Photo Credit: Ford.
One of the things I enjoy about my job covering the automotive industry is taking events that are typically overlooked and putting the facts in line for investors to understand why those events are important. This is a perfect example of such a time: Recently Ford (NYSE: F ) announced that its SYNC and MyFord Touch were sold on nearly 80% of its 2013 Ford vehicles. That doesn't seem like a big deal, but what if I told you that that development will aid Ford in two of the most important factors when it comes to potential investors?
Future bloodline
An investor looks at many factors when choosing companies to buy a stake in. It's great to find an amazing company at a low price, and then hold on to it for the long term. It's even better when that company has an industry-leading executive team. Ford delivers on all these factors. The next thing that an investor wants to see is proof of a future bloodline and sustainable profits ��that's where the recent sales increase of SYNC and MyFord Touch comes in to play.
Top Computer Hardware Companies To Watch In Right Now: IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI)
IAC/InterActiveCorp engages in the Internet business in the United States and internationally. The company�s Search segment develops, markets, and distributes various downloadable toolbars; provides search, reference, and content services through its destination search and other Websites, including Ask.com and Dictionary.com; and aggregates and integrates local advertising and content for distribution to publishers on Web and mobile platforms, as well as markets and distributes mobile applications through which it provides search and additional services. Its Match segment offers subscription-based and advertiser-supported online personals services through its Websites comprising Match.com, Chemistry.com, OurTime.com, BlackPeopleMeet.com, and OkCupid.com, as well as through mobile applications and Meetic-branded Websites. The company�s ServiceMagic segment offers Market Match service that matches consumers with service professionals; Exact Match service, which enables con sumers to review service professional profiles and select the service professional that meets their specific needs; and 1800Contractor.com, an online directory of service professionals. This segment also offers Website design and hosting services. Its Media and Other segment operates CollegeHumor.com, an online entertainment Website that targets young males; Vimeo, a Website on which users can upload, share, and view video; and Pronto.com, a comparison search engine. This segment also engages in the creation of video content for various distribution platforms; and operates as an Internet retailer of footwear and related apparel and accessories, as well as focuses on multimedia business. The company was formerly known as InterActiveCorp and changed its name to IAC/InterActiveCorp in July 2004. IAC/InterActiveCorp was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Timothy Lutts, Publisher, Cabot Heritage Corporation]
In 2004, TripAdvisor (TRIP) was purchased by conglomerate Interactive Corp (IACI), which spun off its travel businesses under the name of Expedia in 2005. In December 2011, TripAdvisor was spun off from Expedia in an IPO.
- [By Chris Isidore]
Newsweek, the news magazine whose print version was abandoned late last year, was sold in August by IAC (IACI) to another all-digital news company, IBT Media.
- [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.
- [By Eric Volkman]
Rhyu joins the company from IAC's (NASDAQ: IACI ) Match.com, where he has filled the roles of both CFO and chief administrative officer since 2011. Previous to that, he was a senior vice president at News Corp's (NASDAQ: FOXA ) Dow Jones & Company. He also served as corporate controller for both Sirius XM Radio and GrafTech International (NYSE: GTI ) .
Top Low Price Companies To Invest In 2014: National Steel Corporation(SID)
Companhia Siderurgica Nacional primarily operates as an integrated steel producer in Brazil and Latin America. The company principally produces carbon steel and various steel products. Its products include slabs, which are semi-finished products used for processing hot-rolled, cold-rolled, or coated coils and sheet products; hot-rolled products that comprise heavy-gauge hot-rolled coils and sheets, and light-gauge hot-rolled coils and sheets; cold-rolled products, including cold-rolled coils and sheets; and galvanized products consisting of flat-rolled steel coated with zinc or a zinc-based alloy. The company also offers tin mill products, which consist of flat-rolled low-carbon steel coils or sheets, such as tin plate, tin free steel,low tin coated steel, and black plate products. In addition, it engages in mining business by owning iron ore, limestone, dolomite, and tin mines comprising the Namisa property, Casa de Pedra mine, Arcos mine, and Santa Barbara mine; and invo lves in logistics business that includes railway and port facilities. Further, the company produces and sells cement; and engages in the generation of power plants. It sells its steel products as a raw material for various manufacturing industries, including the automotive, home appliance, packaging, construction, and steel processing industries. The company offers its products to customers directly through its sales force, as well as through distributors for subsequent resale. It also exports its products to Europe, Latin America, Asia, and North America. Companhia Siderurgica Nacional was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ali Berri]
Meanwhile, top decliners in the sector included Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (NYSE: SID), down 3 percent, and Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF), off 3.2 percent.
Top Low Price Companies To Invest In 2014: iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM)
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (the Index). The Index is designed to measure equity market performance in the global emerging markets. The Index was developed by Morgan Stanley Capital International Inc. as an equity benchmark for emerging market stock performance. The Index is a capitalization-weighted index that aims to capture 85% of the (publicly available) total market capitalization. Component companies are adjusted for available float and must meet objective criteria for inclusion in the Index. The Index is reviewed quarterly.
The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. The Fund's investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Chris Ciovacco]
In Thursday's ETF analysis, evidence is presented that supports increasing demand for assets that get a tailwind from a weak U.S. dollar, including emerging markets (EEM) and foreign stocks (EFA). Casting a wider economic net, our market model told us to start buying stocks last week even with the threat of a U.S. default. Wednesday, we continued with our incremental allocation shifts by adding some exposure to the energy sector. Thursday, we sat tight holding long positions in small caps (IJR), Europe (FEZ), emerging markets and technology (QQQ). The upper bounds of the bullish S&P 500 trend channel shown below may offer some resistance to the market's near vertical ascent.
- [By Benjamin Shepherd]
The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NYSE: EEM) seems to have halted its slide.� The index bottomed out year-to-date on February 3, when it was down 11.2 percent. Since then, it has gained 1.5 percent, but bargains in the emerging markets still abound.
As I discussed in �� Plan, Not a Panic��two weeks ago, emerging markets are in much better economic shape today than they were even just a few years ago, much less during the currency crisis that peaked in 1998. Foreign exchange reserves are generally much more robust, budget deficits are narrower if they exist at all and, so far at least, the full-blown currency war that many were predicting last year isn�� likely to breakout.
With rationality finally setting in, this is a terrific time to do a little bargain hunting in the emerging markets.
The most obvious play here is the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index itself. Covering China (18.8 percent of assets), South Korea (16 percent), Taiwan (12 percent) and Brazil (10.2 percent) with smaller positions spanning Asia and Europe, the fund is most exposed to any shift in sentiment.
The fund is currently trading at just 10.2 times forward one-year earnings, well below its average of about 18 times over the past two decades. On a price-to-sales basis it is even more attractive valued at just 1.03 times; the last time the index was this cheap on a sales basis was early 2009.
So while there are always dangers in trying to call a bottom to any market move, valuations alone are attractive enough to start pulling bargain hunters back in.
A broadly diversified play on an emerging market turnaround, iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index is a great buy up to 45, which leaves plenty of room to run back to the average.
For those who can tolerate a bit more risk, you can also drill down and make more country-specific bets.
At this point my favorite would be iShares MSCI South Korea Index Fund (NYSE: EWY).
Sout - [By Lee Jackson]
In filings it was reported that Bridgewater owned just under $3 billion in the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF (NYSEMKT: EEM), $3.3 billion in the SPDR S&P 500 Trust (NYSEMKT: SPY)�and about $3.6 billion in the Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEMKT: VWO). The Vanguard fund, for example, has an expense cost of an extremely low 0.18%, which like all funds is deducted from the net asset value. Clearly Bridgewater is content in using passive index ETF strategies to gain global equity coverage and save money on managing the position.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Fears–and hopes–for rising rates were apparent everywhere. Charles Schwab (SCHW), a beneficiary of higher rates, rose 3.2% to $27.58.�Newmont Mining (NEM) dropped 3.1% to $24.50 because who needs gold when rates are heading higher? The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) fell 2.1% to $38.57 because we all know higher rates in the US are bad news for emerging markets.�The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.77% and the CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (FXY) declined 1.1% to $95.22.
Top Low Price Companies To Invest In 2014: Asta Funding Inc.(ASFI)
Asta Funding, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in purchasing, managing, and servicing distressed consumer receivables in the United States. Its principal portfolio includes charged-off receivables consisting of accounts that have been written-off by the originators and might have been previously serviced by collection agencies; semi-performing receivables, including accounts where the debtor is currently making partial or irregular monthly payments, but the accounts might have been written-off by the originators; performing receivables comprising accounts where the debtor is making regular monthly payments that might or might not have been delinquent in the past; and distressed consumer receivables, such as the unpaid debts of individuals to banks, finance companies, and other credit and service providers. The company?s distressed consumer receivables consist of MasterCard, Visa, and other credit card accounts, which were charged-off by the issuers or provide rs for non-payment. Asta Funding, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is based in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Small cap debt collection stocks like�Asta Funding, Inc (NASDAQ: ASFI), Encore Capital Group, Inc (NASDAQ: ECPG) and Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc (NASDAQ: PRAA) could be the latest target of a government shakedown or crackdown as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said this week that�before it formally proposes any rules for debt collection, it wants to hear how collectors verify borrowers' information and communicate with consumers. In other words, debt collectors could be restricted from using text messages, social media or other Internet-based tools in their pursuit to collect debts. With about one in 10 Americans coming out of the financial crisis with some debt in collection, investing in small cap�debt collection stocks has been profitable for investors. However, there is no timeline for when any new rules might be released for review or come into effect.
Top Low Price Companies To Invest In 2014: Ishares Msci Switzerland (EWL)
iShares MSCI Switzerland Index Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded securities in the aggregate in the Swiss market, as measured by the MSCI Switzerland Index (the Index). The Index seeks to measure the performance of the Swiss equity market. The Index is a capitalization-weighted index that aims to capture 85% of the (publicly available) total market capitalization. Component companies are adjusted for available float and must meet objective criteria for inclusion in the Index. The Index is reviewed quarterly.
The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Mark Salzinger]
iShares MSCI Germany (EWG) and iShares MSCI Switzerland (EWL) continue to have relatively attractive valuations.
EWG recently sported an average price/earnings (P/E) ratio on 2013's projected earnings of 12.6 and a price/book value (P/B) of just 1.4.
- [By Carlton Delfeld]
The iShares Switzerland (EWL) is a wonderful way to gain exposure to a basket of Switzerland's leading multinationals and has an expense ratio of only 0.59%. In addition, while a rising Swiss franc puts pricing pressure on Swiss exporters, a strong Swiss franc supercharges returns for investors in EWL.
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