5 Best Supermarket Stocks To Buy For 2015

U.K. stocks fell for the first time in four days, led by a selloff in mining companies, as base metals declined and U.S. economic growth trailed forecasts.

Rio Tinto Group and Anglo American Plc (AAL) retreated more than 2.5 percent as copper and lead declined. Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) sank 6.8 percent as analysts downgraded the shares. Standard Life Plc slipped 1.2 percent as Chief Financial Officer Jackie Hunt resigned to move to a rival insurer. Ocado Group Plc (OCDO) fell for the first day this week as the online grocer ruled out a takeover by William Morrison Supermarkets Plc.

The FTSE 100 (UKX) Index lost 16.17 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6,426.42 at the close in London. The benchmark gauge is still up 2.2 percent this week, the biggest advance since Jan. 4, amid speculation the European Central Bank will cut interest rates next week. The broader FTSE All-Share Index fell 0.3 percent today, and Ireland�� ISEQ Index slid 1 percent.

�� am a little bit cautious in the short term,��said Ian Williams, a market strategist at Peel Hunt LLP in London. �� am not surprised we have see a bit of a flattening out in the market. Next week, the macro calender is packed. There are quite a few banana skins, so I would be pulling back on some of the more bullish positions.��

5 Best Supermarket Stocks To Buy For 2015: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ALNY)

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in discovering, developing, and commercializing novel therapeutics based on RNA interference (RNAi). Its core product programs under clinical or pre-clinical development include ALN-TTR, a Phase I clinical trial program for the treatment of transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis; ALN-APC, a Phase I clinical trial program for the treatment of hemophilia; ALN-PCS for the treatment of severe hypercholesterolemia; ALN-HPN, a pre-clinical development for the treatment of refractory anemia; and ALN-TMP, a pre-clinical development for the treatment of hemoglobinopathies, including beta-thalassemia and sickle cell anemia. The company?s partner-based programs comprise ALN-RSV01, a Phase II clinical trial program for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus infection; ALN-VSP, a Phase I clinical trial completed program for the treatment of liver cancers; and ALN-HTT, a pre-clinical development for the treatment of Huntington?s disease. It has strategic alliances with Novartis Pharma AG; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited; Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Medtronic Inc.; Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd.; and Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Carroll]

  Yet no stock in biotech had a week like Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY  ) , whose stock shot up more than 32% over the past five days. Company shares rocketed up 19% on Thursday alone, after the company released early-stage clinical results that showed Alnylam's developmental therapy ALN-TTRsc, a treatment for a rare genetic disorder, reduced levels of the disease, transthyretin (or TTR) amyloidosis, by 80%. Alnylam also noted that the drug had been well received by clinical subjects, a critical key for investors cautious about the drug's safety.

• [By Keith Speights]

  Good news comes in threes
  Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY  ) had a triple-whammy of good news this week. Shares shot up by 22% as a result.

• [By Sean Williams]

  On the clinical data front, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY  ) and Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NYSEMKT: INO  ) both put investors in their happy place.

5 Best Supermarket Stocks To Buy For 2015: Digicore Holdings Ltd (DGC)

Digicore Holdings Limited is a South Africa-based holding company engaged in the manufacturing and distribution of fleet management and vehicle tracking solutions. The Company operates in three segments: South African Distribution, Foreign Distribution, Product Development and Manufacturing and Group Management. The Company's South African distribution segment focuses on distribution of manufactured fleet management and vehicle tracking solutions within the South African consumer market. Foreign distribution focuses on the distribution of manufactured fleet management and vehicle tracking solutions all around the world. Product development and manufacturing segment focuses on investing in research, manufacturing and development of vehicle tracking and fleet management solutions for distribution. Group Management segment renders management services to the Company. On August 31, 2012, the Company obtained an additional 27% shareholding in Ctrack (Pty) Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Lam]

  Detour Gold (DGC) plunged 18 percent to C$6.35, an almost five-year low. The company said in a statement it will not reach its 2013 production target of 270,000 ounces of gold and now forecasts 240,000 to 260,000 ounces.

Top 5 Tech Companies For 2015: Legg Mason Inc (LM)

Legg Mason, Inc. (Legg Mason), incorporated in 1981, is a global asset management company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, provides investment management and related services to institutional and individual clients, company-sponsored mutual funds and other pooled investment vehicles. It offers these products and services directly and through various financial intermediaries. The Company provides its asset management services through a number of asset managers, each of which generally markets its products and services under its own brand name and, in many cases, distributes retail products and services through a centralized retail distribution network. Its investment advisory services include discretionary and non-discretionary management of separate investment accounts in a number of investment styles for institutional and individual investors. Legg Mason�� investment products include mutual funds ranging from money market and other liquidity products to fixed income and equity funds managed in a variety of investment styles, other domestic and offshore funds offered to both retail and institutional investors and funds-of-hedge funds. As of March 31, 2012, assets under management were $643.3 billion. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012 (fiscal 2012), the Company sold Bartlett & Co., a Cincinnati-based wealth manager.

Asset Managers

The Company conducts its business primarily through 12 asset managers. Its asset managers are individual businesses, each of which generally focuses on a portion of the asset management industry in terms of the types of assets managed (primarily equity or fixed income), the types of products and services offered, the investment styles utilized, the distribution channels used, and the types and geographic locations of its clients. The Company�� asset managers provide a range of separate account investment management services to institutional clients, including pension and other retirement plans, corporations, insurance companies, ! endowments and foundations and governments, and to high-net-worth individuals and families. In addition, its asset managers also sponsor and manage various groups of the United States mutual funds, including the Legg Mason Funds, The Royce Funds and the Western Asset Funds, funds-of-hedge funds and a number of equity, fixed income, liquidity and balanced funds that are domiciled and distributed in countries worldwide, and provide investment advisory services to a number of retail separately managed account programs. Western Asset Management Company is a global fixed income asset manager for institutional clients. Western Asset's operations include investment operations in New York City, the United Kingdom, Japan, Brazil, Australia and Singapore. Western Asset offers a range of products spanning the yield curve and encompassing the bond markets, including a suite of limited duration and core products, emerging market and high yield portfolios, municipal portfolios and a variety of sector-oriented and global products. Among the services Western Asset provides are management of separate accounts and management of mutual funds, closed-end funds, international funds and other structured investment products.

ClearBridge Advisors is an equity asset management firm. ClearBridge Advisors provides asset management services to 29 of the equity funds (including balanced funds and closed-end funds) in the Legg Mason Funds, to retail separately managed account programs, to certain of its international funds and, primarily through separate accounts, to institutional clients. ClearBridge also sub-advises domestic mutual funds that are sponsored by third parties. Royce & Associates is investment advisor to all of The Royce Funds and to certain of the Company�� international funds. In addition, Royce & Associates manages other pooled and separate accounts, primarily institutional. Brandywine Global Investment Management manages fixed income, including global and international fixed income, and equity portf! olios for! institutional and, through wrap accounts, high-net-worth individual clients.

Batterymarch Financial Management manages the United States, international and emerging markets equity portfolios for institutional clients. Permal Group Ltd. is a global funds-of-hedge funds management firm. With a headquarters in London and other offices in New York City, Boston, Dubai, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Nassau, Permal manages products, which include both directional and absolute return strategies, and are available through multi-manager and single manager funds, separately managed accounts and structured products sponsored by a number of financial institutions. Legg Mason Capital Management is an equity asset management business that manages both institutional separate accounts and mutual funds. Legg Mason Capital Management manages 12 Legg Mason Funds, and also sub-advises the mutual fund managed by the joint venture described below and investment products sponsored by its other subsidiaries, including certain of the Company�� international funds.

Legg Mason Investment Counsel & Trust Company, National Association is a national banking association with authority to exercise trust powers. Legg Mason Investment Counsel & Trust Company provides services as a trustee for trusts established by its individual and employee benefit plan clients and manages fixed income and equity assets. Legg Mason Investment Counsel, LLC, a subsidiary of Legg Mason Investment Counsel & Trust, manages equity, fixed income and balanced portfolios for high-net-worth individual and institutional clients and a number of its mutual funds. Legg Mason Investment Counsel operates out of offices in New York City, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Easton, Maryland, and Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Esemplia Emerging Markets is an emerging markets equities investment manager. Esemplia offers a range of portfolio management strategies, including core long-only and alpha-extension portfolios, to institutional investors worl! dwide, in! cluding pension funds and sovereign wealth funds.

Private Capital Management manages equity assets for high-net-worth individuals and families, institutions, endowments and foundations in separate accounts and through limited partnerships. Legg Mason's business in Poland engages in portfolio management, servicing and distribution of both separate account management services and local funds in Poland. The firm provides portfolio management services primarily for equity assets to institutions, including corporate pension plans and insurance companies, and, through funds distributed through banks and insurance companies, individual investors. Legg Mason Australian Equities is an Australian asset management business that offers Australian equity products, Australian property trusts and asset allocation products. As of March 31, 2012, Legg Mason Australian Equities managed assets with a value of $1billion.

United States Mutual Funds

The Company�� United States mutual funds business primarily consists of three groups of mutual and closed-end funds, the Legg Mason Funds, The Royce Funds and the Western Asset Funds. The Legg Mason Funds invest in a range of domestic and international equity and fixed income securities. The Royce Funds invest primarily in smaller-cap company stocks using a value investment approach. The Western Asset Funds invest primarily in fixed income securities. The Legg Mason Funds consist of 113 mutual funds and 27 closed-end funds in the United States, almost all of which are sub-advised by its subsidiary asset managers. The mutual funds and closed-end funds within the Legg Mason Funds include 63 equity funds (including balanced funds) that invest in a spectrum of equity securities. The fixed income and liquidity mutual funds and closed-end funds within the Legg Mason Funds include 77 funds. As of March 31, 2012 , the Legg Mason Funds included $114.7 billion in assets, respectively, in their mutual funds and closed-end funds, of which approximate! ly 30% an! d 27%, respectively, were equity assets, approximately 24% and 18%, respectively, were fixed income assets and approximately 46% and 55%, respectively, were liquidity assets.

The Royce Funds consist of 32 mutual funds and three closed-end funds, most of which invest primarily in smaller-cap company stocks. The Royce Funds are distributed through non-affiliated fund supermarkets, its centralized funds distribution operations, non-affiliated wrap programs, and direct distribution. In addition, two of the portfolios in The Royce Funds are distributed only through insurance companies. The Company�� mutual funds business also includes the Western Asset Funds, a family of nine mutual funds and two closed-end funds. The mutual funds are marketed primarily to institutional investors and retirement plans through the Company�� institutional funds marketing group. Western Asset Management Company manages these funds. The funds primarily invest in fixed income securities.

International Funds

The Company, outside the United States, manages, supports and distributes a number of funds across an array of global fixed income, liquidity and equity investment strategies. Its international funds include a range of cross border funds that are domiciled in Ireland and Luxembourg and are sold in a number of countries across Asia, Europe and Latin America. The Company�� international funds also include local fund ranges that are available for distribution in the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Poland, Hong Kong and Canada. All of its international funds are distributed and serviced by Legg Mason's global distribution group. Its international funds include equity, fixed income, liquidity and balanced funds that are primarily managed or sub-advised by Batterymarch Financial Management, Brandywine Global, ClearBridge, Esemplia, Legg Mason Capital Management, Private Capital Management, Royce & Associates, Western Asset Management and its global asset allocation team. In a! ggregate,! the Company sponsors and manages more than 220 of these international funds.

Retail Separately Managed Account Programs

The Company is a provider of asset management services to retail separately managed account programs, commonly known as managed account or wrap programs. These programs typically allow securities brokers or other financial intermediaries to offer their clients the opportunity to choose from a number of asset management services. It provides investment management services to a number of retail separately managed account programs sponsored by a number of financial institutions.

Distribution

The Company�� centralized global distribution group distributes and supports its United States and international funds and retail separately managed account program business. The United States-based operations of the Company�� global distribution group support and distribute the Legg Mason Funds, The Royce Funds and the Western Asset Funds, and include its mutual fund wholesalers and its institutional funds marketing group. The Company�� mutual fund wholesalers distribute the Legg Mason Funds through a number of third-party distributors. The Company�� institutional funds marketing group distributes institutional share classes of the Legg Mason Funds and the Western Asset Funds to institutional clients and also distributes variable annuity sub-advisory services provided by its asset managers to insurance companies. Its institutional liquidity funds are primarily distributed by Western Asset's distributors. In addition to its centralized funds distribution group, Royce & Associates' distributors also distribute The Royce Funds. In addition to distributing funds, the wholesalers in the Company�� global distribution operations also support its retail separately managed account program services. These services are provided through programs sponsored by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney's retail business, as well as other financial institutions.

! The international distributors within the Company�� global distribution group offer its investment management services to individual and institutional investors across Asia, Europe and the Americas. These distributors operate out of distribution offices in 18 cities in 14 countries and are the sole distributors of its cross border funds globally and its international local funds in their respective countries. Legg Mason Investments is responsible for the distribution and servicing of cross border and local fund ranges across Europe, the Americas and Asia. Legg Mason Investments has offices in locations including London, Paris, Milan, Geneva, Frankfurt, Madrid, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei, Miami, Santiago and New York. In addition to Legg Mason Investments, the Company�� global distribution group includes separate distribution operations in Australia, Canada and Japan. In Australia, its distribution operations distribute local and cross border pooled investment vehicles sub-advised by the Company�� asset managers primarily to retail investors, pension plans, fund-of-funds managers, insurance companies and government funds/agencies. In Canada, its distribution operations distribute Legg Mason-managed products primarily to pension plans, endowments, foundations, banks and mutual fund companies and separately managed account programs. In Japan, the Company�� distribution operations distribute domestic investment funds, cross border funds and institutional separate accounts primarily to the retail market, which includes retail banks, private banks, asset managers, funds platforms and insurance companies.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jason Zweig]

  As he likes to say, “If the choice is between being first and being best, being first is better.” Mr. LeBaron founded Batterymarch Financial Management(LM) in Boston in 1969, investing mainly in small-company stocks, an opportunity almost nobody else was yet interested in. Batterymarch also pioneered quantitative investing, which uses statistical analysis–not human judgment–to pick stocks. In the 1970s, he says, every employee at the firm had three computers: “We had 90 machines when many firms didn’t have one.”

• [By MONEYMORNING]

  Take a look at these other Nelson Peltz activist investing success stories:

  H.J. Heinz: When Peltz got involved with Heinz, the stock had been slumping. He encouraged management to cut costs, buy back shares, and refocus the company on its core brands. By the time Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) bought it last year for $23 billion, the stock had shot up 75%. "Management did a great job executing the turnaround, but Peltz was the catalyst for a lot of the change," John Sini, a portfolio manager at Douglas C. Lane & Associates Inc., told Bloomberg News last year. "We are looking at this price now and saying, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you.'" Ingersoll-Rand PLC (NYSE: IR): Peltz took an interest in this manufacturer of industrial and commercial goods back in mid-2012; the stock is up 77% since then. Among the moves Peltz influenced was a spinoff of IR's security division, a $2 billion share repurchase program, and a 31% increase in the dividend. Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE: LM): Peltz owns 10% and has a seat on the board of the once high-flying financial firm that fell on hard times after the departure in 2008 of founder Raymond "Chip" Mason. Peltz helped get Legg Mason back on track by playing a leading role in selecting current Chief Executive Officer Joseph A. Sullivan, who assumed the top post in February 2013. The change in leadership worked; since December 2012, LM is up 75%.

  This "Peltzing" is a phenomenon of particular interest now that he has a new top holding...

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  So it's no surprise that on Thursday, none other than Bill Miller, the Chairman and CEO of Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE: LM) subsidiary LMM, told Bloomberg Television that "Bitcoin is like making a venture bet. The potential return is huge."

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Who wants in on the action?
  All that said, plenty of mutual fund companies have seen the writing on the wall and are eager to come to market with active ETFs. Mutual fund giants Fidelity, Franklin Templeton (NYSE: BEN  ) , Janus Capital (NYSE: JNS  ) , and Legg Mason (NYSE: LM  ) are just some of the companies looking to follow in PIMCO's footsteps with active ETFs. Each of these companies owes a huge portion of its profits to management fees on the billions in assets that it holds, and each recognizes the need to defend its turf by reaching into the ETF space. For Legg Mason and Franklin Templeton, which already offer closed-end mutual funds that trade on exchanges, moving to ETFs is an even shorter step.

5 Best Supermarket Stocks To Buy For 2015: ALLETE Inc (ALE)

ALLETE, Inc. (ALLETE) is an energy company. Minnkota Power Cooperative, Inc.( Minnesota Power) is an operating division of the Company. ALLETE operates in two business segments: Regulated Operations and Investments and Other. Regulated Operations includes its regulated utilities, Minnesota Power and Superior Water, Light and Power Company (SWL&P), as well as its investment in American Transmission Company LLC (ATC), a Wisconsin-based regulated utility that owns and maintains electric transmission assets in parts of Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois. Investments and Other is comprised primarily of BNI Coal, Ltd (BNI Coal), its coal mining operations in North Dakota; ALLETE Properties, LLC and its subsidiaries (ALLETE Properties), its Florida real estate investment, and ALLETE Clean Energy. In July 2011, the Company incorporated new company, ALLETE Clean Energy.

Regulated Operations

Minnesota Power provides regulated utility electric service in northeastern Minnesota to approximately 144,000 retail customers. Minnesota Power's non-affiliated municipal customers consist of 16 municipalities in Minnesota and one private utility in Wisconsin. SWL&P, a wholly owned subsidiary of ALLETE, is also a private utility in Wisconsin and a customer of Minnesota Power. SWL&P provides regulated electric, natural gas and water service in northwestern Wisconsin to approximately 15,000 electric customers, 12,000 natural gas customers and 10,000 water customers. Its industrial customers are primarily in the taconite, paper, pulp and wood products and pipeline industries. The customers consist of five taconite producing facilities (two of which are owned by one company and are served under a single contract), one iron nugget plant, and four paper and pulp mills. During the year ended December 2011, its residential and commercial customers represented 20% of total regulated utility kilowatt-hour sales. In 2011, its municipal customers represented 7% of total regulated utility kilowatt-hou! r sales. The Company also enters into off-system sales with Other Power Suppliers.

The Company�� generation is primarily coal-fired, but also includes approximately 102 megawatts of hydro generation from ten hydro stations in Minnesota, approximately 107 megawatts of wind generation, and 73 megawatts of biomass co-fired generation. Purchased power is made up of long-term coal, wind and hydro power purchase agreements and market purchases. As of December 31, 2011, Minnesota Power had a coal inventory of 0.9 million tons. Minnesota Power entered into two long-term wind Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with an affiliate of NextEra Energy, Inc. to purchase the output from Oliver Wind I (50 megawatts) and Oliver Wind II (48 megawatts), wind facilities located near Center, North Dakota. Each agreement is for 25 years and provides for the purchase of all output from the facilities at fixed prices. The Company has a PPA with Manitoba Hydro that expires in April 2015. Under this agreement, Minnesota Power is purchasing 50 megawatts of capacity and the energy associated with that capacity. Minnesota Power has a separate PPA with Manitoba Hydro to purchase surplus energy from May 2011 through April 2022.

On May 19, 2011, Minnesota Power and Manitoba Hydro signed a long-term PPA. The PPA calls for Manitoba Hydro to sell 250 megawatts of capacity and energy to Minnesota Power for 15 years beginning in 2020 and requires construction of additional transmission capacity between Manitoba and the United States. On January 26, 2012, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) approved this PPA with Manitoba Hydro. The Company has electric transmission and distribution lines of 500 kilovolts (eight miles), 345 kilovolts (29 miles), 250 kilovolts (465 miles), 230 kilovolts (632 miles), 161 kilovolts (43 miles), 138 kilovolts (128 miles), 115 kilovolts (1,221 miles) and less than 115 kilovolts (6,216 miles). Thye Company owns and operates 164substations with a total capacity of 11,132 megav! oltampere! s. Some of its transmission and distribution lines interconnect with other utilities. Rainy River Energy, its wholly owned subsidiary, owns approximately 8% of American Transmission Company LLC (ATC), a Wisconsin-based utility that owns and maintains electric transmission assets in parts of Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois. Hibbard is a 51 megttsa biomass/coal/natural gas facility located in Duluth, Minnesota. Minnesota Power holds franchises to construct and maintain an electric distribution and transmission system in 94 cities and towns located within its electric service territory. SWL&P holds 17 similar franchises for electric, natural gas and/or water systems in one city and 16 villages and towns within its service territory.

Investments and Other

BNI Coal is a supplier of lignite in North Dakota, producing about four million tons annually. Two electric generating cooperatives, Minnkota Power Cooperative, Inc. (Minnkota Power) and Square Butte Electric Cooperative (Square Butte), consumes virtually all of BNI Coal�� production of lignite under cost-plus, fixed fee coal supply agreements extending through 2026. The mining process disturbs and reclaims between 200 and 250 acres per year. ALLETE Properties represents its Florida real estate investment. Its two major development projects are Town Center and Palm Coast Park. Another major project, Ormond Crossings is in the design and permitting stage. ALLETE Properties occasionally provides seller financing to certain qualified buyers. In June 2011, the Company ALLETE Clean Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of ALLETE. ALLETE Clean Energy intends to market to electric utilities, cooperatives, municipalities, independent power marketers and end-users across North America through long-term PPAs. ALLETE Clean Energy focuses on developing or acquiring capital projects that create energy solutions through wind, solar, biomass, hydro, natural gas/liquids, shale resources, clean coal and other clean energy. As of Decembe! r 31, 201! 1, non-rate base generation consists of 31 megawatts of generation at Rapids Energy Center. In 2011, it sold 0.1 million Megawatt-hours of non-rate base generation. The Company has approximately 5,500 acres of land available-for-sale in Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Utility holding company Allete (ALE) raised its quarterly dividend 3.2% to 49 cents per share, payable on Mar. 1 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 14.
  ALE Dividend Yield: 3.94%

• [By Eric Volkman]

  ALLETE (NYSE: ALE  ) is continuing to be all in with its dividend. The company has declared its latest common stock distribution, which is to be $0.475 per share paid on Sept. 1 to shareholders of record as of Aug. 15. That amount matches the company's previous two payouts, the most recent of which was dispensed at the beginning of June. Before that, the company was less generous by a cent and a half, handing out $0.46 per share.

5 Best Supermarket Stocks To Buy For 2015: Austin Engineering Ltd (ANG)

Austin Engineering Limited is engaged in the manufacture, repair, overhaul and supply of mining attachment products, general steelwork structures and other associated products and services for the industrial and resources-related business sectors. The Company operates in four segments: Australia, which includes mining equipment, other products and repair and maintenance services; Americas, which includes mining equipment and other products, consisting of North America and South America; Asia, which includes Indonesia for mining equipment and other products, and the Middle East, which includes aluminum smelter equipment and products. In October 2013, Austin Engineering Limited completed the acquisition of the business of Servigrut. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Julia Leite]

  South African miners rallied after a recovery in gold prices. The FTSE/JSE Africa All-Share Index climbed 1.5 percent in Johannesburg, with Harmony Gold Mining Co. (HAR) and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (ANG) adding at least 5.2 percent.