumping on the bandwagon in droves.

Investors have been benefiting from the marketers healthy food and beverages, with major health food retailers up 100% or more during the last five years. However, during the last three months, these stocks have been underperforming the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, yet since the beginning of January, the health food stocks are starting to turn back up. According to the free list at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com of health food stocks, there are over a dozen worth investigating.

One of the major players in this industry is Whole Foods Market (WFM), based in Austin, Texas, which owns a chain of supermarkets specializing in natural and organic products. The stock trades at 38 times trailing earnings and 28 times forward earnings. The earnings for the latest reported quarter were up 49.4% on a 23.6% rise in revenues. The company has $1.22 billion in cash, amounting to $6.58 in cash per share. The company reports earnings on February 13. Whole Foods pays a small dividend with a yield of 0.9%.

Hain Celestial Group (HAIN) is a provider of natural and organic foods and personal care products. The company brands include Celestial Seasonings tea, Soy Dream and Almond Dream beverages, the FreeBird brand of organic free range chickens, and whole grain foods through Arrowhead Mills. The stock has a trailing price to earnings ratio of 32 and forward PE of 20. Earnings for the latest quarter were up 40.2% on a 25.4% boost in sales. The company reports on February 5.

There are plenty of other health food stocks such as REEDS (REED), a distributor of natural non-alcoholic carbonated soft drinks and New Age beverages, and SunOpta (STKL), which processes and packages natural and organic food products. To see all the primary companies involved in the health food industry, check out the list of health food stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written. By Stockerblog.com

The Latest Dividend Boosters

The stock market is rising and more and more companies are raising their dividends. Unemployment is down, and it appears that the economy is improving. When a stock raises its dividend, it is always a good sign. Here are some that have boosted their dividends recently.

CMS Energy increased the quarterly dividend on the company's common stock by 6 percent

Parker Hannifin Corporation (PH) increased its quarterly dividend by 5%

GATX Corporation (GMT) increased its dividend by 3.3%

NGL Energy Partners (NGL) has bumped up its dividend by about 2%

Old National Bancorp (ONB) declared an increase in its quarterly common stock dividend of 11.1%

First Horizon National Corp. (FHN) announced Wednesday a quarterly dividend increase to 5 cents from 1 cent per share

Harleysville Savings Financial Corp. raised its dividend by more than 10%

Realty Income Corporation (O) declared a 19.2% increase in the company’s common stock monthly cash dividend

Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) raised up its quarterly common stock dividend by 14%

If you like stock lists like this, such as a list of stocks going ex-dividend, beer stocks, candy stocks, or coffee stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the First Week of February

  Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, you have to be extremely careful, and may need to avoid the technique during those times.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date, the yield, and the market capitalization.

Itau Unibanco Holding SA ADR (ITUB) 2/1/2013 4.36% $39.3B

Natural Resource Partners LP (NRP) 2/1/2013 10.06% $2.4B

Suburban Propane Partners LP (SPH) 2/1/2013 8.31% $2.4B

ING Global Equity Divid.&Premium Opp-ETF (IGD) 2/1/2013 10.89% $911.1M

Global Partners LP (GLP) 2/1/2013 7.43% $845.1M

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Monthly Dividend Stock List
Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.


Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Eva Longoria Stock Index Outperforms the Dow Jones Industrial Average

If you read the weekend edition of The Wall Street Journal, you would have noticed the front page article about famous Desperate Housewives actress, Eva Longoria, and her political activism. She was co-chair of President Obama's re-election campaign and was on stage with the president during the inauguration.

She has had a very successful career, winning several awards for her television roles in Housewives and The Young and the Restless. In addition, she is a successful businesswoman, working as celebrity spokesperson for several products, and even came out with her own perfume, Eva by Eva Longoria.

Because of her fame, her product endorsements and connections to businesses can have an effect on company revenues. The stock prices of these companies can be built into a stock index, which can be compared to stock prices in general. You would find that we first started tracking Eva Longoria stocks back in 2007 and 2008.

If you look at the share prices of the companies Longoria is connected to and built into an index, you would find that since July of 2007, the Eva Index is up 21.7% versus the Dow Jones Industrial Average which was up only 4.3%. The components of the Eva Longoria Stock Index are listed below along with her connections.

Hanes (HBI) celebrity endorsement

New York & Company (NWY) celebrity endorsement

BEBE (BEBE) SPORT celebrity endorsement

Pepsi (PEP) celebrity endorsement

Starred in Desperate Housewives produced by ABC Television owned by Disney (DIS), also starred in ABC's remake of Dragnet

Microsoft (MSFT) 'I'm a PC' television commercial cameo appearance celebrity endorsement

Assumptions:
This is price-weighted index, similar to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Dividends were included.

Check out additional celebrity stock indices such as Gisele Bundchen, Heidi Klum, and Angelina Jolie, along with numerous other celebrity stock indexes.

Disclosure: Author owns DIS.

Picture courtesy of the US Department of Labor. No celebrity endorsement expressed or implied.

Apple Closed at Exactly 500.00 per Share Last Friday

Apple (AAPL) closed at exactly 500.00 per share last Friday, not 500.37, no 499.98, but exactly 500.00, with the four zeros. What's up with that?

Maybe because it was options expiration day? Do you know the chances of a stock closing the day with four zeros, assuming it closes at 1000 per share or less? The chances are one in ten thousand.

Earnings Announcements for Tomorrow

Earnings announcements for tomorrow:

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)

Cree Inc. (CREE)

CSX Corp. (CSX)

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD)

Ethan Allan Interiors (ETH)

Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX)

Google Inc. (GOOG)

II-VI Inc. (IIVI)

Kansas City Southern (KSU)

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC)

PetMed Express Inc. (PETS)

RF Micro Devices (RFMD)

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (AMTD)

Texas Instruments (TXN)

Verizon Communications (VZ)

More Companies Raising their Dividends

A great New Year's start is news that your stock is raising its dividend. Here is a selection of stocks that recently bumped up dividend payouts.

Enterprise Bancorp (EBTC) declared a 4.5% dividend increase

Pizza Pizza Royalty Corp. (PZA.TO) announced a 4.2% increase in its monthly dividend

Black Rock (BLK) raised its quarterly dividend 12%

Core Laboratories (CLB) raised its quarterly dividend 14.2%

Family Dollar (FDO) boosted its quarterly dividend 24%

Finish Line (FINL) raised its quarterly dividend by 17%

Kinder Morgan (KMI) bumped up its quarterly dividend 19%

Oneok Partners (OKE) raised its quarterly dividend 9%

Packing Corporation of America (PKG) had a 25% in dividend payout

Wisconsin Energy (WEC) spiked its quarterly dividend by 13%

Corus Entertainment (CJR-B.TO) announced a 6.25% dividend increase

If you like stock lists like this, such as a list of stocks going ex-dividend, beer stocks, candy stocks, or coffee stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Exclusive Interview with Top Stock Trader and Actress Rachel Fox part 2

If you missed the first interview with Rachel Fox back in November, you should check it out at Rachel Fox Interview Part 1. The following is Part 2 of an exclusive Stockerblog.com interview with Rachel G. Fox. You should pay attention to her for several reasons. First of all, she is a female stock trader with a very successful track record in a field that is dominated by male stock traders. Second, she is a very young trader, only 16 years old, in a field that is dominated by traders who are much older. And third, she is an actress, who starred in Melissa & Joey, and had a reoccurring starring role in Desperate Housewives, in which she was nominated for a Best Recurring Young Actress in a Television Series Award and a Best Recurring Young Actress in a Comedy Series. Rachel Fox is also the publisher of her own blog, FoxOnStocks.com. Check out this fascinating interview.

Now that the Fiscal Cliff is no longer much of an issue, are you bullish on the stock market in general for this year?

The fiscal cliff is a non-issue for the moment but there are going to be three more Fiscal Cliff related deadlines coming up during the year; the next one is in March. It's not fully off the table, so there are still some things that I'm just a bit concerned about. I just don't usually trade based on the year. I don't think long term, I just think more day-to-day, and what it is going to do next week, a week-to-week thing. I have been doing a lot of shorting recently on a lot of different stocks that are overbought.

Speaking of holding periods, what is the shortest holding period you have ever held a stock?

Seven minutes, I got out super quick.

What is the longest holding period you have ever had for a stock, not counting your first bad investment?

I had a trade in the Chinese technology stock, SOHU. I had a long position in it back in May, when the entire market did a dip downward, and it dropped like seven dollars. I had this feeling that I would hold on to it and it will come back, so I held on to it for five months, and it ended up rising back up the seven dollars that it dropped plus another seven dollars, and I made a great profit off of that.

If a trade turns against you, do you hold your position, add to you position, or bail out?

So many factors affect it, it's so hard to tell. Some stocks I'm absolutely confident on, and say it drops a bunch, then I do what a lot of people say not to do, and I will dollar-cost-average. I know people say never do that, it is so ridiculously risky. I try never to get lost in my ego, and try not to get emotional with my trades, but sometimes when I just know it's going a certain way, I'll dollar-cost-average.
My biggest trade ever actually I made the most doing that, with the oil stock, SLB. I had bought it, then it had dropped; I dollar-cost-averaged, and it ended up rising to a great profit.

The follow-on question to that is at what point do you make that decision? In other words, if you do dollar-cost-averaging, is it a gut feel, or do you wait for a certain percentage drop, or a dollar amount drop or what?

I don't have a specific amount necessarily, and I don't have a specific percentage where I've got to get out of it or have to average out. A lot of it is personal to every person as to how much they feel like risking, how much they are comfortable with. It's personal to every single trader. It's just like not taking a stock tip from anyone.

Do you ever trade microcap or penny stocks?

I have not ever traded a penny stock. Well, actually that one stock I blogged about, RAYS, my first trade that ended up turning into a penny stock after I bought it. Other than that, I don't. They can only move a penny up or a penny down, and it seems like there is more logic to trading higher priced stocks.

Do you prefer limit orders or market orders?

Market orders. I'll watch the stock, I'll watch the ticks, and I'll have the market order on the next screen, and I'll be waiting to hit the order. The second it hits where I want to I'll hit the order button. I usually get pretty close or exactly what I wanted. That way, I don't leave it up to chance whether I get it or not. Because there have been times where I left it up to chance with limit orders, and it doesn't quite get there and it ends up doing what I thought it would,

Do you ever use stop orders?

People recommend that a lot; I don't. It's uncomfortable for me to think that it could barely touch the price then have the sell order be placed on the stock then have the stock go up where you thought it was going to go. I leave it up to my instincts.
And other than my first trade, I haven't had any humongous losses; I'm pretty good at controlling when it's dropped enough, I know when to get out.

How often do you short stocks?

As of about October, about 70% are shorts and 30% are long buys. I short a lot; it just works. I get psychological ideas of when something's going to drop; I just have a good feel for it.

Do you think your profits are better on your short side or your long side or about equal?

It's hard to say because I have been buying long for a lot longer than I have been shorting. I think they're pretty neck and neck. Actually I'm going to say when I short I make better profits.

Are you planning on getting into options trading at any point?

Definitely, 100%. I think the idea of options minimizing your risk and maximizing your gains, I just love the concept of it. I think it's amazing. The other thing about options is that you have to really, really know a lot. I feel like with stock trading I understand it and I can place trades, but options I will have to really understand a lot about them.
I'm also really interested in writing covered call options and collecting the premiums on high paying dividend stocks. I just read about that strategy a little bit ago and I thought 'Wow, that's so cool. I've got to try that.'

When you have losing trades, do you ever get really stressed out, and if so, how do you deal with stress?

Denial works really nice. (laughter) Well, when I have a losing trade, I never let a stock lose so much where I know I'll start to lose sleep. I'll never let it get to that point. I'll try to take as much control as I possibly can. Sometimes it will just fuel my fire, where like if I lost this then I have to make double that in the next trade, so here we go and find a winner again, and be all motivated again; it really puts the pressure down and I have to make this back. I try to twist it in my mind to be like that.

Do you have any college plans at this time?

I finished high school early and next semester I'm going to be taking some music theory classes actually at a college in LA. I also have a band and I'm really into rock and roll music and I really want to learn how to write great songs. Right now I don't have any plans to go and study at a college anything financial, except that I am in the process of studying for my Series 6 license. I think what they teach you and what you study, all that information would be so good. That's were I first learned about the concept of options.

Any New Year's resolutions that you would be willing to share?

Take the stairs instead of taking the elevator. (laughter) I don't really have any, but it's cool that you asked that because I actually did just write a blog on people who are wanting to make trading their New Year's resolution or investing long term or day trading. I have this blog on how to turn the resolution into actual realty. So they should go to FoxOnStocks.com and anyone who wants to trade or invest should read it.
Also, I'm starting to dabble in forex trading. I just opened an online virtual trading account where you trade with fake money and that's pretty fun. I'm trying to learn a lot about that as well. I placed my first virtual trade the other day and so far I'm making some nice virtual money. So I'm looking into that.

You've provided a lot of great information. Thank you for doing the interview.

Thank you so much. I'm happy to do it.

Check out Rachel Fox's guest blog about tech stocks at Stockerblog.com. Also, check out the Rachel Fox Interview Part 1.

The picture is from Rachel Fox's appearance in the Daniel Craig film, Dream House. Picture is published courtesy of and with permission from the public relations firm of Rachel Fox.

No investment recommendation nor any investment promotion is expressed or implied by either Stockerblog.com or Rachel Fox in this interview.

3 More Stocks Selling Above $4000 a Share: What is it about California Banks?

California is different from other states, and not just due to its diverse economy. If California was a separate country, it would be one of the top ten countries of the world in terms of gross domestic product, larger than the GDPs of Russia, India, and Canada. Although the state is one of the largest users of energy, the per capita energy use is one of the smallest of all the states. It was the state that passed the first statewide medical marijuana initiative back in 1996. The state has the lowest and the highest points in the continental U. S. The modern day fortune cookie was invented in California. And right now, California seems to be the only state that doesn't have a flu epidemic (yet).

So what does this have to have to do with high priced stocks? Absolutely nothing, except that three of the highest priced stocks are California banks. What's up with that? These three high priced stocks are in addition to the one featured in the article Five Stocks Trading above $4000 a Share.

Sunwest Bank (SWBC) closed at 29,000 today, up 2,100 or 7.81%, with a huge trading volume of 1. That's one share. This banking company headquartered in Irvine, California, has branches in Tustin, Anaheim, Irvine, Laguna Hills, San Clemente and Encinitas, California, and in Flagstaff and Cottonwood, Arizona. It was ranked fourth out of the 200 top community banks and thrifts in the US, based on its three-year average return on equity.

Mechanics Bank (MCHB) based in Richmond, California, was founded in 1905. It has 33 branches in Contra Costa, Alameda, San Francisco, Marin, Napa, Placer, Sacramento, and El Dorado counties. The stock closed a couple days ago 10,850. The stock trades at 12.2 times earnings and pays a 3% yield, a lot more than what it currently pays on its savings accounts.

Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach (FMBL), founded in 1907, is based in, where else, Long Beach, California. It has 21 branches in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. The stock trades at 9.3 times earnings and pays a yield of 1.9%. The stock closed at 4,550.00, up 62.00 or 1.38% at a volume of 46 shares for the day.

If you like interesting lists like this, check out many of the free stock lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Stocks Reporting Earnings Tomorrow, Friday January 18

Stocks Reporting Earnings Tomorrow, Friday January 18

Rockwell Collins (COL)

General Electric (GE)

Johnson Controls (JCI)

Morgan Stanley (MS)

Parker Hannifin Corp. (PH)

Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB)

State Street Corp. (STT)

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the Fifth Week of January 2013

  Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, you have to be extremely careful, and may need to avoid the technique during those times.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date, the yield, and the market capitalization.

Boardwalk REIT (BOWFF) 1/29/2013 3.0% $3.1B

ConAgra Foods, Inc. (CAG) 1/29/2013 3.4% $12.1B

DNP Select Income Fund Inc. (DNP) 1/29/2013 8.4% $2.2B

WAJAX Corp (WJXFF) 1/29/2013 7.9% $688.4M

Bird Construction (BIRDF) 1/29/2013 5.4% $557.3M

Bank of Montreal (BMO) 1/30/2013 4.7% $40.1B

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Monthly Dividend Stock List
Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.


Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Stocks Reporting Earnings Thursday January 17

The following stocks are reporting earnings Thursday January 17

ASML Holding NV (ASML)

American Express (AXP)

Bank of America (BAC)

BB&T Corp. (BBT)

Citigroup (C)

Capital One Financial (COF)

Fastenal Co. (FAST)

Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB)

Intel Corp. (INTC)

PNC Financial Services (PNC)

Xilinx Inc. (XLNX)

Five Stocks Trading above $4000 a Share

Some investors like low priced stocks, some like high priced stocks, some don't care what the price is as long as the stock price goes up. Here are five stocks that are trading above $4,000 a share.

Of course the most famous high price stock is Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-A) which is trading at $143,300 per share. The stock trades at 17.8 times current earnings.

Bactolac Pharmaceutical (BTCA) is a company which makes and distributes vitamins, nutraceuticals, and private label nutritional supplements. The stock last traded at $100,000 per share on December 21. Back in 2008, the stock traded as low as $24,050.

Ergo Science Corporation (ERGN) is a publisher of business information through printed magazines, Web sites, data services and directories. The stock last traded at $9,000 on January 3.

Highwater Ethanol (HEOL) last traded at $5,500 per share on March 22.

The Seibels Bruce Group (SBBG) is a provider of services to the insurance industry and offers automobile, flood, and other property and casualty insurance services. This stock is much more actively traded than most of the other above, as two shares traded today at $4300 per share.

If you like interesting stock lists like this, check out many of the free stock lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Stocks Reporting Earnings Tomorrow

The Bank of New York (BK)

Comerica Inc. (CMA)

eBay Inc. (EBAY)

Goldman Sachs (GS)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)

Kinder Morgan (KMI)

U.S. Bancorp (USB)

3D Printing Stocks Up Over 200% Since I Wrote About Them Last Year

3D printers are machines that can 'print' anything from toys to machine parts to automobiles to houses! If you saw my 3D Printing article last month, you would see that the two main players in the industry are 3D Systems Corporation (DDD) and Stratasys (SSYS).

At the time the article was written on December 13, 2012, 3D closed at 46.08, it is now trading at 61.27, an increase of 33%. Stratasys traded at 70.46 back then, now it is at 83.69, a rise of over 18%. And one 3D stock that I didn't write about, and is a much smaller company, is Organovo Holdings (ONVO), which closed at 2.16 on December 13 and is now at 3.84, an incredible increase of 77%.

Of course, this wasn't the first time I wrote about 3D printing. I have featured several articles throughout the year. One of the first articles I wrote about was on January 8, 2012. At that time DDD which closed at 15.81 the next business day, an incredible increase of 287%, and SSYS was at 35.15, and has risen 146%. This is an average percentage increase of 216%.

Is the run on these stocks over? Even though they may be good for the long term, I would say that they are certainly due for a pullback. Now it is time to look for the next hot industry.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Top Technology Short Squeeze Plays for Stock Traders

A short squeeze takes place when an excessive amount of short sellers have shorted a stock, the stock comes out with good news, and the price of the stock spikes by an excessive amount, because all the short sellers have to scramble to cover their positions by buying in their shares, often due to the fact that they are getting margin calls.

Potential short squeeze plays have several metrics for comparison purposes. One of the most popular metrics is the Short Interest Ratio, also known as the Days to Cover. What this measures is the number of days it would take the short sellers to cover their positions based on the average daily trading volume. The longer it would take to cover, the higher the ratio. Another analysis is the shares short as a percentage of float. The higher the percentage, the greater the chance that an upside shock would drive up the price.

The technology sector has many short squeeze plays to choose from. Here are some examples. Shown is the name of the company and the short interest ratio. in other words the number of days it would take the short sellers to cover their positions based on recent volume.

Carbonite (CARB) 34.5

Ebix (EBIX) 30.4

Opentable (OPEN) 19.8

Skullcandy (SKUL) 15.4

Ubiquiti Networks (UBNT) 14.5

Magicjack Vocaltec (CALL) 10.3

GT Advanced Tech (GTAT) 8.2

The above are worth checking for the possibility of any positive news as potential trades.

If you like interesting stock lists like this, check out the many free stock lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.

The Lost Generation Palindrome Video

This video has nothing to do with stocks or investments but it is an interesting palindrome (forwards backwards) video. You need to watch at least more than half the video to see why.

Income Tax Filing Deadlines

Income Tax Filing Deadlines

Excerpted from J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2013: For Preparing Your 2012 Tax Return

January 15, 2013 - Pay the balance of your 2012 estimated tax. If you do not meet this date, you may avoid an estimated tax penalty for the last quarter by filing your 2012 return and paying the balance due by January 31,2013.

Farmers and fishermen: File your single 2012 estimated tax payment by this date. If you do not, you may still avoid an estimated tax penalty by filing a final tax return and paying the full tax by March 1, 2013.

January 31, 2013 - Make sure you have received a Form W-2 from each employer for whom you worked in 2012.

April 15, 2013 - File your 2012 tax return and pay the balance of your tax. If you cannot meet the April 15 deadline, you may obtain an automatic six-month filing extension by filing Form 4868 (on paper or electronically). However, even if you get an extension, interest will still be charged for taxes not paid by April 15, and late payment penalties will be imposed unless at least 90% of your tax liability is paid by this date or you otherwise show reasonable cause. If you cannot pay the full amount of tax you owe when you file your return, you can file Form 9465 to request an installment payment arrangement.

If on this date you are a U.S. citizen or resident living and working outside the U.S. or Puerto Rico, or in military service outside the U.S. or Puerto Rico, you have an automatic two-month filing extension until June 17, 2013.

Pay the first installment of your 2013 estimated tax by this date.

June 17, 2013 - Pay the second installment of your 2013 estimated tax. You may amend your estimate at this time.

If on April 15 you were a U.S. citizen or resident living and working outside the U.S. or Puerto Rico, or in military service outside the U.S. or Puerto Rico, file your 2012 return and pay the balance due. You may obtain an additional four-month filing extension until October 15, 2013, by filing Form 4868.

If you are a nonresident alien who did not have tax withheld from your wages, file Form 1040NR by this date and pay the balance due.

September 16, 2013 - Pay the third installment of your 2013 estimated tax. You may amend your estimate at this time.

October 15, 2013 - File your 2012 return if you received an automatic six-month filing extension using Form 4868. Also file your 2012 return and pay the balance due if on April 15 you were a U.S. citizen or resident living and working outside the U.S. or Puerto Rico, or in military service outside the U.S. or Puerto Rico, and by June 17 you qualified for an additional four-month extension by filing Form 4868.

December 31, 2013 - If self-employed, this is the last day to set up a Keogh plan for 2013.

January 15, 2014 - Pay the balance of your 2013 estimated tax.

April 15, 2014 - File your 2013 return and pay the balance of your tax. Pay the first installment of your 2014 estimated tax by this date.

15th day of the 4th month after the fiscal year ends - File your fiscal year return and pay the balance of the tax due. If you cannot meet the filing deadline, apply for an automatic four-month filing extension on Form 4868.

Excerpted with permission of the publisher, Wiley, from J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2013: For Preparing Your 2012 Tax Return. Copyright © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. This book is available at Amazon and all book sellers.

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the Fourth Week of January

  Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, you have to be extremely careful, and may need to avoid the technique during those times.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date, the yield, and the market capitalization.

The Clorox Company (CLX) 1/18/2013 3.5% $9.6B

Putnam Municipal Opportunities Trust (PMO) 1/22/2013 5.1% $561.6M

Putnam Premier Income Trust (PPT) 1/22/2013 5.9% $755.8M

Royal Bank of Canada (RY) 1/22/2013 4.0% $87.9B

Alpine Global Premier Properties Fund (AWP) 1/22/2013 8.3% $762.9M

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Monthly Dividend Stock List
Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.


Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

How to Invest Like Al Gore and Become Richer than Romney

By now, you have probably seen several news sources report how former Vice President of the United States Al Gore, has sold his television network, Current TV, to Al Jazeera recently for $500 million. His share is reportedly one fifth of that, $100 million. Several years ago, he started an investment company called Generation Investment Management with David Blood, a former executive with Goldman Sachs. Gore's wealth has grown from about $2 million twelve years ago to $300 million now, according to Forbes Magazine, which works out to an average annual return of about 57%. (The return was so high that the Excel RATE function couldn't come up with an answer so I had to manually calculate in in Excel.)

Have you heard of these stocks: Danaher (DHR), Henry Schein (HSIC), or Waters (WAT)? If not, maybe you should find out more about them. They are the three largest holdings of Al Gore's investment company according to the free list of Al Gore stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Danaher Corporation, based in Washington DC, is a producer and and marketer of professional, medical, industrial, and other products for the environmental, testing, life sciences, dental, and equipment manufacturing industries. The stock trades at 18 times trailing earnings and 17 times forward earnings. The earnings for the latest reported quarter were up 4.8% on essentially flat revenues. The company pays a small dividend of 0.2%.

Henry Schein, Inc. is a Melville, New York distributor of healthcare products and services, such as dental products, branded and generic pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and surgical products. The stock has a trailing price to earnings ratio of 20 and a forward PE of 17. Quarterly revenues were up 5.7% with earnings up 5.2%. The stock does not pay a dividend.

Waters Corporation is a Milford, Massachusetts manufacturer of high performance liquid chromatography, ultra performance liquid chromatography, and mass spectrometry technology systems. Earnings for the latest quarter were down 2.1% on a 1% drop in sales.

For a list of all the top Al Gore stocks, which includes over half a dozen which pay dividends, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Top Biotech Short Squeeze Plays for Stock Traders

A short squeeze takes place when an excessive amount of short sellers have shorted a stock, the stock comes out with good news, and the price of the stock spikes by an excessive amount, because all the short sellers have to scramble to cover their positions by buying in their shares, often due to the fact that they are getting margin calls.

Potential short squeeze plays have several metrics for comparison purposes. One of the most popular metrics is the Short Interest Ratio, also known as the Days to Cover. What this measures is the number of days it would take the short sellers to cover their positions based on the average daily trading volume. The longer it would take to cover, the higher the ratio. Another analysis is the shares short as a percentage of float. The higher the percentage, the greater the chance that an upside shock would drive up the price.

One industry group that has a lot of volatility and is closely followed by stock traders is the biotech/pharmaceutical/healthcare sector. Many of these stocks have high short interest ratios. One example is Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (SPPI) which has about 59% of the shares short and a short interest ratio of 27. This means that if all the short sellers wanted to cover, it would take 27 days to do so based on the number of shares traded each day. The stock has a trailing and forward price to earnings ratio of 8, and earnings for the latest reported quarter of 5.2% on a 35.3% rise in revenues. It has 2.46 in cash per share. The company's primary products are ZEVALIN, a cancer therapy, and FUSILEV for patients with osteosarcoma.

Another short interest squeeze candidate Questcor Pharmaceuticals (QCOR) with a short interest ratio of 17. Also, 52.5% of the float is short. The stock trades at 10.5 times trailing earnings and 6.8 times forward earnings. Earnings for the latest reported quarter were up a substantial 143.7% on a 134.6% increase in sales. The company is a provider of prescription drugs for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, nephrotic syndrome, and infantile spasms.

Other heavily shorted healthcare stocks include Bio-Reference Laboratories (BRLI) with a short interest ratio of 25, Sequenom (SQNM) with a ratio of 12.4, and Dendreon (DNDN) at 9.7.

If you like interesting stock lists like this, check out the many free stock lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the Third Week of January 2013

  Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, you have to be extremely careful, and may need to avoid the technique during those times.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date, the yield, and the market capitalization.

The Gabelli Dividend & Income Trust (GDV) 1/14/2013 5.9% $1.3B

Saul Centers Inc (BFS) 1/15/2013 3.5% $834.4M

McGrath RentCorp (MGRC) 1/15/2013 3.3% $719.5M

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (CBRL) 1/16/2013 3.1% $1.5B

Enersis S.A. ADR (ENI) 1/16/2013 3.2% $11.8B

Empresa Nacional de Electricidad ADR (EOC) 1/16/2013 3.1% $13.2B

The Clorox Company (CLX) 1/18/2013 3.5% $9.6B

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Monthly Dividend Stock List
Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.


Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Turkey Stocks are Worth Nibbling

According to the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate, also known as AFIRE, a recent study showed that the country of Turkey has the fourth best opportunity for real estate price appreciation of all countries around the world, up from ninth place the previous year. The country is ranked 15th in terms of Gross Domestic Product on a Purchasing Power Parity basis. Less that two months ago, Fitch raised the credit rating of Turkey to investment grade. The literacy rate is approximately 94%.

So what is the best way to invest in this growing country? WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has turned up ten different Turkish stocks available to US investors. The best way to invest with diversification is through an Exchange Traded Fund, the iShares MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index (TUR). The stocks in the ETF have an average price to earnings ratio of 11 and the fund pays a yield of 1.9%. The fund has had a 12.9% average annual return over the last three years.

The fund's three largest holdings are Turkiye Garanti Bankasi (GARAN), Akbank TAS (AKBNF), and Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. (HALKB). About 46% of the funds assets are in the financial services industry and almost 16% in industrials.

Another alternative which provides diversification is the Turkish Investment Fund (TKF), a closed end fund. Last year, the fund was up over 49%.

If you want do invest directly in a Turkish company, you should consider Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri (TKC), which trades at 12.7 times trailing earnings and 12.1 time forward earnings. The company is a provider of provides wireless telephone services, sports and news entertainment, Internet services, and other telecommunications services. Earnings for the latest reported quarter were up 1% on a 3.8% rise in revenues. The stock has $4.15 in cash per share.

If you want a free list of stocks based in Turkey, that you can download, sort, and update, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway News

The latest news about Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK-A) (BRK-B) Warren Buffett during the last week.

Warren Buffett Is Approaching His Judgment Day

Don't bet on Warren Buffett's solar gamble

SunPower, solar stocks surge after Warren Buffett buys Calif. plants

Warren Buffett Expands Renewable Holdings

Why Warren Buffett Keeps Buying Wells Fargo

“I Don’t Understand Why People Hate Bank of America”

If you want to invest like Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, go to the free list of Warren Buffett stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com

100 Ways to Get 5% Tax Free

Municipal bondholders breathed a sigh of relief when the details of the Fiscal Cliff Bill were released. There were concerns that the tax free status of municipal bonds would be affected, but for now, the tax free status is preserved. The non-taxable feature means that states and local governments can borrow money at lower rates than corporations. Taking away this benefit would mean that states and municipalities could be stuck competing with the debt of companies, paying higher rates and putting them more in jeopardy of going bankrupt. Municipalities are in severe financial shape as it is, and taxing muni interest would be the last straw.

This news, plus the goal of the government to keep interest rates low for a while longer, is good news for investors in municipal bonds and tax-free closed end funds. The biggest risk is if interest rates rise significantly, the price of munis and muni CEFs will tank.

Investors who are looking for tax free income may want to consider the municipal bond closed end funds, sometimes referred to as tax-free stocks. There are many advantages besides the tax free income feature to these CEFs. Almost all of them pay dividends monthly, whereas, if you by an individual bond, the interest is paid semi-annually. CEFs have no minimum investment, whereas municipal bonds are sold in $5,000 denominations and many brokers have minimum purchases ranging from $15,000 to $25,000. You also have better liquidity with CEFs as prices are quoted real time and quotes are immediately available on the Internet. In addition, CEFs provide diversification through a group of bonds in the portfolio.

Municipal bonds pay interest that is exempt from Federal taxes and may be exempt from state taxes if issued in the state you live in or issued by one of the US territories, such as Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or Guam. Munis are generally issued by states, counties, cities, and other governmental entities such as school districts, sewer districts, bridges, and water and power departments. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com just recently updated its list of over 150 tax-free income CEFs, and more than 100 sporting yields greater than 5%.

One example, appropriate for New York residents, is Nuveen New York Investment Quality Municipal Fund (NQN) which has a goal of current income exempt from regular Federal and New York State and City income tax, and pays a decent yield of 5.3%. However, it does use leverage, to the tune of about 37%, to achieve its high yield. The fund trades at about a 0.7% discount to net asset value, also referred to NAV. The management fee of 0.61% is below the overall average of all tax free CEFs. It has been paying dividends since 1990. A very small portion of the bonds in the portfolio are subject to the alternative minimum tax, also referred to as AMT.

California residents might want to take a look at the Nuveen California Municipal Value Fund (NCA), which doesn't use any leverage to achieve its 4.5% yield, free of Federal and California state income taxes. It currently trades at an 0.8% discount to NAV, and carries a reasonable 0.54% management fee. The CEF, which has been around since 1987, has a little over 10% of its portfolio in AMT bonds.

For a CEF that is diversified nationwide, there is the Federated Premier Intermediate Municipal Income Fund (FPT), which seeks to provide current income exempt from federal income tax, including AMT. The fund yields 4.9% and has no AMT bonds in the portfolio. It is trading at a very slight 0.7% premium to net asset value. Leverage is quite high at 29% but the management fee is a reasonable 0.55%. Income has been paid since 2002.

The issues to watch out for with tax free CEFs:
* high leverage
* high management fees
* trading at a premium to NAV
* bonds in the portfolio that may be subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax
* quality of bonds in the portfolio

For a list of tax free income closed end funds, which includes yields, discounts and premiums, leverage, management fees, date founded, and other information, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

What Companies are Raising Their Dividends?

There are a lot of dividend raisers to start out the new year. Here are some that recently boosted their payouts.

Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL) had an increase to its 47th consecutive annual dividend

Becton Dickinson (BDX) had a 10% increase in dividend payout, and has raised its dividend for 42 years in a row

Dominion Resources Inc. (D) increased its quarterly dividend 6.6%

The Boeing Company (BA) increased its quarterly dividend 10%

Edison International (EIX) increased its quarterly dividend 3.8%

Tyco (TYC) Plans 7% Dividend Increase

KBR (KBR) raised its dividend by an incredible 60%

Realty Income (O) raised its monthly dividend by 2%

Rent-a-Center (RCII) raised its quarterly dividend by 31%

General Electric Company (GE) increased its quarterly dividend by 12%

Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. (NUS) increased its quarterly dividend 50%

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (AXS) increased its quarterly dividend 4%

If you like stock lists like this, such as a list of stocks going ex-dividend, beer stocks, candy stocks, or coffee stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Starbucks Opening in Vietnam: Is this the Next Big Asian Growth Country?

Starbucks (SBUX) has been expanding all over the world and will now open its first coffee shop in Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam has a fast growing economy. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the country spent almost $4.5 billion on Apple (AAPL) iPhones and other cells phone imports last year.

Vietnam is drawing the eyes of other companies. As an example, Siam Cement Group, based in Thailand, paid $240 million to purchase an 85% interest in Prime Group, one of the largest tile and brick manufacturers in Vietnam.

So if an American investor wants to participate in Vietnam's growth, there are some options available. According to the list of Vietnam stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, there are over a dozen companies that are either based in Vietnam or have large operations in Vietnam. Unfortunately, most of these companies are either very illiquid, have low market caps, or don't trade in the United States.

The best way to take advantage of the Vietnamese business expansion is through the Market Vectors Vietnam Exchange Traded Fund (VNM). The fund owns several Vietnam companies that would not be available to US investors, such as Vincom Joint Stock Company, Viet Nam Joint Stock Commercial Bank For Industry And Trade, Bao Viet Holdings, and the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, all of which make up about 30% of the portfolio.

The average price to earnings ratio is 10.6 and the average price to book value is 1.19. The fund pays a yield of 1.0%. Although the fund had a volatile year in 2012, it was actually up 22%. It started off the year well, spiking 4.7% on January 2.

For a free list of Vietnam stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author owns AAPL.

By STockerblog.com

The Monthly Dividend Stocks: A Great Source of Regular Income

Have you been to your bank lately? You are lucky if you can get half a percent on a savings account. If you want to get more than 1%, you may need to tie your money up for ten years. The alternatives include monthly income stocks. Though these investments are often referred to as stocks, they are technically closed end bond funds, real estate investment trusts, oil income trusts, and closed end income stock funds that pay dividends monthly.

The advantage of monthly dividend investments include the return of your capital faster, which can generate faster compounding. In addition, the monthly payments can help reduce volatility. These monthly dividend investments can be found at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, which has a recently updated list of about 200 different companies that pay dividends monthly, many of which have high yields in excess of 7%.

One example is Gas Natural Inc. (EGAS), previously called Energy, Inc., It is a distributor of natural gas in Montana, Wyoming, North Carolina, and Maine. It was founded in 1909. The stock pays a yield of 5.8% and sports a forward price to earnings ratio of 13.9.

The Advent Claymore Convertible Securities & Income Fund (AVK) sports a yield of 6.9%, sells at about a 8.2% discount to net asset value. This closed end fund, founded in 2003, invests approximately 60% of its portfolio in convertible securities and 40% in lower-grade non-convertible income securities. The company recently announced it will pay a supplemental dividend of 51.371 cents a share.

The MFS Multimarket Income Trust (MMT) pays a yield of 6.5%. It invests in fixed income investments throughout the world. The stock trades at a 5.2% discount to net asset value. The trust was founded in 1987, and has a management fee of 0.82%.

LMP Real Estate Income Fund Inc. (RIT) is a vehicle that allows the investor to participate in the real estate recovery and receive monthly income. It is an exchange traded fund that invests in real estate related companies including real estate investment trusts. It carries a yield of 6.5%, and has paid dividends since 2002. It is trading at a 8.6% discount to net asset value.

Pengrowth Energy Trust (PGH) is a Canadian oil royalty income trust that yields 9.8%. The company, which was founded in 1988, explores, develops, and produces oil and natural gas reserves in western Canada.

When choosing monthly dividend investments investors should avoid investments with high management fees, limited liquidity, ones that trade at a large premium to net asset value, and the ones using excessive leverage. The municipal bond closed end funds may trigger the Alternative Minimum Tax; check with your accountant before investing.

A list of over a couple hundred monthly dividend stocks, including many that have yields of 6% or more, is available at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. Keep in mind that very high yields may not be sustainable.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Here is Where You Can Read the Fiscal Cliff Bill

Would you like some bedtime reading? How about reading over 150 pages of the Fiscal Cliff Bill, also known as the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, also known as H.R.8. The entire bill, in a pdf format, can be found at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com which you can get to by clicking here. It originally came directly from the Library of Congress. Now you can print it out and read it at your leisure.