Eurozone Sentiment Picks Up

Sentiment in the eurozone picked up in October and added to the region's growing momentum.

Data from the European Commission showed that economic sentiment in the 17 nation bloc rose to 97.8 points in October, its highest level since August 2011. The figure also beat market expectations of 97.3 points.

German confidence continued to rise for a seventh consecutive month even as the nation's government hangs in the balance while Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Social Democrats try to form a coalition. The report showed that confidence in the region's largest economy rose to 104.9.

Related: PreMarket Primer: Thursday, October 31: BOJ Bullish On Inflation

Rising confidence data will inject some optimism into the region as the currently strong euro has created some problems for the region's economy. Although the European Central Bank has insisted that the euro is not yet at a dangerously high level, many worry that the strong currency could keep the bloc from meeting its inflation targets.

However, the euro lost some of its shine on Wednesday afternoon when the Fed's statement was more hawkish that most were expecting. Reuters reported that the US central bank removed its reference to a "tightening of financial conditions observed in recent months" as a risk to the bank's outlook.

Traders took the omission as a signal that the bank could taper its $85 billion per month bond buying plan sooner than expected. Now, many analysts see the Fed cutting down on its stimulus spending in early 2014. Following the statement, investors turned back to the dollar which sent the euro down 0.2 percent.

Posted-In: European Central Bank Federal ReserveNews Eurozone Commodities Forex Global Federal Reserve Pre-Market Outlook Markets Best of Benzinga

(c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  Around the Web, We're Loving... Learn to Use Trading Platforms Like Hedge Fund Traders do Rumsfeld: Denial of Benefits to Fallen Soldiers' Families 'Inexcusable' Come See How the Pro's Trade in this Exclusive Webinar Facebook, Baidu Lead Big Caps Beating Shutdown What Should You Know About AMZN? Most Popular IBM Authorizes $0.95 Dividend; Authorizes $15B In Additional Buybacks What is Apple's Tim Cook Hinting at for 2014? Facebook Shares Edge Higher After Hours Following Upgrade to Buy from BTIG's Greenfield Is a Beer Mega-Merger On Tap? Earnings Scheduled For October 30, 2013 Net Optics Announces Pending Acquisition by Ixia for $190M in Cash Related Articles (EWI + BROAD) Eurozone Sentiment Picks Up Brent Pushes Towards $110 Euro's Strength Could Provoke Action From ECB Brent Slips On Rising Libyan Exports Early Stages Of Eurozone Banking Union To Be Difficult Protests In Libya Boost Brent View the discussion thread. Partner Network #marketfy-ae-block { display: none; border: 2px solid #0a3f75; overflow: hidden; width: 300px; height: 125px; text-align: center; background-color: #45719E; position: relative; z-index: 1; } #marketfy-ae-block a { display: block; width: 300px; height: 125px; position: relative; z-index: 2; color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown-text { color: #f9fc99; padding: 0px 0 0 0; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown-text-start { font-size: 12px; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown { padding: 5px 0 5px 0; font-size: 26px; } #marketfy-ae-block-signup { padding: 5px 47px; } #marketfy-ae-block-signup:hover { background-color: #457a1a; } #marketfy-ae-block #marketfy-ae-block-logo { display: block; padding: 3px 0 0 0; margin: 0; } #marketfy-ae-block-logo { text-indent: -9999px; } #marketfy-ae-block-free { display: block; position: absolute; top: 7px; right: -23px; width: 80px; height: 16px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; opacity: 1; -webkit-transform: rotate(45deg); -moz-transform: rotate(45deg); -ms-transform: rotate(45deg); transform: rotate(45deg); font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; color: #333333; background-color: yellow; z-index: 500; text-shadow: 1px 1px #999999; } #marketfy-ae-block-arrow { position: relative; width: 60px; height: 60px; z-index: 10; margin: -80px 0 13px -21px; } #marketfy-ae-block-arrow img { height: 60px; width: auto; } Marketfy's International
Traders & Investors Summit Register for this FREE Event! Hosted by Marketfy $(function () { var dateToday = new Date(); var dateCheck = dateToday.getTime() - 60*60*4*1000; var theMarketfyDate = new Date(2013, 8, 21, 9, 00, 00); if(dateCheck

Oil Stocks BP & OXY Lead The Way This Earnings Season

We're in the thick of earnings season for the energy sector and BP (BP) and Occidental Petroleum (OXY) were the latest oil stocks to report earnings.

And both oil stocks did so with gusto.

On the backs of higher production and prices per barrel, the oil stocks showed why the majors are in a league of their own. And more importantly for BP and OXY specifically, the earnings show just how far the duo are into their respective transformations

For OXY and BP stock investors, the earnings reports for both oil stocks could be a precursor to greater things down the road.

BP Stock Sweetens Its Dividend

For beaten-down and beleaguered BP stock, the latest earnings report could be a sign of more positive things from one of the most well-known oil stocks. Ultimately, BP showed a 34% decrease in net profits vs. a year ago. But while at first blush that may seem bad, the truth is that number isn’t as terrible as it may seem.

The key for the oil stock is that BP managed to beat analysts' projections by a wide margin.

British Petroleum reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.17 per share on a replacement cost basis, excluding non-operating items. The oil stock's results surpassed the analyst consensus estimates of just 97 cents. Much of that increase was due to higher average price of oil throughout the quarter.

BP sold oil for an average of $100.66 per barrel and natural gas for $5.01 per thousand cubic feet for the quarter. That's versus $99 and $4.77, respectively for the previous quarter. Overall price realization rose 3.5% to $62.80 per barrel of oil equivalent. On the whole, the oil stock saw an 1.3% increase in profits from its upstream, as production at BP for the third quarter was 3.17 million barrels of oil equivalents a day.

These profits and gains managed to outweigh issues at its refining sector, which posted lower margins. BP was also encouraged by its progress on the production front and legal battle resulting from its Deep Horizon rig disaster/oil spill.

That prompted BP to raise its quarterly dividend by 5.6% to 57 cents a share. That gives BP stock a forward yield of just under 5%.

OXY Sees U.S. Production Growth

Like BP, oil stock rival Occidental Petroleum succeeded on the earnings front, built on the back of higher production and oil prices.

Gains for OXY came from higher oil production in the U.S. production, which was the equivalent of 476,000 barrels of oil per day. That was up about 7,000 barrels per day for the year ago quarter as well as also higher than the previous quarter's production. That increase here at home helped offset lower production in the Middle East and North Africa — traditionally the bread-n-butter for OXY. Total production for the oil stock was 767,000 barrels per day.

The fourth largest U.S. oil stock OXY also saw higher prices for that higher production.

Top 10 Bank Stocks To Watch For 2014

Beating BP on average cost per barrel, Occidental was paid $103.95 per barrel for crude. That's a jump of nearly 8% versus last year's numbers. OXY also saw a 32% gain in its average selling price for more for natural gas.

Adding in OXY's 22% reduction in drilling costs and the oil stock produced a third-quarter profit of $1.58 billion — 15% more than a year ago. Adjusted profits per share came in at $1.96. That beat analyst estimates for the oil stock by roughly 6 cents. Meanwhile, OXY revenue rose 8% to $6.45 billion, also beating analysts' projections.

While Occidental didn't reward shareholders with a dividend increase, OXY stock has rallied this year about 27% based on the oil stock’s improving condition.

These Oil Stocks Set The Pace

Given that both BP and OXY reported better numbers based on higher average energy prices, odds are the rest of the oil stocks will do the same. That could make the overall sector a big buy in the weeks ahead.

For investors, oil stocks are certainly shining this earnings season. OXY and BP, as well previous reports by Schlumberger (SLB) and Halliburton (HAL), are proving that fact.

As of this writing, Aaron Levitt did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

Will Sprint Nextel Be a Hot Investment?

With shares of Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) trading around $7, is S an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Sprint Nextel offers wireless and landline communications products and services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It offers voice and data transmission services to subscribers in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands under the Sprint corporate brand, which includes its retail brands of Sprint, Nextel, Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, and Assurance Wireless. An increasing share of the population is opting for these communications products and services, fueling profits for Sprint Nextel. As the desire to connect with others continues to rise, profits and the stock price should follow.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Strong

Sprint Nextel stock has really suffered in recent years but looks to have formed a value base over the last few years. The stock has now broken above this value base and may be seeking higher prices. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Sprint Nextel is trading slightly above its rising key averages, which signal neutral to bullish price action in the near-term.

NEW! Discover a new stock idea each week for less than the cost of 1 trade. CLICK HERE for your Weekly Stock Cheat Sheets NOW!

(Source: Thinkorswim)

Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of Sprint Nextel options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish.

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
Sprint Nextel Options	38.23%	30%	26%

What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a small amount of call and put options contracts, as compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days.

	Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
July Options	Flat	Average
August Options	Flat	Average

As of today, there is an average demand from call buyers or sellers and low demand by put buyers or high demand by put sellers, all neutral to bullish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a small amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral to bullish over the next two months.

On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates and the conclusion.

E = Earnings Are Mixed Quarter-Over-Quarter

Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on Sprint Nextel’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for Sprint Nextel look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

	Top Undervalued Companies To Watch In Right Now 2013 Q1	2012 Q4	2012 Q3	2012 Q2
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	27.59%	-1.22%	-160%	-64.29%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	0.68%	3.24%	5.16%	6.40%
Earnings Reaction	-0.14%	-0.51%	-1.77%	20.17%

Sprint Nextel has seen decreasing earnings and increasing revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have been a bit confused about Sprint Nextel’s recent earnings announcements.

P = Excellent Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has Sprint Nextel stock done relative to its peers, AT&T (NYSE:T), Verizon (NYSE:VZ), T-Mobile (NYSE:TMUS), and sector?

	Sprint Nextel	AT&T	Verizon	T-Mobile	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	28.84%	7.53%	19.09%	12.63%	13.31%

Sprint Nextel has been a relative performance leader, year-to-date.

NEW! Discover a new stock idea each week for less than the cost of 1 trade. CLICK HERE for your Weekly Stock Cheat Sheets NOW!

Conclusion

Sprint Nextel allows consumers and companies to communicate at increasing efficiency through its wireless and wireline technologies. The stock has witnessed a good amount of selling pressure but is now seeing a strong bounce from a solid base formed in recent years. Over the last four quarters, investors in the company have been a bit confused as earnings have decreased while revenues have increased. Relative to its peers and sector, Sprint Nextel has been a year-to-date performance leader. Look for Sprint Nextel to continue to OUTPERFORM.

Develop a polices and procedures manual stat

Hi Gladys, I've owned a landscaping business for 14 years. I make a decent living and consider myself to be successful. But, I fall short in handling employee situations. I usually don't address issues related to vacation, time off or worker's comp until something happens. And I often don't give a reason for terminating an employee. I know that this is no way to run a business and friends have said that I should have the rules and regulations written down and copies given to employees so that they know what's up. That just seems like a lot of highbrow foolishness for a small outfit like mine. What do you think? -- S. E.

I often meet folks who start a business and think that because it's a small operation it doesn't need to operate as a structured business. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you are hiring people to work for you, both you and your workers should have something written to keep you both on the right track. This written document is called a policy and procedures employee manual.

You wrote, "seems like a lot of highbrow foolishness." Maybe it would be more palatable to you if you change how you think of a written polices manual. Instead of viewing it as a foolish intrusion, consider it as a way of expressing your vision and goals for your company and your employees. Also think of it as a tool that can help to keep you on track toward the growth of your company.

You can find books and templates to guide you in developing an employment policies manual. Here are a few things that come to my mind that can get you off to a good start:

Terminating an employee can be a tough situation and it is important to know what the law has to say about this.

As far as I know, employment in the United States is considered "at will." This means that either party is free to end the employment with or without notice, as long as there is no binding contract. Double check this with a lawyer and make sure that you and your workers fall under the "at will" rule in ! the state where you do business.

Worker's compensation, unemployment benefits (if you offer any), and termination polices on both parts should be spelled out in detail so that you are clear on the pros and cons of being an employee of your company.

I recall an entrepreneur called me one time to see how she could go about suing a former employee to prohibit him from collecting unemployment. During our conversation, I discovered that the woman had eliminated several positions due to a decrease in her business. She got upset with me when I told her that her former employee was entitled to unemployment comp.

In another case, I remember working with an entrepreneur who had a couple of employees who were working full time in his business and collecting unemployment at the same time. When I questioned the business owner, he seemed clueless as to how his employees could also be collecting unemployment. When I spoke with the employees in question, they said that several friends had told them that this was done all the time as a way of earning extra money. It seemed that both the entrepreneur and his employees were unaware of proper procedures, not to mention the law and possible penalties for violating it.

10 Best Casino Stocks To Own Right Now

Get busy putting together your policies and procedures employee manual and you can make it easy by simply making of list of some of the things that you have had to address in the past. A short list could include sick time, vacations, worker's compensation, drug and alcohol use on the job and cellphone usage.

If the last two things sound strange to you, check out my last two stories.

I once had a client who owned a janitorial service. He had the contract to clean several retail clothing stores after hours. His contract was terminated because the three employees responsible for cleaning one of the stores would drink liquor while cleaning! and once! they got drunk they would start dancing with the mannequins. Once both the cleaning and the dancing was complete the workers would leave the mannequins laying on the floor and in some cases with missing parts. A hidden camera disclosed these shenanigans.

I also remember being invited by a friend to one of her yoga classes. I was looking forward to a relaxing yoga session. But, just as the instructor of the class had moved us into the shoulder stand, her cellphone rang. I heard her say "Oops, I gotta grab this." And there we were, left with our toes pointing to the ceiling and balancing our body weight on our neck and shoulders while she answered her phone call.

Make life easier for yourself, your workers and your customers, not to mention the long-term benefits of making sure you comply with state and federal laws: Develop an employee manual ASAP.

Gladys Edmunds, founder of Edmunds Travel Consultants in Pittsburgh, is an author and coach/consultant in business development. E-mail her at gladys@gladysedmunds.com.

Emerging Stocks Cap Biggest Weekly Decline Since August

Emerging-market stocks fell, capping the biggest weekly drop since August, as China's money-market rates jumped and concern grew that earnings will falter. Indonesia's rupiah posted its best week since June 2009.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index retreated 0.3 percent to 1,027.27, extending its weekly slump to 1.4 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) slid to the lowest level in seven weeks as Great Wall Motor Co. (601633) tumbled 10 percent after earnings missed analysts' estimates. Oil company OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SA (OGXP3) sank 19 percent, pacing losses in Brazil's Ibovespa. The rupiah strengthened the most since Sept. 19.

Stocks fell as China's money-market rate completed the biggest weekly jump since a cash squeeze in June after the central bank refrained from injecting funds through open-market operations. More than half of the 125 companies that reported quarterly earnings in the gauge for developing nations missed sales estimates, while revenue increased by an average 2.1 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

"Uncertainty in China suggests that people maybe decided to be a little more cautious," Derrick Irwin, a portfolio manager of the Wells Fargo Advantage Emerging Markets Equity Fund in Boston, said by phone. His firm manages $223.8 billion. "These concerns come up every time the money-market rate spikes. As we look at the earnings season, it's been at worst a mixed bag."

Nine out of 10 groups in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell, led by utility, industrial and technology companies. The gauge for developing nations has dropped 2.7 percent this year to trade at 10.6 times projected earnings, compared with the valuation of 14.3 for the MSCI World Index.

Emerging ETF

The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index exchange-traded fund advanced 0.5 percent to $42.75. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Emerging Markets ETF Volatility Index, a measure of options prices on the fund and expectations of price swings, retreated 2.3 percent to 21.01.

Brazil's Ibovespa posted the biggest weekly decline in almost two months. Oil company OGX tumbled after Valor Economico reported a round of talks with bondholders ended Oct. 23 with no agreement reached.

Russian stocks rose as oil, the nation's main export earner, climbed. OAO Lukoil (LKOH) gained for the first time this week. Benchmark gauges in Hungary and Turkey also advanced. Tofas Turk Otomobil Fabrikasi AS, the Turkish carmaker part-owned by Fiat SpA, climbed for a second day on bets plans to roll out a new vehicle will boost revenue from exports.

China, India

The Shanghai Composite Index fell for a fourth day, capping the longest stretch of losses in almost three months. Great Wall Motor led declines for consumer-discretionary companies reliant on economic growth.

India's S&P BSE Sensex ended three weeks of gains as Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., the largest maker of power equipment, slumped to a one-month low. ITC Ltd. (ITC), India's biggest tobacco company, slid after its sales trailed estimates.

The rupiah rose 2.8 percent since Oct. 18 as of 4:37 p.m. in Jakarta, beating all 24 emerging-market currencies tracked by Bloomberg, prices from local banks show.

The premium investors demand to own emerging-market debt over U.S. Treasuries fell one basis points, or 0.01 percentage point, to 311 basis points, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

BlackBerry CEO to Wall Street: You're Doing It Wrong

We already knew the folks at BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY  ) had plenty to prove at the company's annual meeting Tuesday, thanks largely to its posting a dismal earnings report two weeks ago that resulted in a one-day drop of more than 27%. 

To its credit, the struggling smartphone maker did let investors know the surprise miss primarily happened thanks to foreign currency restrictions in Venezuela, which negatively affected both its GAAP and adjusted earnings to the tune of $0.10 per share.

All told, not including the Venezuela issue, BlackBerry also highlighted the fact that its adjusted earnings per share would have otherwise come in at $0.03, or roughly in line with the company's previous vague outlook of "approaching breakeven results."

Unfortunately, however, just 2.7 million of the 6.8 million total smartphone units shipped were equipped with the company's BB10 operating system, or far below consensus analyst estimates of 3 million to 4 million BB10 handsets.

Adjusting our expectations... downward
Of course, the difficulty in predicting BlackBerry's numbers is also a big reason I warned investors last month not to get too excited over an upgrade from Societe Generale, which temporarily sent the stock up more than 6% after the firm said it believed BlackBerry would potentially sell as many as 5 million BB10 units during the quarter.

Going back to Tuesday's shareholder meeting, though, this is also why we shouldn't be particularly surprised that BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins told investors the business has become "difficult to forecast" with regard to many of the typical smartphone-related metrics analysts have grown accustomed to using with more dominant smartphone players such as Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) and Samsung.

Top 10 Bank Companies To Watch In Right Now

More specifically, Heins went on to elaborate:

With little visibility in these items, expectations in areas that the company could not guide were significantly higher than the company could have achieved. While many will judge our short-term success on unit sales in a single quarter, we are not a device-only company, [and] creating value for shareholders does not involve being everything to everyone.

In short, Heins effectively told the market: "You're doing it wrong."

The thing is, this offers little consolation for BlackBerry shareholders who note that 71% of the company's revenue came from hardware last quarter, and who rightly covet some form of transparency while the company is smack-dab in the middle of its self-described "three-stage plan" to transform itself.

But remember, though Heins rightly asserts BlackBerry isn't a device-only company, remember its competition isn't, either.

Sure, the Apple crew did sell 37.4 million iPhones and 19.5 million iPads last quarter alone, but they also pulled in more than $4.1 billion in sales from their iTunes, software, and services segment last quarter as well. In the end, all that hardware and supplementary digital goods helped drive a quarterly net profit of $9.5 billion for Apple last quarter.

The plan
But while selling hardware to build out a solid supplementary services biz works well for Apple, BlackBerry still insists it can create shareholder value without achieving immediate growth in those all-important BB10 smartphone sales.

Getting back to the aforementioned three-phase plan, then, the first phase (according to Heins) has already been completed and involved launching the BlackBerry 10 operating system and restructuring the business and workforce Remember, that latter restructuring included 5,000 layoffs last fiscal year in an effort to reduce costs.

The second phase, which Heins claims the company is "just starting now," involves a plan to "build and invest in the future." More specifically, that entails growing the company's enterprise services, BlackBerry Messenger platform, and launching additional BB10-driven devices. What's more, without clarifying further, Heins says this stage will also involve a focused pursuit of "vertical specific opportunities."

Finally, the third phase includes driving profits from the results of the first two phases, which will be a tall order considering the intense competition BlackBerry finds itself facing. 

Foolish takeaway
For the time being, however, remember BlackBerry did manage to generate cash from operations of $630 million last quarter, and it still held cash and investments of $3.1 billion at the end of June.

That said, BlackBerry also forecast continued operating losses during its fiscal second quarter, which is why Heins was left pleading with investors at the meeting to maintain their positive long-term outlook for the business.

In the end, it's unsettling to me that no one -- not even BlackBerry's own management team -- knows exactly how to gauge the long-term effectiveness of BlackBerry's turnaround efforts. Until BlackBerry can manage to provide some level of tangible, predictable progress, the stock remains too risky a bet for my taste.

More expert advice from The Motley Fool
It's incredible to think just how much of our digital and technological lives are almost entirely shaped and molded by just a handful of companies. Find out "Who Will Win the War Between the 5 Biggest Tech Stocks" in The Motley Fool's latest free report, which details the knock-down, drag-out battle being waged among the five kings of tech. Click here to keep reading.

Millennials might not be so bad with money afte…

Jordan Frias, 25, opened his first savings account this summer with a similar goal as most recent graduates: making a dent in his college loans.

Instead, he sees the money trickling back into his pocket as he covers the usual post-graduate expenses of rent and graduate school, among daily costs.

"When I was an undergrad, the last thing I thought about was saving money," the Northeastern University graduate student says. "I knew after graduation that I wanted to make money but still wasn't concerned with conserving it."

Frias' financial woes are not uncommon among Generation Yers—those born in the early 80s to early 2000s—but a recent study shows broke Millennials may not be deserving of the infamous reputations they've earned when it comes to financial decisions.

A recent Pew Research Center study indicates that while student debt is greater than before, Millennials are shedding more debt than their predecessors, Generation X.

Further, experts say Millennials aren't "entitled" or "lazy" as some say be quick to say, but just unlucky.

Top 10 Safest Companies To Own In Right Now

"Every generation is impacted by their environment, and Millennials are no different," says Doug Spencer, a certified financial planner and a resident financial planner with Financial Finesse.

While data show Millennials are making better cash flow decisions than their older predecessors, the vague distant issue of retirement remains.

When it comes to feeling on track for retirement, only 17% of Millennials felt confident in their future after employment, according to a recent study by Financial Finesse. Just 29% said they had ever used a retirement calculator.

But are they the worst generation when it comes to saving?

Spencer says it is too early to tell, but that his generation certainly has been hit harder than generations that came before.

In their lifetime! , credit use has exploded, personal savings rates have declined and social security pensions will likely be substantially less than their parents or grandparents received, he says.

"I thought about saving money all the time [in college]," says Kelly Ward, a recent graduate from Northeastern University. "I could never save from semester to semester because I'd have to pay whatever I could at the beginning of each semester and pay the rest in loans."

The pattern continues after college as her savings continue to go straight to loans.

Jake Fuentes, 27, faced a similar challenge after he graduated college with a combined debt of almost $50,000 in loans and credit cards.

"We have to face some really unique challenges. ... We need to save more than really any other generation, and student loans have hit our group harder," says Fuentes, a former chief of staff for emerging products at Visa.

Additionally, the digital age that so surrounds Millennials might be the very reason they aren't likely to prioritize saving, Fuentes found.

With the days of balancing checkbooks and carrying cash replaced with a quick debit card swipe, and easy transactions from savings to checking accounts, budgeting isn't practical or known of in the millennial world.

Fuentes is now the CEO of Level, a recently-released app to aid in tracking money, targeted at the 18 to 35 age group.

"There's an entire industry to make it easier to spend money, ever since the dawn of the credit card, but there's no mechanism that helps us make responsible decisions," he says.

Level is just one way that Generation Y can break the mold of the reputation that follows them.

"In many ways they almost have the most information and opportunities," Spencer says. "If they start now...they have a chance to be the "greatest generation" when it comes to financial readiness."

What Can Be Done:

1. Have an emergency fund of about $1,000 to $2,000. That's the first priority, Spencer says.

! 2. Now, h! e says, you can focus on eliminating debt.

3. Stick to whatever budget you decide to use and leave a little money to have fun or you won't stick to it, he advises.

4. Finally, Spencer says, it's full steam ahead to your long term goals of maximizing your 401(k) and saving for a home. Consider increasing what you set aside each year, he adds.

Melanie Dostis is a senior at Northeastern University.

Molycorp Mows Down Investors -- Again

Easy come, easy go. Shares of rare earth minerals miner Molycorp (NYSE: MCP  ) started October on a high note following news of the completion of its chloralkali plant at its Mountain Pass, Calif., mine, but looks like it will be closing out the month heading down. The company admitted it has had difficulty getting the financing necessary for equipment as prices continue to fall and the need to tap the equity markets with a dilutive offering to raise cash grows stronger.

Cerium Production Unit. Source: Molycorp

Unfortunately, that's just what I warned investors could happen and to ignore the positive news pump Molycorp got from the mineexpansion hullabaloo. The SEC filing Molycorp made surrounding its offering peels back the curtain a bit on just what a risky venture the miner is and why I cautioned only the smallest percentage of the most speculative investment portion of your portfolio should be invested here, if at all. 

Although the Mountain Pass mine has the capacity to produce 19,050 metric tons (MT) of rare earth ore, it's only been able to achieve 15,000 MT of REO "for brief periods" as it keeps encountering mechanical problems that it needs to correct. As a result, it's been producing an estimated 10,600 MT on an annualized basis.

While Molycorp plans on eventually ramping things up, it really all comes down to demand, but over the first three quarters of 2013, it's sold just 2,500 MT. Besides, almost half of what the mine produces is cerium, which it admits is a low demand REO and sales of the metal haven't been meaningful over the past few quarters.

Cerium in particular is plunging in value, falling all the way down to price levels not seen since 2009. In the third quarter alone the price plunged 25% from what it realized in the second, the largest drop experienced by any of the rare earth elements. In fact, cerium and lanthanum, the two that Molycorp says it's going to focus on because of their abundance, are the only two that haven't remained significantly higher than their pre-2010 levels, which were their historic highs.

Sure, the miner says its hopeful that its SorbX advanced water purification technology will help drive cerium sales, but 2014 is pretty much going to be a bust on sales so investors will have to wait for 2015 at the earliest before they see results. That is, if Molycorp can get financing to survive that long.

Because sales have been far below what Molycorp expected, due to a combination of lower production and lower prices, revenues and cash flows have come up short. In fact it expects to generate negative cash flows in the third quarter and after after paying for its debt load it will be negative again in the fourth. Hence, yet another dilutive stock offering, this one for $200 million.

I've been warning investors all along Molycorp is abysmal, that it's proven all too willing to dilute shareholders time and again, and earlier this year said it needed a "Goldilocks environment" to play out otherwise it would tap the equity markets once more. And here we are with the bears coming home and finding Molycorp napping in their beds. Its stock has lost nearly a quarter of its value this month.

It does have a backup plan if the offering fails, and that's to have Chilean molybdenum processor Molymet purchase up to $50 million in company stock. Molymet has bought shares before, just last year it bought $390 million worth, when the stock ws trading at around $54 a share. Ouch! It can't be very happy with its investment, and likely explains why it's only willing to buy a fraction of that amount this time.

Molycorp also needs to contend with the fact that there's a limited market for the metals it will mine at the same time Lynas (NASDAQOTH: LYSDY  ) is already out there producing them in Malaysia, let alone what China itself is bringing to the market. To think it can substantially crack the market at a profitable price in sufficient quantities, even if it does become a low (or the lowest) cost producer, is wishful thinking of the highest order.

This miner will continue to disappoint -- and dilute! -- shareholders. Speculative probably does not do justice to the risk that accompanies Molycorp and prudent investors will simply sit on the sidelines with this stock. 

Gold has outshined the stock market with strong returns since 2000, but more recently has given way to big declines. The Motley Fool's new free report, "The Best Way to Play Gold Right Now," dissects the recent volatility and provides a guide for gold investing. Click here to read the full report today!

Top Casino Stocks To Watch Right Now

Analysis: Tech failures feed our anxieties

SAN FRANCISCO -- Frustrations with the Affordable Care Act's Web site serve as just the latest reminder of the anxiety our nation has on its growing dependence on technology.

President Obama aired his dissatisfaction with the glitchy HealthCare.gov on Monday during an event at the White House Rose Garden. "There's no sugar-coating it," he said of the problematic Web site that has made it difficult for Americans to sign up for health insurance. "I think it's fair to say that nobody's more frustrated by that than I am."

He's hardly alone. And the problems run the gamut in American's tech-heavy lives. On the same day the President addressed the concerns over HealthCare.gov, Facebook's site was plagued with errors and Microsoft patched bugs in Windows 7. And for a month now, Apple iPhone users have been waiting for repairs to flaws in the new iOS 7 mobile operating system. Some people have trouble sending text messages on iPhones.

All of these growing tech dependencies raise a burning question: Where to turn when technology leaves us in the lurch?

Yet we as a nation and society have emerged around businesses choices that largely do away with customer service in favor of Web sites, computerized services and automated self-service phone systems. As well, much of our work messages are performed via email and even our blending social-and-work interactions happen across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and any number of increasing digital destinations.

All of this raises enormous frustrations and anxieties -- not to mention privacy fears -- when things don't work right. But it's not just our impulse to take a hammer to our PC that bothers us. Worse: It's having to deal with what's left of customer service in the computing era.

It's the fear and loathing of call center queues and terribly counterintuitive call center software. Or worse, being bounced from one phone service representative to the next -- only to get disconnected.

Yet much of this modern world anxiety was telepo! rted from the future to us in movies like 2001, Space Odyssey and later Westworld, where computers went haywire. A consciousness was already set in place for us to worry that our dependence on technology came with a price.

And it's days like today we all feel, in some small way, we're paying for it.

Why ePlus inc's Earnings May Not Be So Hot

Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company's economic output. That's because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls.

Earnings' unreliability is one of the reasons Foolish investors often flip straight past the income statement to check the cash flow statement. In general, by taking a close look at the cash moving in and out of the business, you can better understand whether the last batch of earnings brought money into the company, or merely disguised a cash gusher with a pretty headline.

Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on ePlus inc. (Nasdaq: PLUS  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. FCF = free cash flow. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over the past 12 months, ePlus inc. generated $25.7 million cash while it booked net income of $34.8 million. That means it turned 2.6% of its revenue into FCF. That doesn't sound so great. FCF is less than net income. Ideally, we'd like to see the opposite.

All cash is not equal
Unfortunately, the cash flow statement isn't immune from nonsense, either. That's why it pays to take a close look at the components of cash flow from operations, to make sure that the cash flows are of high quality. What does that mean? To me, it means they need to be real and replicable in the upcoming quarters, rather than being offset by continual cash outflows that don't appear on the income statement (such as major capital expenditures).

For instance, cash flow based on cash net income and adjustments for non-cash income-statement expenses (like depreciation) is generally favorable. An increase in cash flow based on stiffing your suppliers (by increasing accounts payable for the short term) or shortchanging Uncle Sam on taxes will come back to bite investors later. The same goes for decreasing accounts receivable; this is good to see, but it's ordinary in recessionary times, and you can only increase collections so much. Finally, adding stock-based compensation expense back to cash flows is questionable when a company hands out a lot of equity to employees and uses cash in later periods to buy back those shares.

Top 5 Growth Stocks To Own For 2014

So how does the cash flow at ePlus inc. look? Take a peek at the chart below, which flags questionable cash flow sources with a red bar.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. TTM = trailing 12 months.

When I say "questionable cash flow sources," I mean items such as changes in taxes payable, tax benefits from stock options, and asset sales, among others. That's not to say that companies booking these as sources of cash flow are weak, or are engaging in any sort of wrongdoing, or that everything that comes up questionable in my graph is automatically bad news. But whenever a company is getting more than, say, 10% of its cash from operations from these dubious sources, investors ought to make sure to refer to the filings and dig in.

ePlus inc's issue isn't questionable cash flow boosts, but items in that suspect group that reduced cash flow. Within the questionable cash flow figure -- here a negative-- plotted in the TTM period above, other operating activities (which can include deferred income taxes, pension charges, and other one-off items) constituted the biggest reversal. Overall, the biggest drag on FCF came from changes in accounts receivable, which represented 43.2% of cash from operations.

A Foolish final thought
Most investors don't keep tabs on their companies' cash flow. I think that's a mistake. If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're in a much better position to spot potential trouble early. Better yet, you'll improve your odds of finding the underappreciated home-run stocks that provide the market's best returns.

Software and computerized services are being consumed in radically different ways, on new and increasingly mobile devices. Many old leaders will be left behind. Whether or not ePlus inc. makes the coming cut, you should check out the company that Motley Fool analysts expect to lead the pack in "The Next Trillion-dollar Revolution." Click here for instant access to this free report.

We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized stock tracking service.

Add ePlus inc. to My Watchlist.

5 Stocks Under $10 to Trade for Breakouts

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- At Stockpickr, we track daily portfolios of stocks that are the biggest percentage gainers and the biggest percentage losers.

>>5 Big Stocks to Trade for Big Gains

Stocks that are making large moves like these are favorites among short-term traders because they can jump into these names and try to capture some of that massive volatility. Stocks that are making big-percentage moves either up or down are usually in play because their sector is becoming attractive or they have a major fundamental catalyst such as a recent earnings release. Sometimes stocks making big moves have been hit with an analyst upgrade or an analyst downgrade.

Regardless of the reason behind it, when a stock makes a large-percentage move, it is often just the start of a new major trend -- a trend that can lead to huge profits. If you time your trade correctly, combining technical indicators with fundamental trends, discipline and sound money management, you will be well on your way to investment success.

>>5 Stocks With Big Insider Buying

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at a several stocks under $10 that are making large moves to the upside today.

Vical

Vical (VICL) researches and develops biopharmaceutical products based on its patented DNA delivery technologies for the prevention and treatment of serious or life-threatening diseases. This stock closed up 2.2% to $1.29 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $1.27-$1.30

52-Week Range: $1.17-$4.51

Thursday's Volume: 774,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 2.14 million

From a technical perspective, VICL rose modestly higher here right above some near-term support at $1.25 with lighter-than-average volume. This stock has been trending sideways inside of a consolidation pattern for the last two months and change, with shares moving between $1.17 on the downside and $1.64 on the upside. This sideways trend is coming after shares of VICL gapped down sharply in August from $3.75 to $1.37 with heavy downside volume. Shares of VICL are now starting to trend within range of triggering a big breakout trade above the upper-end of its consolidating chart pattern. That trade will hit if VICL manages to take out its 50-day at $1.40, and then once it clears more key resistance levels at $1.44 to $1.64 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in VICL as long as it's trending above support at $1.25 or $1.21 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 2.14 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then VICL will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone from August that started near $3.75.

Transition Therapeutics

Transition Therapeutics (TTHI) is a product-focused biopharmaceutical company, developing therapeutics for disease indications with markets. This stock closed up 9.5% to $4.80 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $4.38-$4.83

52-Week Range: $1.90-$4.99

Thursday's Volume: 143,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 157,125

From a technical perspective, TTHI exploded to the upside here right above its 50-day moving average of $4.16 with decent upside volume. This move pushed shares of TTHI into breakout territory, since the stock took out some past overhead resistance at $4.53. Shares of TTHI are now quickly moving within range of triggering another big breakout trade. That trade will hit if TTHI manages to clear Thursday's high of $4.83 to its 52-week high at $4.99 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in TTHI as long as it's trending above $4.50 or its 50-day at $4.16 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 157,125 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then TTHI will set up to tag $6 to $7.

Clean Diesel Technologies

Clean Diesel Technologies (CDTI) is a manufacturer and distributor of heavy-duty diesel and light-duty vehicle emissions control systems and products to major automakers and retrofitters. This stock closed up 11% to $1.61 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $1.45-$1.63

52-Week Range: $1.10-$3.05

Thursday's Volume: 483,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 182,652

From a technical perspective, CDTI exploded to the upside here right off its 50-day moving average of $1.48 with heavy upside volume flows. This move is quickly pushing shares of CDTI within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if CDTI manages to take out Thursday's high of $1.63 to some more near-term overhead resistance levels at $1.65 to $1.68 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CDTI as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $1.48 or above more support at $1.40 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 182,652 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then CDTI will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at its 200-day moving average of $1.92 to $2.08. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give CDTI a chance to tag $2.25 to $2.50.

Superconductor Technologies

Superconductor Technologies (SCON) develops high-temperature superconductor materials and related technologies. It also designs, manufactures, and sells high-performance infrastructure products for wireless communication applications. This stock closed up 10.1% to $1.96 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $1.80-$2.08

52-Week Range: $1.42-$6.72

Thursday's Volume: 2.30 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 281,509

From a technical perspective, SCON exploded higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $1.61 with monster upside volume. This move pushed shares of SCON into breakout territory, since the stock took out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $1.89 to $1.95. Shares of SCON are now quickly moving within range of triggering another big breakout trade. That trade will hit if SCON manages to take out Thursday's high of $2.08 and some past overhead resistance near $2.25 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in SCON as long as it's trending above Thursday's low of $1.79 or its 50-day at $1.61 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 281,509 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then SCON will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels a $2.85 to $3. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give SCON a chance to tag $3.88 to $4.

Organovo

Organovo (ONVO) is a three-dimensional biology company focused on delivering breakthrough bioprinting technology and creating tissue on demand for research and medical applications. This stock closed up 5.5% to $6.07 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $5.75-$6.08

52-Week Range: $1.80-$8.50

Thursday's Volume: 2.74 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 2.75 million

From a technical perspective, ONVO ripped higher here right off its 50-day moving average of $5.72 with decent upside volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of ONVO within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if ONVO manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $6.09 to $6.33, and then once it clears more resistance at $6.39 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ONVO as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $5.72 or above more support at $5.33, and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 2.75 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then ONVO will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $7.50 to its 52-week high at $8.50.

Top Safest Stocks To Invest In Right Now

To see more stocks that are making notable moves higher today, check out the Stocks Under $10 Moving Higher portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

RELATED LINKS:

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

>>4 Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume

>>5 Hated Earnings Stocks That You Should Love

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

Twitter's Got A Revenue Conundrum

Twitter's IPO is but weeks away.

Valuations have ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime in the days following the Tweet Heard Around The (Social Media) World in mid-September when the company announced it was going public in an appropriately brief, 140-character tweet. Now that its S-1 registration statement is out; the predictions are only going to multiply in number getting more difficult to swallow.

But forget about what Twitter's worth for a second.

Instead, focus on the reality that advertisers aren't sold on its social media platform being the right vehicle to reach their target customers. While it's true a majority of its users are mobile in nature, there just aren't enough of them to convince the big global brands to abandon Facebook (Nasdaq:FB) and other social media sites.

It doesn't have a valuation problem. Rather, it faces a revenue conundrum. Here's why.

Lack of Profits

Google's (Nasdaq:GOOG) revenue was $1.47 billion when it went public in August 2004. Facebook had annual revenue of $3.71 billion when it IPO'd in 2012. Both were considerably larger than Twitter in terms of revenue (2012 revenue $317 million) when offering its shares to the public. Not only that but they made money — something Twitter does not.

Twitter has 218 million monthly active users (MAU) who each generate $1.47 in annual revenue. That's an operating loss of 35 cents per user. When Facebook went public it had 901 million MAUs each generating $4.11 in annual revenue and $1.96 in operating profit. And that was with absolutely no mobile ad revenue. Today, Facebook generates about 41% of its ad revenue from mobile devices (compared to 65% for Twitter) thanks to 819 million mobile users.

Based on first-half results at the end of June, Facebook's annualized revenue and non-GAAP operating profit per MAU is $5.69 and $2.37, respectively. Since its IPO in May 2012 it's been able to increase monthly active users by 28% to 1.15 billion. It now has five times the ! users Twitter does. Of even greater importance is the fact that Facebook has grown its MAU's on an annualized basis by 11.5% over the past 27 months.

Meanwhile, Twitter's annualized growth rate in terms of MAUs was just 7% in its most recent quarter, much less than the 10%-11% it was averaging previously. I don't know what Twitter's break-even point is in terms of MAUs but it's definitely greater than 218 million. If it can't grow its user base faster than Facebook, which clearly has an edge with advertisers, this competition is over with almost before it's begun.

Advertisers Hesitant

The Wall Street Journal published an interesting article October 4 that highlights the concerns advertisers have with Twitter and why they currently favor Facebook. There's obviously the issue of reach — Facebook has five time's as many users. Progressive Corp. (NYSE:PGR) chief marketing officer Jeff Charney is quoted in the article: "The 200 million-plus Twitter Nation is a powerful and influential source that you have to pay attention to…But Facebook has 'more heft.' You just can't ignore Facebook."

Internationally, it's clear Twitter has some catching up to do. In the first six months of 2013 it generated 25% of its revenue outside the US. The year before Facebook went public it was generating 44% of its revenue internationally; more importantly, it was making money. Furthermore, by the time Twitter prices its IPO it will have existed for close to eight years, not much different then Facebook's nine years when it went public in 2012. Any argument that Facebook was far more advanced in its history as an explanation for the difference in international revenue and general profitability just doesn't cut it.

Research & Development

What should really jump out at you is Twitter's research and development costs. Forget MAUs and DAUs (daily active users) and consider that its R&D in the first six months of the year was 44% of its overall revenue and has been no lower than 38% in the past three years. Facebook's R&D costs as a percentage of revenue have stayed within a range of 10% and 20% with the exception of the second quarter of 2012 when it hit 60% due to restricted stock units (RSUs) being triggered by Facebook's IPO. Twitter hasn't even gone public and its share-based compensation is through the roof. In addition, approximately $1.3 billion in recognized and unrecognized share-based compensation for pre-2013 RSUs will begin to be recorded once it's a public company. The losses in the first few quarters will be tremendous.

Bottom L! ine

Facebook, Google, LinkedIn (Nasdaq:LNKD), Yahoo (Nasdaq:YHOO) — Twitter has a lot of competition. Facebook went public with investors doubting it could generate mobile advertising. According to TechCrunch, Facebook now has 15.8% of the global mobile ad market. Twitter's approximately $425 million in mobile ad revenue in 2013 represents approximately 2.6% global market share. Google, the champion of mobile ads, has 53.2% market share. Facebook and Google combined have 27 times the market share of Twitter. And that's with Facebook starting from scratch two years ago.

Despite the obvious headwinds, Twitter's IPO success seems likely. Investors just don't seem to care that its future revenue generation is severely impacted by Facebook's growing dominance in the mobile ad market. The messaging service might get a $20 billion valuation when it goes public but that doesn't mean it has to stay there once it begins trading.

Investors were skeptical of Facebook when it went public despite being profitable. Twitter's not and yet investors are clamoring for its stock. Go figure.

Disclosure - At the time of writing, the author did not own shares of any company mentioned in this article.

Monday's Top News Headlines

Here are today's top news headlines from Fool.com. Check back throughout the day as this list is updated, and follow us on Twitter at TMFBreaking.

iRobot Wins $28.8 Million Navy Contract

Netflix Inks 'Toons Agreement With Hasbro

Pentagon Spends $1.3 Billion on Contractors

Ford Declares Dividend for Q2

Gold Plunges to Lowest in More Than Two Years

DISH Proposes $25.5 Billion Merger With Sprint

Boston Scientific Evaluates New Pacing System

Allison Transmission Doubles Dividend

Allstate Adds 6 States to Driver Monitoring Program

Draghi Urges Leaders to Solve Euro's Core Problems

Ford, GM Team Up on Transmissions to Boost MPG

Best Low Price Stocks To Watch Right Now

Electronic Arts Shutting Down 3 Facebook Games

Patrick Byrne Returns to Lead Overstock.com

Oil Drops to Four-Month Low as China Growth Slows

BP Manager Testifies at Trial Over Gulf Oil Spill

Barnes & Noble Brings Pinterest App to Nook

Thermo Fisher Buying Life Technologies for $13.6 Billion

Amazon.com Launches New Store for Adults Over 50

Greece Seals Deal With Debt Inspectors

France Forces Ministers to Show Financial Records

Homebuilder Confidence Down for 3rd Straight Month

Psst: Tax Deadline Not Much of a Deadline for Most

ReneSola Lands 1.8 MW New Mexico Project

J.C. Penney Taps Credit Line for $850 Million

Three Quantitative Standouts

Top China Stocks To Own For 2014

Our stock-rating system, Quadrix, considers more than 80 variables in seven categories—Momentum, Quality, Value, Financial Strength, Earnings Estimates, Performance, and Volume Metrics, writes Richard Moroney in Upside Stocks.

Used together, these scores can help you find winners and avoid losers. We do not use Quadrix exclusively, since there is much that cannot be captured by a numerical system. Still, Quadrix is designed to help ensure that we are fishing in the right waters.

Anaren (ANEN), a leading maker of microwave components for wireless communications and defense electronics, has bright growth prospects.

The space and defense division is benefiting from strong demand for radar equipment. The wireless division is benefiting from increased demand for cellular infrastructure equipment.

Anaren earns an impressive Quadrix® Overall score of 95, driven by outstanding ranks for Momentum (91) and Earnings Estimates (94).

The stock has rallied 27% since April 15, partly because of an unsolicited takeover offer that month of $23 per share—a price that management considered inadequate.

For the year ending June 2014, consensus estimates project per-share profits will rise 17% and sales 7%. Considering the strong operating momentum, shares seem reasonably valued at 18 times trailing earnings, a 17% discount to the five-year average P/E of 22.

Credit Acceptance (CACC) provides financing for auto purchases through a national network of nearly 4,500 car dealers. Its programs help dealers sell cars by attracting credit-challenged consumers unable to get conventional loans.

Credit Acceptance is benefiting from healthy volume growth and improved loan collections. For 2013, Wall Street expects per-share earnings of $10.34, up 20%. Revenue is expected to climb 11%. In 2014, the consensus calls for per-share earnings of $11.52.

Credit Acceptance earns an Overall score of 98. Trading at 10 times estimated 2013 earnings, shares seem cheap considering the profit-growth potential.

Gran Tierra Energy (GTE) ranks among the very best stocks in Quadrix. Shares earn the maximum Overall score of 100, ranking them Number One among the 165 energy exploration stocks in our research universe.

The stock earns scores of 98 or higher for Momentum, Value, Quality, and Financial Strength. Based in Canada, Gran Tierra explores for oil and gas in South America.

Gran Tierra cranks out a lot of cash flow, and a large cash position provides flexibility to expand its footprint. Cash flow from operations totaled $430 million in the 12 months ended June, up 44% from a year earlier. On June 30, the balance sheet was debt-free and held cash per share of $1.00.

Wall Street forecasts 30% higher revenue in 2013 and 80% growth in per-share profits. Shares seem unduly cheap, with a cash-adjusted trailing P/E of eight.

Subscribe to Upside Stocks here…

More from MoneyShow.com:

Graham and Buffett Buys

10 Top Value Ideas

Dreman: The Contrarian's Contrarian

Insiders Are Buying These 3 Dividend Beasts

By: Jake Mann

In search of dividend stocks, there are many ways to parse down the data. Searching for high yielders with rock bottom payout ratios is one way to find promising dividend growth stocks. We can also find interesting investing ideas by selecting long-term dividend stocks-those that have raised dividends in 50 or more consecutive years-with multiple insiders buying over the past six months.

Diebold

Security and services company Diebold (DBD) is simply a dividend beast. It has raised dividends in 60 consecutive years and currently offers a yield of 3.8%. Over the past three months, two insiders, CEO Andreas Mattes and VP John Kristoff, have bought Diebold stock. Mattes currently owns about $824K worth of the stock while Kristoff's position is a bit smaller, and in the entire year of 2013, Board members Rajesh Soin and Henry Wallace have also initiated purchases here.

With four unique executives buying in the calendar year and two of these taking place very recently, Diebold is in an attractive spot. Multiple empirical studies show that insider activity like this is the best for piggyback investors to pay attention to (learn how some insider trades beat the market).

Since Mattes' most recent buy in late August, shares of Diebold are up 6%, above the Dow and S&P by a little over two percentage points. Shares aren't overly expensive at current levels and sell-side analysts expect earnings to grow by more than 40% next year. So, if you're not already collecting Diebold dividend checks, you've got one more quarter to get in before the company likely makes it 61 consecutive years of dividend hikes.

American States Water

American States Water (AWR), meanwhile, is another dividend giant that has seen bullish insider activity of late. The Western US-focused water utilities company has raised dividends in 59 straight years and currently offers a yield of 2.9%. Somewhat astoundingly, American's payout ratio (47%) is still below its industry's average (59%),! so the dividend growth doesn't look set to end anytime soon.

In 2013, investors have been appreciating American States Water's stock to the tune of a 13.4% gain year-to-date, as many pundits expect a higher level of water infrastructure spending to provide a nice tailwind behind the company's bottom line. Like Diebold, Wall Street expects American States Water to experience solid earnings growth of over 25% this year, and a whopping four company directors have bought stock in the last six months.

The full list of these transactions is here, but it's worth noting that since James McNulty's buy in early September, shares have risen 8.3%. In other words, American States Water has beaten the Dow by six percentage points in a little over a month. These insiders have to be very happy with their purchases.

Cincinnati Financial

Cincinnati Financial (CINF), lastly, is an under-covered insurance company that has grown dividends in 53 straight years. The stock pays a yield of 3.5% at a modest payout of 47% of earnings, and in 2013, it has appreciated by more than 20%. Three Cincinnati Financial insiders-one director, a senior VP and the company's CFO-have bought shares in the past six months. CFO Michael Sewell initiated the biggest transaction of the bunch when he bought $147K worth of the stock in the last few days of July.

Going forward, Cincinnati Financial's valuation looks neither cheap nor expensive, while cash flow and earnings growth should lead to another year of dividend growth in 2014. In its first two quarters of 2013, the insurer has beaten analysts' EPS expectations by an average margin of 30%, driven by solid premium growth and diminished catastrophe losses.

In addition to the recent string of insider purchases, a ton of elite hedge fund managers (see the full list here) were buying Cincinnati Financial in the latest round of 13F filings, including Glen Russell Dubin, Paul Tudor Jones, Murray Stahl, Steve Cohen and Ken Griffin. There's a lot of support from all ! facets of! the "smart money" here.

Source: Insiders Are Buying These 3 Dividend Beasts

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. (More...)

Business relationship disclosure: This article is written by Insider Monkey's writer, Jake Mann, and edited by Meena Krishnamsetty. They don't have any business relationships with any of the companies mentioned in this article and they didn't receive compensation (other than from Insider Monkey and Seeking Alpha) to write this article.

The9 CEO Aims to Buy $5 Million More in Company's Shares

Chinese online game developer The9  (NASDAQ: NCTY  )  says that between April 22 and April 28, its chairman and CEO, Jun Zhu, purchased 200,000 of the company's American depositary shares on the open market, and he intends to purchase as much as $5 million worth of the stock in total. He is also a co-founder of the company.

The9 has 24.46 million shares outstanding, suggesting Zhu bought just under 1% of the company's stock with the latest purchase. The total anticipated stock purchase would be approximately 7.5% of the total outstanding shares.

According to an SEC filing from earlier this month, the number of ordinary shares beneficially owned by Jun Zhu is 7.2 million, equaling about 25%. 

Between April 22 and April 28, The9's stock traded between a low of $2.41 on April 22 and a high of $2.88 on April 25. It closed Friday at $2.70.

The9 develops and operates its proprietary online game FireFall, as well as other online games, Web games, and social games. It has also obtained exclusive licenses to operate other games in mainland China.

link

Retirement income theories focus on meeting lifestyle goals or needs

The approach an adviser takes in constructing a retirement portfolio depends on whether the client is content living their early years of retirement modestly or wants to enjoy these days to the fullest, potentially having to cut back in later years, a well-known retirement scholar said.

The probability-based school of thought would allow for a certain annual withdrawal rate to accommodate the client's lifestyle spending, said Wade Pfau, professor of retirement income at The American College of Financial Services, speaking at the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors' national conference in Philadelphia on Wednesday.

The potential pitfall, however, is that the client could run out of money and then have to live off Social Security, he said.

Taking the safety-first approach, on the other hand, would have client funds invested according to whether they must be used for basic needs, emergencies, discretionary spending or legacy goals. For example, 75% of a portfolio may be used to fund an annuity or Treasury inflation-protected securities ladder that pays an income that covers needs, leaving only 25% of assets to be invested to cover the cost of life's enjoyable extras, Mr. Pfau said.

"This approach eliminates the upside, but it helps to eliminate the downside, too," he said.

Advisers can decide the right approach for clients by asking them about their budget and seeing how they react to suggestions of cutting back on certain lifestyle costs, such as their country club membership, Mr. Pfau said.

They also should take an approach that allows for periodic changes, taking into account that some research suggests that discretionary spending declines in the older years. Of course, health care costs are the potential deal breaker with that theory, he said.

An adviser subscribing to the probability approach could stave off disaster in declining markets by convincing clients to make some small cuts and adjustments every few years so that at least most of the client's lifestyle standards can be upheld and still have assets last through retirement, he said.

Energy stocks up as storm moves across Gulf

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Energy stocks gained Friday, ending the week flat as Tropical Storm Karen caused the shutdown of half of the oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.

@NWSNewOrleans

Energy companies in the Gulf also shut down about 40% of natural gas production. Several energy firms, including BP PLC (BP) , Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) , Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS.A) , Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM)  and Chevron Corp. (CVX) , began evacuating workers earlier in the week.

The storm weakened Friday and was expected to make landfall Saturday or early Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said. Karen was packing winds of up to 50 miles an hour.

The governors of Louisiana and Mississippi declared states of emergency. Florida has declared a state of emergency for 18 counties on the storm's path.

Companies produced about 1.2 million gallons of crude a day from the Gulf in July. The Gulf accounts for 23% of U.S. crude production and 7% of natural gas. More than 40% of total U.S. petroleum refining capacity is located on the path of Karen.

Top gainers Friday among energy names on the S&P 500 index included coal producer Consol Energy Inc, with shares up 2.6%, and Newfield Exploration Co., with shares up 2.4%.

Major oil companies were mixed. Exxon shares rose 1%, and shares of ConocoPhillips (COP)  advanced 1.1%. Shares of Chevron, however, fell 0.1%.

Click to Play Twitter IPO: An analyst's take

Twitter's IPO has investors buzzing, but how can a company with a weak record on profits convince Wall Street it's a winner? Photo: Getty Images

Analysts at Raymond James on Friday upgraded Exxon stock to strong buy, saying that after a year of underperformance shares were poised to go higher.

Exxon shares have lost 0.6% of their value so far this year, compared with 13% for energy stocks on the S&P.

The analysts have set a $98 price target on Exxon.

Shares of refiner Phillips 66 (PSX)  were among the day's top losers, down 0.7%.

The stock got a downgrade from analysts at Oppenheimer, which also downgraded HollyFrontier Corp. (HFC)  and Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC)  

Oppenheimer said refiners as a whole are facing "a deteriorating earnings outlook," and any potential stock gains in the next six months may not be enough to offset "the inherent downside risk from weaker earnings," the analysts at Oppenheimer said. Refiners are likely to remain rangebound in the short term, they added.

Shares of HollyFrontier were off 0.1%. Marathon Petroleum were flat.

The SPDR Energy Select Sector (XLE) , an exchange-traded fund focused on energy names, rose 1%.

Emerging Stocks Increase for Third Day on China Services

Emerging-market stocks gained for a third day after a gauge of Chinese services industries rose. The real fell the most in a week after Moody's Investors Service lowered Brazil's rating outlook.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index added 0.7 percent to 1,005.25 in New York. Benchmark measures in Turkey (XU100) and India rose more than 1.4 percent, while China Unicom (Hong Kong (HSCEI)) Ltd. and China Telecom Corp. jumped at least 7 percent in Hong Kong after a report said the government may cut mobile interconnection fees. Brazil's Ibovespa was set for the biggest weekly slump in a month and the real lost 0.7 percent.

A Chinese services-industry index rose to a six-month high, adding to signs that the world's second-biggest economy will sustain a rebound after a two-quarter slowdown. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets exchange-traded fund slid for the first time in three days as data showed weaker-than-forecast growth in service industries and concern grew that the U.S. political impasse may lead to a recession. The EM gauge trades at 11.4 times estimated earnings, a 23 percent discount to the developed-market index.

"Investors are increasing exposure to emerging markets as they offer more growth potential," Brian Jacobsen, who helps oversee $226 billion as chief portfolio strategist at Wells Fargo Advantage Funds in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, said by phone today. "I don't expect anything happening in the U.S. to change that trajectory. It's not going to reduce revenue for emerging markets companies."

All 10 industry groups in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index climbed, with technology, health care and financial companies adding more than 1 percent. Stock exchanges in China and South Korea are closed for holidays.

Chinese Services

The emerging-market ETF fell 0.4 percent to $41.57. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Emerging Markets ETF Volatility Index, a measure of options prices on the fund and expectations of price swings, rose 2.8 percent to 25.41.

The Chinese services index increased to 55.4 in September from 53.9 in August, the Beijing-based National Bureau of Statistics and Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said today. The level of 50 indicates an expansion, adding to signs that the world's second-biggest economy will sustain a rebound after a two-quarter slowdown.

The S&P BSE Sensex Index jumped 2 percent in Mumbai, the most in two weeks, as materials producers and consumer companies climbed amid speculation a strengthening rupee will lure foreign investors. The Indian currency appreciated 1.2 percent to 61.74 to the dollar, the biggest advance among 24 emerging-market peers monitored by Bloomberg.

Turkey, Brazil

Turkiye Garanti (GARAN) Bankasi AS, the largest Turkish lender by market value, led gains on the Borsa Istanbul National 100 Index, which rose 1.5 percent. Garanti climbed 1.3 percent after slumping 4.1 percent to the lowest level since Sept. 13 yesterday. The government is selling $1.25 billion of five-year Islamic bonds today, according to a person with direct knowledge of the transaction, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

PDG Realty SA Empreendimentos e Participacoes led homebuilders lower in Sao Paulo. The stock fell 4.1 percent while the BM&FBovespa Real Estate Index snapped a two-day advance. Cia. Energetica de Sao Paulo, the power utility known as Cesp, dropped 3 percent, the lowest closing level since Sept. 4. Credit Suisse Group AG cut its recommendation on the stock to the equivalent of hold.

Value 'Pockets'

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index has lost 4.7 percent this year, compared with a 15 percent gain in the MSCI World Index of developed-nation shares. The developing-country gauge trades at 11.4 times projected 12-month earnings, below the 14.8 multiple for the MSCI World, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

"There is a window of opportunity for global emerging markets to stage a rebound after a challenging few months," Benoit Anne, the head of emerging-markets strategy at Societe Generale SA in London, said by e-mail. "I particularly like EM fixed income, where I think there are some interesting pockets of value. Russia OFZ is a good example," he said, referring to the ruble-denominated government bonds.

The yield on Russian securities due in January 2023, which fell 5 basis points to 7.26 percent today, is up 78 basis points since its 2013 low in May.

The Philippine peso advanced the most since Sept. 19 after Moody's raised the nation by one level to Baa3, the lowest investment grade, with a positive outlook. The country won investment-grade credit scores from Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings earlier this year.

Moody's Ratings

Moody's lowered Brazil's rating outlook to stable from positive, citing deteriorating debt and investment ratios and evidence the economy is going through a lower-growth period.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland companies listed in Hong Kong advanced 1.8 percent, the most since Sept. 9. Unicom, the nation's second-largest mobile carrier, jumped the most since August 2011 and China Telecom posted its biggest rally since 2008. The companies may see their interconnection fees for calls through China Mobile Ltd. (941) halved, the Economy & Nation Weekly reported today, citing a person it didn't identify.

"Emerging markets are doing well on the back of strong service PMI in China, Philippines upgrade to investment grade" by Moody's Investors Service, Michael Ganske, the head of emerging markets at Rogge Global Partners Plc in London, said by e-mail. "A long-term U.S. shutdown or even a technical default is not priced or even considered for the time being."

Income Mix from Multi-Assets

Just rolled out, this new UBS exchange traded note (ETN) is targeted at investors desiring significant monthly income from a diversified multi-asset mix, notes Ron Rowland in Invest with an Edge.

The ETRACS Diversified High Income ETN (US:DVHI) will track the new NYSE Diversified High Income Index minus the 0.84% annual tracking fee. The underlying index has a current yield of 7.7%, and the ETN will make monthly cash distributions.

The underlying index measures the performance of a diversified basket of 138 publicly-traded securities that historically pay significant dividends or distributions. Index features and construction aim to highlight income while seeking to reduce price volatility.

The methodology incorporates minimum free float market capitalization, dividend yield, and liquidity, while including asset class and sector weighting restrictions.

The index rebalances quarterly to maintain the target sector weightings. The index was created August 20, 2013 and therefore, has only one-month of performance history.

Target sector allocations encompass a wide range of asset classes. The stock/bond allocations are nominally at 70%/30%, and international exposure is estimated at 11% of the equity exposure and 33% of the bond holdings.

The underlying index has 138 constituents, with the largest allocations going to PowerShares Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt (PCY) 10.0%, iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) 9.9%, iShares US Preferred Stock ETF (PFF) 7.0%, Market Vectors High Yield Municipal Index ETF (HYD) 4.9%, Ares Capital (ARCC) 4.2%, and Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP) 4.0%.

UBS has come a long way since 2009, when I was highly critical of nearly every new ETRACS that came to market.

Today, I consider the UBS ETRACS lineup to be one of, if not the most innovative and complete ETN offerings. DVHI reinforces my improved perception of the ETRACS brand.

The DVHI fact sheet is the most informative, most complete, and best summary of a new ETP that I have seen this year. It succinctly describes the target asset class allocations, top holdings, indexing methodology, and key features.

It doesn't try to hide the risks and shortcomings. Instead, it includes the ETN disclosures on the front page instead of buried in the small print and even highlights the fact the index was created just a month ago.

The fact sheet also informs us that investors will not receive the full 7.7% yield because it will be reduced to cover investor fees and any withholding taxes. Therefore, I estimate the ETN's yield will be about 6.8%.

This is very attractive for the current environment, especially considering its 70%/30% stock/bond mix.

However, I expect DVHI to have significant volatility because of the asset classes included. Business Development Companies, mortgage REITs, and international equities are quite volatile, as are the emerging market and high yield bond allocations.

Bottom line: If you are looking for high current income versus income growth and can stomach the risk and volatility of the underlying asset classes, then DVHI should be on your list.

Subscribe to Invest with an Edge here…

More from MoneyShow.com:

Sweet Spot for High Yield

12 Buy-Rated Dividend-Boosting Tech

Two Buys with Very Low Risk

Puerto Rico’s debt woes hit muni bond funds

While the U.S. struggles with its debt limit, Puerto Rico faces its own debt issues -- and that worries some investors.

Like states, Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, can't file for bankruptcy. But it has some $70 billion in tax-free municipal bonds outstanding, far more than Detroit's $18 billion, currently the largest municipal bankruptcy on record.

"The situation has a lot of fiscal challenges, and the government is trying to meet them, but they're in a pretty big hole and it's going to take a lot of hard work to get out of it," says Hugh McGuirk, head of municipal fixed income at T. Rowe Price, the Baltimore mutual fund company.

Because of their risk, and because there's such a large volume outstanding, some of Puerto Rico's muni bonds offer high yields. For example, a Puerto Rico Commonwealth bond maturing in 2018 yields 9.4%, according to FINRA, the securities markets self-regulatory agency.

Yields like those are tempting for bond fund managers, especially since five-year, high-quality muni bonds yield 1.24%, according to Bloomberg., About 70% of all muni bonds have Puerto Rican bonds in their portfolios, says Morningstar, the Chicago investment trackers.

McGuirk isn't sure that the government will step in if there's a problem with Puerto Rico's bond payments. "I'm skeptical that there's that kind of significant support in Washington to prop up the bonds," he says. Those who bought the bonds thinking the U.S. will bail out Puerto Rico will need to re-evaluate that, he says.

According to Morningstar, some muni funds have significant exposure to Puerto Rico:

• Franklin Double Tax-Free Income A (ticker: FPRTX) has 65% of its holdings in Puerto Rican obligations. The fund is down 14.5% this year, including reinvested interest.

• Oppenheimer Rochester VA Municipal A (ORVAX), has 33.3% of its holdings in Puerto Rico bonds. It's down 12.9% this year.

• Oppenheimer Pennsylvania Municipal A, 24.7% in Puerto Rico bonds, down 8.6% this year.

Unlik! e Greece, Puerto Rico has fairly little short-term debt, which means that there's not as much risk of it hitting a near-term financing block, where investors refuse to roll over their short-term holdings, McGuirk says. "They don't have a drop-dead financing date like Greece did," he says.

·

Teva's First-To-File Track Record Best Among Peers

Teva Pharma (TEVA) recently announced that its generic version of AbbVie's (ABBV) Niaspan would hit the U.S. market. The news is particularly noteworthy because Teva was the first-to-file, making the product eligible for 180 days of marketing exclusivity (a large windfall for the company).

Niaspan is a cholesterol drug used to reduce elevated TC, LDL-C (bad cholesterol), Apo B and TG levels, and to raise HDL-C cholesterol (the good variety). Niaspan had annual sales of more than $1.1 billion in the U.S., according to IMS data. Sales of Niaspan have advanced in the first half of fiscal year 2013, growing 4% year-over-year. Niaspan is one of the top 15 drug patent losses for 2013, and we continue to view Teva's first-to-file opportunities as the best among peers (blue bar below).

(click to enlarge)

Source: Actavis, Valuentum (January 2013)

Our Take

Teva's huge opportunity remains in its NTE (new therapeutic entity) pipeline, which the company believes is a multibillion-dollar opportunity. We're also encouraged by the odds of incremental revenue growth from the firm's niacin generic (and other opportunities in its best-in-class first-to-file pipeline). We continue to hold shares of Teva in the portfolio of our Best Ideas Newsletter.

Source: Teva's First-To-File Track Record Best Among Peers

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch In Right Now

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)

Additional disclosure: TEVA is included in the portfolio of our Best Ideas Newsletter.

5 Stocks With Big Insider Buying

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Corporate insiders sell their own companies' stock for a number of reasons.

They might need the cash for a big personal purchase such as a new house or yacht, or they might need the cash to fund a charity. Sometimes they sell as part of a planned selling program that they have put in place for diversification purposes, which allows them to sell stock in stages instead of selling all at one price.

Other times they sell because they think their stock is overvalued and the risk/reward is no longer attractive. Some even dump their own stock because they have inside knowledge that a competitor is eating their lunch and stealing market share.

But insiders usually buy their own shares for one reason: They think the stock is a bargain and has tremendous upside.

Top 10 Growth Stocks For 2014

The key word in that last statement is "think." Just because a corporate insider thinks his or her stock is going to trade higher, that doesn't mean it will play out that way. Insiders can have all the conviction in the world that their stock is a buy, but if the market doesn't agree with them, the stock could end up going nowhere. Also, I say "usually" because sometimes insiders are loaned money by the company to buy their own stock. Those loans are often sweetheart deals and shouldn't be viewed as organic insider buying.

At the end of the day, its large institutional money managers running big mutual funds and hedge funds that drive stock prices, not insiders. That said, many of these savvy stock operators will follow insider buying activity when they agree with the insider that the stock is undervalued and has upside potential. This is why it's so important to always be monitoring insider activity, but it's twice as important to make sure the trend of the stock coincides with the insider buying.

Recently, a number of companies' corporate insiders have bought large amounts of stock. These insiders are finding some value in the market, which warrants a closer look at these stocks. Here's a look at five stocks whose insiders have been doing some big buying per SEC filings.

Biglari

One cyclical consumer player that insiders are buying up a large amount of stock in here is Biglari (BH), which is currently engaged in investment management and the franchising and operating of restaurants. Insiders are buying this stock into modest strength, since shares are up 8.7% so far in 2013.

Biglari has a market cap of $605 million and an enterprise value of $688 million. This stock trades at a cheap valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 4.83 and a forward price-to-earnings of 29.38. Its estimated growth rate for this quarter is 42%. This is not a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $153.57 million and its total debt is $236.16 million.

The CEO and chairman of the board just bought 5,165 shares, or about $1.36 million worth of stock, at $265 a share.

From a technical perspective, BH is currently trending above its 200-day moving average and just below its 50-day moving average, which is neutral trendwise. This stock has been trending sideways and consolidating for the last month and change, with shares moving between $408.25 on the downside and $429.97 on the upside. Shares of BH are now starting to push within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern.

If you're bullish on BH, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above some near-term support levels at $410 to $408.25, and then once breaks out above some near-term overhead resistance levels $428.85 to $429.97 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 10,146 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then BH will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone from August that started at $467.89 a share.

Blyth

Another non-cyclical consumer goods player that insiders are active in here is Blyth (BTH), which designs and markets home fragrance products and decorative accessories, as well as weight management products, nutritional supplements and energy drinks. Insiders are buying this stock into weakness, since shares are down by 22% so far in 2013.

Blyth has a market cap of $193 million and an enterprise value of $156 million. This stock trades at a reasonable valuation, with a price-to-sales of 0.19 and a price-to-book of 4.21. This is a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $172.96 million and its total debt is $127.98 million. This stock currently sports a dividend yield of 1.6%.

A beneficial owner just bought 20,000 shares, or $246,000 worth of stock, at $12.34 per share.

From a technical perspective, BTH is currently trending above its 50-day moving average and below its 200-day moving average, which is neutral trendwise. This stock has recently pulled back after trading just above its 200-day moving average at $14.60 a share to its intraday low of $12.05 a share. That pullback is pushing shares of BTH very close to its 50-day moving average of $11.48 a share. If that level holds off this pullback, then shares of BTH could present a solid buying opportunity.

If you're in the bull camp on BTH, then look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above is 50-day at $11.48 and then once it breaks out above some near-term overhead resistance at $13.09 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 287,505 shares. If we get that move soon, then BTH will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $14.60 to $15.69 a share. Any high-volume move above those levels will then put $17 to $20 into range for shares of BTH.

AeroVironment

One aerospace player that insiders are loading up on here is AeroVironment (AVAV), which is engaged in the design, development, production and support of unmanned aircraft systems and efficient energy systems for various industries and governmental agencies. Insiders are buying this stock into decent strength, since shares are up 23% during the last six months.

AeroVironment has a market cap of $504 million and an enterprise value of $379 million. This stock trades at a premium valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 108.75 and a forward price-to-earnings of 44.35. Its estimated growth rate for this year is 47.4%, and for next year it's pegged at 82.1%. This is a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $128.81 million and its total debt is zero.

A director just bought 5,000 shares, or about $112,000 worth of stock, at $22.50 per share.

From a technical perspective, AVAV is currently trending right below its 50-day moving average and above its 200-day moving averages, which is neutral trendwise. This stock has been trending sideways for the last two months, with shares moving between $20.78 on the downside and $23.97 on the upside. Shares of AVAV are now starting to trend within range of triggering a breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern.

If you're bullish on AVAV, then look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above support at $22.30 or above its 200-day at $21.05 and then once it breaks out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $23.60 to $23.97 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average volume of 205,927 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then AVAV will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $25 to $28 a share.

PBF Energy

One energy player that insiders are snapping up a decent amount of stock in here is PBF Energy (PBF), an independent petroleum refiners and suppliers of unbranded transportation fuels, heating oils, petrochemical feedstocks, lubricants and other petroleum products in the U.S. Insiders are buying this stock into notable weakness, since shares are off by 22% so far in 2013.

PBF Energy has a market cap of $896 million and an enterprise value of $1.63 billion. This stock trades at a cheap valuation, with a forward price-to-earnings of 7.35. Its estimated growth rate for this year is -67.7%, and for next year it's pegged at 88.4%. This is not a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $69.23 million and its total debt is $815.96 million. This stock currently sports a dividend yield of 5.4%.

A director just bought 10,000 shares, or about $226,000 worth of stock, at $22.50 per share.

From a technical perspective, PBF is currently trending above both its 50-day moving average, which is bullish. This stock has been trending sideways inside of a consolidation pattern for the last three months, with shares moving between $20.15 on the downside and $24.92 on the upside. Shares of PBF are now starting to bounce off its 50-day moving average of $22.44 a share and it's quickly moving within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern.

If you're bullish on PBF, then look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above its 50-day at $22.44 or above more support at $21.89 to $20.59, and then once it breaks out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $23.49 to $24.92 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average volume of 1.11 million shares. If that breakout hits, then PBF will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $26 to $28 a share.

Aircastle

One more stock with some decent insider buying is Aircastle (AYR), which is a global company that acquires, leases, and sells high-utility commercial jet aircraft to customers throughout the world. Insiders are buying this stock into big time strength, since shares up sharply by 39% so far in 2013.

Aircastle has a market cap of $1.4 billion and an enterprise value of $4.4 billion. This stock trades at a reasonable valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 30.42 and a forward price-to-earnings of 9.32. Its estimated growth rate for this year is 118.8, and for next year it's pegged at 6.9%. This is not a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $430.27 million and its total debt is $3.54 billion. This stock currently sports a dividend yield of 3.9%.

A director just bought 30,000 shares, or about $518,000 worth of stock, at $17.23 per share.

From a technical perspective, AYR is currently trending above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last six months, with shares moving higher from its low of $12.62 a share to its recent high of $17.94 a share. During that uptrend, shares of AYR have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of AYR within range of triggering a major breakout trade.

If you're bullish on AYR, then look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above some near-term support levels at $16.80 or $16.01, and then once it breaks out above some key overhead resistance levels $17.73 to $17.94 a share and then above to its 52-week high at $18.12 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 539,800 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then AYR will set up to enter new 52-week high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $20 to $25 a share.

To see more stocks with notable insider buying, check out the Stocks With Big Insider Buying portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.