Top 5 Diversified Bank Stocks For 2014

The American Society of Clinical Oncology meets every spring. It's attended by some 30,000 people and hosts 4,000 presentations.

Investors like us love ASCO because of the so-called "ASCO Effect" - a hefty surge in cancer-focused biotech stocks that always accompanies the start of this meeting.

And we usually recommend an oncology stock or two ourselves.

This year's ASCO turned us on to an important new trend - one that's shaping up as the next big profit opportunity in biotech.

Scientists and other researchers refer to this emerging opportunity as "immuno-oncology" - a new category of drugs that draft the body's own immune cells to target a broad array of cancers. The market potential is so huge - as much as $35 billion - that it may be the biotech sector's version of a California Gold Rush.

It's so big, in fact, that stock-watchers are talking about the trend as "Immunopalooza."

"Rarely a week goes by without a few new immuno-oncology research deals to report," the FierceBiotech trade journal reported yesterday. "The reason is simple: Investigators believe they have figured out a way to dismantle the mechanism used by cancer cells to stay hidden from the immune system. It's a broadly applicable approach which is likely to work in combination with a number of therapies. And after Citigroup last year put a $35 billion figure on the market potential for these drugs, the oft-cited mega-blockbuster number helps explain why [immuno-oncology] companies are so interested in being among the first to the market."

Top Healthcare Equipment Companies To Own For 2015: Blackrock Global (BOE)

BlackRock Global Opportunities Equity Trust is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc. The fund is managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. It invests in the public equity markets across the globe. The fund invests in the stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It primarily invests in all cap companies. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the S&P Global Broad Market Index. BlackRock Global Opportunities Equity Trust was formed on May 31, 2005 and is domiciled in the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Canadian Value]

  Post-scriptum: Wow! In a recent Bloomberg article, Andrew Gracie, an executive director at the Bank of England (BoE), was proposing that in the event of a bank failure, regulators could suspend derivatives contracts affecting the failed bank on a global basis.4 He further argues that ��he entry of a bank into resolution should not in itself be an event of default�� In other words, the solution proposed by the BoE to deal with a bank that fails and that has entered in a mountain of derivatives contracts is to suspend the market.

• [By idahansen]

  Due to the impact of The Great Recession, stocks in the agricultural sector such as Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), The Mosiac Company (NYSE: MOS), and Potash of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) are trading well below highs. The exchange traded fund for the industry, DBA Power Shares, (NYSE: DBA), is down more than 17% for the last year. Despite this bearish trend, legendary investors such as Warren Buffett, George Soros, and Jim Rogers are very positive for the agriculture group. With the long term bullish outlook for the sector from the greatest investors in history, small cap stocks active in the fertilizer sector such as Sirius Minerals (LSE: SXX) and Americas Petrogas (TSX: BOE) are especially attractive.

Top 5 Diversified Bank Stocks For 2014: Great American Group Inc (GAMR)

Great American Group, Inc. (Great American), incorporated on May 7, 2009, is a provider of asset disposition and valuation and appraisal services to a range of retail, wholesale and industrial customers, as well as lenders, capital providers, private equity investors and professional service firms. The Company operates its business in two segments: liquidation and auction solutions and valuation and appraisal services. Its liquidation and auction divisions assist customers in the disposition of assets. Such assets include multi-location retail inventory, wholesale inventory, trade fixtures, machinery and equipment, intellectual property and real property. Great American�� valuation and appraisal services division provides its clients with independent appraisals in connection with asset-based loans, acquisitions, divestitures and other business needs. Its valuation and appraisal services division provides valuation and appraisal services to financial institutions, lenders, private equity investors and other providers of capital. These services primarily include the valuation of assets for purposes of determining and monitoring the value of collateral securing financial transactions and loan arrangements, and in connection with potential business combinations. In October 2009, Great American formed a subsidiary, GA Capital, LLC (GA Capital).

Auction and Liquidation Solutions

The Company enables its clients to dispose of under-performing assets and generate cash from excess inventory by conducting or assisting in store closings, going out of business sales, bankruptcy sales and fixture sales. It also provides merger and acquisition due diligence, through the Company�� auction and liquidation segment and reverse logistics and appraisal services, through its valuation and appraisal services segment. It provides retail auction and liquidation services on a fee and guarantee basis. In guarantee retail liquidation engagements, it takes title to any unsold inventory. The Company ! designs and implements disposition programs for its customers seeking to convert excess wholesale and industrial inventory and operational assets into capital. Assets in an orderly liquidation are available for sale on a privately negotiated basis over a period of months. This sale method is often employed to dispose of furniture, fixtures and equipment in connection with retail liquidations, as well as wholesale inventory or industrial equipment. The Company�� live auctions can cover single sites or multiple locations, and the Company utilizes point-of-sale software to generate customized sales reports and invoices and to track assets. The Company webcasts its live auctions over the Internet. This auction format allows online bidders to compete in real time against bidders at the live auction. Bidders can log onto the auction from personal computers, view and bid on lots as they come up for sale, hear the auctioneers as the sale is being conducted and, in some cases, view live streaming video of the auctioneer calling the bids on-site. In the online auction format, the sale of assets takes place online, without a live auctioneer calling the sale.

The Company provides advisory services relating to the wind down process from beginning to end, including negotiation of early lease terminations, sale of intellectual property and sale of completed inventory through the client�� historical distribution channels. It assists clients with managing the disposition of customer returns, obsolete inventory, extraneous fixtures and dated equipment. The Company serves as a broker, providing assistance in reaching target markets and potential buyers or marketing to its database of buyers and end users. The Company performs sealed bid sales in situations where asset disposition requires anonymity of the buyer or seller or involves other confidentiality concerns. In this process, potential buyers submit bids without knowledge of the amount bid by other participants. It also provides wholesale and industr! ial servi! ces on a fee, guarantee and an outright purchase basis. The Company commenced auctions for foreclosed residential real estate properties, through its joint venture with Kelly Capital during the year ended December 31, 2009. The Company coordinates the auction process, including the venue, personnel and onsite technological requirements. It also arranges for financial institutions, title and escrow companies to be onsite at the auction to provide onsite services to potential buyers. The Company provides its home auction services on a fee basis based on a percentage of sale prices and on an outright purchase basis.

Valuation and Appraisal Services

Great American�� valuation and appraisal teams provide independent appraisals to financial institutions, lenders and other providers of capital and other professional service firms for estimated liquidation values of assets. These teams include experts specializing in particular industry and asset classes. The Company provides valuation and appraisal services across five categories: Consumer and Retail Inventory, representative types of appraisals and valuations include inventory of specialty apparel retailers, department stores, jewelry retailers, sporting goods retailers, mass and discount merchants, home furnishing retailers and footwear retailers; Wholesale and Industrial Inventory, representative types of appraisals and valuations include inventory held by manufacturers or distributors of automotive parts, chemicals, food and beverage products, wine and spirits, building and construction products, industrial products, metals, paper and packaging; Machinery and Equipment, representative types of asset appraisals and valuations include a range of equipment utilized in manufacturing, construction, transportation and healthcare; Intangible Assets, representative types of asset appraisals and valuations include intellectual property, goodwill, brands, logos, trademarks and customer lists, and Real Estate, representative types of ass! et apprai! sals and valuations include owned and leased manufacturing and distribution facilities, retail locations and corporate offices.

The Company competes with overstock.com and eBay.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, GAMR surged (+8.57%) up +0.030 at $.380 with 10,000 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 10:28AM EDT July 12, 2013).

  Great American Group, Inc. has been selected to handle store closing sales at eight Orchard Supply Hardware locations, offering significant product discounts in the Citrus Heights, Fairfield, Huntington Beach, Lone Tree, Long Beach, Midtown, Newark and Vacaville stores

  Orchard previously reported on June 17, 2013, that it had reached an agreement through which Lowe�� Companies, Inc. will acquire the majority of its assets but will allow Orchard to continue day-to-day operations as a separate, standalone business with its brand, strategy and management team intact. To facilitate the acquisition agreement and restructure its balance sheet, Orchard filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The agreement with Lowe�� comprises the initial stalking horse bid in the Court-supervised auction process under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code.

• [By CRWE]

  Today,�GAMR has shed (-9.46%) down -0.035 at $.335 with 160�shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 9:31AM EDT July 8, 2013), but don�� let this get you down.

  Great American Group, Inc. has been selected to handle store closing sales at eight Orchard Supply Hardware locations, offering significant product discounts in the Citrus Heights, Fairfield, Huntington Beach, Lone Tree, Long Beach, Midtown, Newark and Vacaville stores

  Orchard previously reported on June 17, 2013, that it had reached an agreement through which Lowe�� Companies, Inc. will acquire the majority of its assets but will allow Orchard to continue day-to-day operations as a separate, standalone business with its brand, strategy and management team intact. To facilitate the acquisition agreement and restructure its balance sheet, Orchard filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The agreement with Lowe�� comprises the initial stalking horse bid in the Court-supervised auction process under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code.

Top 5 Diversified Bank Stocks For 2014: Ferro Corporation (FOE)

Ferro Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells specialty materials and chemicals in the United States and internationally. It operates in six segments: Performance Coatings, Electronic Materials, Color and Glass Performance Materials, Polymer Additives, Specialty Plastics, and Pharmaceuticals. The company provides electronic, color, and glass materials, including conductive metal powders, polishing materials, glazes, enamels, pigments, decoration colors, and other performance materials. It also offers polymer and ceramic engineered materials, such as polymer additives, engineered plastic compounds, pigment dispersions, glazes, frits, porcelain enamel, pigments, inks, and high-potency pharmaceutical active ingredients. The company provides its products for a range of applications in various markets, such as appliances, automobiles, building and renovation, electronics, household furnishings, industrial products, packaging, and pharmaceuticals. The com pany sells its products to manufacturers of ceramic tile, major appliances, construction materials, automobile parts, glass, bottles, vinyl flooring and wall coverings, and pharmaceuticals directly, as well as through agents and distributors. Ferro Corporation was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Mayfield Heights, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Maria Armental var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach]

  A. Schulman Inc.(SHLM) agreed to buy a majority of Ferro Corp.'s(FOE) specialty plastics business for $91 million in cash, an effort to expand its geographic footprint.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Ferro (NYSE: FOE  ) is expected to report Q2 earnings around July 25. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Ferro's revenues will wane -8.3% and EPS will grow 120.0%.

• [By alicet236]

  President and CEO of Ferro Corp (FOE) Peter T. Thomas bought 20,000 shares on Aug. 7, 2013 at an average price of $6.8. The total transaction amount was $136,000.

Top 5 Diversified Bank Stocks For 2014: Federated Investors Inc. (FII)

Federated Investors, Inc. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm provides its services to individuals, including high net worth individuals, banking or thrift institutions, investment companies, pension and profit sharing plans, pooled investment vehicles, charitable organizations, state or municipal government entities, and registered investment advisors. Through its subsidiaries, it manages separate client-focused equity, fixed income, and money market mutual funds and separate client-focused equity, fixed income, and balanced portfolios. The firm invests in the public equity and fixed income markets across the globe. It invests in growth and value stocks of small-cap, mid-cap, and large-cap companies. The firm makes its fixed income investments in ultra-short, short-term, and intermediate-term mortgage-backed, U.S. Government, U.S. Corporate, high yield, and municipal securities. It employs a fundamental and a quantitative analysis to make its equity investmen ts. The firm also makes sector-focused equity investments. Federated Investors was founded in 1955 and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with an additional office in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jordan Wathen]

  A federation of free cash flow
  Federated Investors (NYSE: FII  ) �also�looks appealing, even though its biggest business isn't contributing to the bottom line.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  For money market fund managers, the debt ceiling drama is just the latest in a long series of challenges. Low rates have forced Federated Investors (NYSE: FII  ) , Schwab (NYSE: SCHW  ) , and many other major money market fund managers to subsidize their funds, accepting reduced management fees just to keep their interest rates from going negative. As the graph below shows, fund levels have fallen sharply in response to those low rates as well, hurting fund managers' profitability.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  But there are winners–and they’re any stock that’s helped by higher rates. There are mutual fund companies with big money-market fund businesses, who wouldn’t be forced to run these funds for what is essentially free. Federated Investors (FII), for instance, has jumped 2.1% to $27.99. Life insurance companies, too, are rising because they should be able to earn more on their investments. MetLife (MET), for instance, has risen 1.3% to $53.03.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Lately, though, T. Rowe Price hasn't benefited as much from share-price gains. Competitor Invesco (NYSE: IVZ  ) has managed to expand its margins and produce growth among its current lineup of funds, with exposure to a big range of markets that leaves it broadly placed to serve its customers' needs. But for T. Rowe Price and peer Federated Investors (NYSE: FII  ) , investors haven't been putting as much money to work in their funds as analysts had expected to see, and that has led to some growth shortfalls. Federated in particular missed its earnings estimates in its most recent quarter, and analysts see growth there slowing to just 3%. T. Rowe Price has better prospects, retaining its double-digit revenue growth, but after a substantial move upward at the beginning of the year, its stock has treaded water.