Earnings season is a tough time for investors, as the market seems to get whipsawed back and forth depending on particular results on any given day. With no shortage of both positive and negative earnings coming out last night and this morning, the stock market seemed to take its tone from the weaker-than-expected durable goods report early this morning, which reaffirmed worries that many investors already have about just how healthy the economy is.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) finished near their lows of the day, down 43 points, although the broader market was close to unchanged.
Several Dow stocks, however, posted sharp gains. Leading the way was Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) , which climbed nearly 4%. Today's news that the company will have an event on May 21 presenting its new version of the Xbox added to the recent excitement over the stock, which has soared more than 10% in less than a week. As investors have gotten used to the idea that Microsoft can succeed even without strong showings from Windows 8 and its mobile devices, they're seeing the value in the stock's current low valuation.
Hot Dividend Companies To Watch In Right Now: Sony Corp Ord(SNE)
Sony Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and sells electronic equipment, instruments, and devices for consumer, professional, and industrial markets worldwide. The company offers consumer products and devices, including televisions, video cameras, compact digital cameras and interchangeable single-lens cameras, Blu-ray Disc players/recorders, DVD-video players/recorders, home theaters and audio systems, and portable audio and car audio products. It also provides charged coupled devices, complementary metal-oxide semiconductor image sensors, system LSIs, small- and medium-sized LCD panels, and other semiconductors; and components, such as batteries, optical disk drives, chemical products, audio/video/data recording media, storage media, and optical pickups. In addition, the company develops, produces, markets, and distributes games, such as PlayStation3, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation 2 hardware and related software; and PCs and flash memory digital audio pl ayers, as well as manufactures broadcast- and professional-use products, Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and CD discs. Further, it produces and distributes motion pictures and television programs, and home entertainment; creates and distributes digital content; operates television networks and studio facilities; and develops entertainment products, services, and technologies. Additionally, the company engages in the music publishing business, as well as provision of various financial services, including insurance, savings products, loans, and credit financing services; and a network service business and an advertising agency business. It also involves in research, development, design, production, marketing, sales, distribution, and servicing mobile phones, accessories, services, and applications. The company was formerly known as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha and changed its name to Sony Corporation in 1958. Sony Corporation was founded in 1946 and is based in Tokyo, Japan.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Michael Lewis]
Bloomberg via Getty Images William 'Bill' Ackman founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management (left) Daniel Loeb, founder and CEO of Third Point: Two activist investors taking big positions in large public companies and demand even bigger changes. Is activist investing a force for good when it comes to shareholders? Recent events, namely the Bill Ackman-J.C. Penney (JCP) debacle, have left investors and analysts tired of the outspoken hedge-funders of the world. There are, of course, plenty of activists whose actions have enhanced not just their funds' portfolios, but those of passive, minority shareholders. They've forced companies to make positive changes -- to restructure, elect new board members, and get back on track toward healthier operations. Then again, others end up like J.C. Penney -- a seemingly lost business, rich with legacy yet left crippled by boardroom drama. That leaves us -- the average consumers and investors -- with a pressing question: Are these megaphoned power players trying to effect change that will benefit all, the company included? Or are they just after results that will juice their own returns? The Age of Activism While many activist investors consider themselves to be molded in the image of a certain Omaha-based super-investor, many of today's hedge fund superstars have taken a very different approach to the craft of identifying mispriced securities. Like the old guard -- raiders like Carl Icahn and Nelson Peltz -- young guns such as Daniel Loeb and Bill Ackman take substantial positions in large public companies and demand change in an approach that is about as far from Warren Buffett's investor behavior as one can get. Their style can be best described as personality-driven activism. The practice is on the rise, too. According to FactSet, 2012 saw 21 activist campaigns in companies with market caps larger than $1 billion. In 2010, the number was 11. In 2003, there were four. While some passive shareholders may
10 Best Dow Dividend Stocks To Buy For 2014: Chatham Lodging Trust (REIT)
Chatham Lodging Trust is an equity real estate investment trust. The firm invests in the real estate markets of the United States. It primarily invests in premium-branded upscale extended-stay and select-service hotels to create its portfolio. Chatham Lodging Trust was founded on October 26, 2009 and is based in Palm Beach, Florida.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sally Jones]
Associated Estates Realty Corporation is a real estate investment trust (REIT), headquartered in Richmond Heights, Ohio. The company�� portfolio consists of 52 properties containing 13,495 units located in 10 states.
- [By Dividends4Life]
This week a few companies answered the call and rewarded their shareholders with higher cash dividends:
Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) engages in regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 2.4% to $0.63 per share. The dividend is payable March 15, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 12, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 4.7%.
Cousins Properties Incorporated (CUZ), a real estate investment trust (REIT), owns, develops, and manages real estate portfolio, as well as performs certain real estate-related services. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 66.7% to $0.075 per share. The dividend is payable February 24, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 10, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.8%.
Wisconsin Energy Corporation (WEC) generates and distributes electric energy, as well as distributes natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Utility Energy and Non-Utility Energy. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 2% to $0.3900 per share. The dividend is payable March 1, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 14, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 3.8%.
BlackRock Inc. (BLK) is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 14.9% to $1.93 per share. The dividend is payable March 24, 2014, to stockholders of record on March 7, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.4%.
ONEOK Inc. (OKE) operates as a diversified energy company in the United States. January 15th the company increased its quarterly dividend 5.3% to $0.40 per share. The dividend is payable February 18, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 10, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.5%.
Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. (OHI) is a real es
10 Best Dow Dividend Stocks To Buy For 2014: Pioneer Natural Resources Co (PXD)
Pioneer Natural Resources Company (Pioneer),incorporated on April 4, 1997, is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States and South Africa. Pioneer is a holding company whose assets consist of direct and indirect ownership interests in, and whose business is conducted substantially through, its subsidiaries. The Company sells homogenous oil, natural gas liquid (NGL) and gas units. The Company provides administrative, financial, legal and management support to United States and South Africa subsidiaries that explore for, develop and produce proved reserves. The Company�� continuing operations are principally located in the United States in the states of Texas, Kansas, Colorado and Alaska. During February 2011, the Company completed the sale of Pioneer Natural Resources Tunisia Ltd. and Pioneer Natural Resources Anaguid Ltd. In April 2012, it acquired Carmeuse Industrial Sands (CIS). In August 2012, the Company sold its South Africa business to The Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa (SOC) Ltd. (PetroSA). Effective December 17, 2013, Pioneer Natural Resources Company and Pioneer Southwest Energy Partners L.P announced the completion of the merger of Pioneer Southwest Energy Partners L.P with a wholly owned subsidiary of Pioneer Natural Resources Company, with Pioneer Southwest Energy Partners L.P surviving the merger as an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Pioneer Natural Resources Company.
The Company has 15 owned drilling rigs operating in the Spraberry field, and as of December 31, 2011, had Company-owned fracture stimulation fleets totaling 250,000 horsepower supporting drilling operations in the Spraberry, Eagle Ford Shale and Barnett Shale Combo areas. The Company also owns other field service equipment, including pulling units, fracture stimulation tanks, water transport trucks, hot oilers, blowout preventers, construction equipment and fishing tools. The Company owns a 52.4% limited partner interest and a 0.1% ! general partner interest in Pioneer Southwest Energy Partners L.P. and its subsidiaries (Pioneer Southwest). The Company�� proved reserves totaled 1,063 million barrel of oil equivalent at December 31, 2011. Approximately 83% of the Company�� proved reserves at December 31, 2011 are located in the Spraberry field in the Permian Basin area, the Hugoton and West Panhandle fields in the Mid-Continent area and the Raton field in the Rocky Mountains area.
Permian Basin
The Spraberry field encompasses eight counties in West Texas. The field is approximately 150 miles long and 75 miles wide at its widest point. The oil produced is West Texas Intermediate Sweet, and the gas produced is casinghead gas with an average energy content of 1,400 British thermal unit. The oil and gas are produced primarily from four formations, the upper and lower Spraberry, the Dean and the Wolfcamp, at depths ranging from 6,700 feet to 11,300 feet. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company drilled 706 wells in the Spraberry field and its total acreage position approximated 820,000 gross acres (691,000 net acres). The Company has 44 rigs operating, of which 41 are drilling vertical wells and three are drilling horizontal wells. The Company completed its second horizontal well in the Upper/Middle Wolfcamp Shale in Upton County, Texas with a 30-stage fracture stimulation in a 5,800-foot lateral section. The Company is focusing its horizontal efforts on more than 200,000 acres in the southern part of the field to hold acreage. The Company continues to test down spacing in the Spraberry field from 40 acres to 20 acres. Sixteen 20-acre wells were drilled in 2011, with 10 of these wells having been placed on production. These 20-acre wells were drilled to the Lower Wolfcamp interval, with a few deepened to the Strawn interval.
Mid-Continent
The Hugoton field in southwest Kansas is a producing gas fields in the continental United States. The gas is produced from the Chase an! d Council! Grove formations at depths ranging from 2,700 feet to 3,000 feet. The Company�� Hugoton properties are located on approximately 284,000 gross acres (245,000 net acres), covering approximately 400 square miles. The Company has working interests in approximately 1,220 wells in the Hugoton field, approximately 1,000 of which it operates. The Company operates substantially all of the gathering and processing facilities, including the Satanta plant, which processes the production from the Hugoton field. In January 2011, the Company sold a 49% interest in the Satanta plant to an unaffiliated third party for the third party�� commitment to dedicate gas volumes to the Satanta plant. The Company is also exploring opportunities to process other gas production in the Hugoton area at the Satanta plant. By maintaining operatorship of the gathering and processing facilities, the Company is able to control the production, gathering, processing and sale of its Hugoton field gas and NGL production.
The West Panhandle properties are located in the panhandle region of Texas. These reserves are attributable to the Red Cave, Brown Dolomite, Granite Wash and fractured Granite formations at depths no greater than 3,500 feet. The Company�� gas has an average energy content of 1,365 British thermal unit and is produced from approximately 680 wells on more than 259,000 gross acres (252,000 net acres) covering over 375 square miles. The Company controls 100% of the wells, production equipment, gathering system and the Fain gas processing plant for the field.
Raton
The Raton Basin properties are located in the southeast portion of Colorado. The Company owns approximately 227,000 gross acres (201,000 net acres) in the center of the Raton Basin and produces CBM gas from the coal seams in the Vermejo and Raton formations from approximately 2,300 wells. The Company owns the majority of the well servicing and fracture stimulation equipment that it utilizes in the Raton field, allowing it to! control ! costs and insure availability.
South Texas Eagle Ford Shale and Edwards
The Company�� drilling activities in the South Texas area during 2011 were primarily focused on delineation and development of Pioneer�� substantial acreage position in the Eagle Ford Shale play. The Company drilled 94 horizontal Eagle Ford Shale wells during 2011, with average lateral lengths of approximately 5,500 feet and 13-stage fracture stimulations. EFS Midstream LLC (EFS Midstream) is obligated to construct midstream assets in the Eagle Ford Shale area. Eight of the 12 planned central gathering plants (CGPs) were completed as of December 31, 2011.
Barnett Shale
During 2011, the Company continued to increase its acreage position in the liquid-rich Barnett Shale Combo area in North Texas. In total, the Company has accumulated approximately 92,000 gross acres in the liquid-rich area of the field and has acquired approximately 340 square miles of three dimensional (3-D) seismic covering its acreage. The Company�� total lease holdings in the Barnett Shale play now approximate 142,000 gross acres (108,000 net acres). During 2011, the Company had two drilling rigs operating and drilled 44 Barnett Shale Combo wells. The Company also commenced operating a Company-owned fracture stimulation fleet in the area during the second quarter of 2011.
Alaska
The Company owns a 70% working interest and is the operator of the Oooguruk development project. The Company has drilled 12 production wells and eight injection wells of the estimated 17 production and 16 injection wells planned to develop this project.
International
During 2011, the Company�� international operations were located in Tunisia and offshore South Africa. During February 2011, the Company completed the sale of the Company�� share holdings in Pioneer Tunisia to an unaffiliated third party.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By MONEYMORNING.COM]
Late Tuesday evening, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that it would allow exports of ultra-light oil (essentially condensate after very minimal processing) by two companies - Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD) and Enterprise Products Partners LP (NYSE: EPD).
- [By Robert Rapier]
There are numerous drillers making major investments in the Permian Basin. The list is long, but it includes Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN), Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE: PXD), Concho Resources (NYSE: CXO), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) and Apache (NYSE: APA).
- [By Claudia Assis]
Top gainers among energy companies on the S&P 500 index included Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) , with shares up 3.5%. QEP Resources Inc. (QEP) �shares advanced 2.7%.
10 Best Dow Dividend Stocks To Buy For 2014: Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA)
Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell), incorporated on February 5, 2002, is an independent oil and gas company. The Company owns, directly or indirectly, investments in the numerous companies constituting Shell. Shell is engaged worldwide in the principal aspects of the oil and gas industry and also has interests in chemicals and other energy-related businesses. The Company operates in three segments: Upstream, Downstream and Corporate. Upstream combines the operating segments Upstream International and Upstream Americas, which are engaged in searching for and recovering crude oil and natural gas; the liquefaction and transportation of gas; the extraction of bitumen from oil sands that is converted into synthetic crude oil, and wind energy. Downstream is engaged in manufacturing; distribution and marketing activities for oil products and chemicals, in alternative energy (excluding wind), and carbon dioxide (CO2) management. Corporate represents the key support functions, comprising holdings and treasury, headquarters, central functions and Shell�� self-insurance activities. In October 2011, the Company bought a marine terminal on Canada's Pacific Coast as a possible site for a liquefied natural gas export terminal. In January 2012, the Company's 50% owned, Australia Arrow Energy Holdings Pty Ltd acquired all of the shares in Bow Energy Ltd. In January 2014, Royal Dutch Shell plc completed the acquisition of Repsol S.A.'s liquefied natural gas (LNG) portfolio outside North America.
Upstream International manages the Upstream businesses outside the Americas. It searches for and recovers crude oil and natural gas, liquefies and transports gas, and operates the upstream and midstream infrastructure necessary to deliver oil and gas to market. Upstream International also manages Shell�� entire liquefied petroleum gas (LNG) business, gas to liquids (GTL) and the wind business in Europe. Its activities are organized primarily within geographical units, although there are some activities that are mana! ged across the businesses or provided through support units.
Upstream Americas manages the Upstream businesses in North and South America. It searches for and recovers crude oil and natural gas, transports gas and operates the upstream and midstream infrastructure necessary to deliver oil and gas to market. Upstream Americas also extracts bitumen from oil sands that is converted into synthetic crude oil. Additionally, it manages the United States-based wind business. It comprises operations organized into business-wide managed activities and supporting activities.
Downstream manages Shell�� manufacturing, distribution and marketing activities for oil products and chemicals. These activities are organized into globally managed classes of business, although some are managed regionally or provided through support units. Manufacturing and supply includes refining, supply and shipping of crude oil. Marketing sells a range of products including fuels, lubricants, bitumen and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for home, transport and industrial use. Chemicals produces and markets petrochemicals for industrial customers, including the raw materials for plastics, coatings and detergents. Downstream also trades Shell�� flow of hydrocarbons and other energy-related products, supplies the Downstream businesses, markets gas and power and provides shipping services. Downstream additionally oversees Shell�� interests in alternative energy (including biofuels, and excluding wind) and CO2 management.
Projects and Technology manages the delivery of Shell�� major projects and drives the research and innovation to create technology solutions. It provides technical services and technology capability covering both Upstream and Downstream activities. It is also responsible for providing functional leadership across Shell in the areas of health, safety and environment, and contracting and procurement.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]
Royal Dutch Shell is focused on oil and gas exploration and distribution, with operations all around the world. The company has agreed to sell a stake in one of its Brazilian offshore assets to Qatar�� state-owned oil and gas company for $1bn. The stock has struggled this year and is currently pulling back. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been decreasing and revenues have been mixed, which has produced conflicting feelings among investors. Relative to its peers and sector, Royal Dutch Shell has been a relative year-to-date performance leader. WAIT AND SEE what Royal Dutch Shell does this quarter.
- [By Jeff Reeves]
The largest dedicated Europe ETF by assets is the Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (VGK), with about $13 billion under management. Top holdings include U.K.-based Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA), Swiss consumer products maker Nestle (NSRGY) and HSBC.
- [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]
Royal Dutch Shell is focused on oil and gas exploration and distribution, with operations all around the world. The company recently reported earnings that are not sitting well with investors. The stock is now trading near lows for the year, and it may need some time to recover. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been mixed, while revenue figures have been declining. Relative to its peers and sector, Royal Dutch Shell has been a poor year-to-date performer. WAIT AND SEE what Royal Dutch Shell does this coming quarter.
- [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]
Royal Dutch Shell is an oil and gas company that operates worldwide. The company has just announced a new CEO that is bringing a different vision with him. The stock is trading near lows for the year but a new CEO may be the catalyst that the stock needs. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been mixed while revenue figures have been declining. Relative to its peers and sector, Royal Dutch Shell has been a weak year-to-date performer. WAIT AND SEE what this new CEO does for the company.
10 Best Dow Dividend Stocks To Buy For 2014: Pampa Energia S.A.(PAM)
Pampa Energia S.A., through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Argentina. It has an installed hydro electricity generation capacity of approximately 2,217 megawatts. The company also joint-controls the operation and maintenance of the high-tension transmission network covering 10,613 kilometers (km) of own lines, as well as 6,110 km of high-tension lines belonging to Empresa de Transporte de Energ� El�tricapor Distribuci� Troncal de la Provincia de Buenos Aires Sociedad An�ima Transba S.A. It distributes electricity to approximately 3.5 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The company was formerly known as Pampa Holding S.A. and changed its name to Pampa Energia S.A. in September 2008. Pampa Energia S.A. was incorporated in 1945 and is headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Garrett Cook]
Utilities shares fell around 0.30 percent in trading on Friday. Top losers in the sector included Pampa Energia SA (NYSE: PAM), revesed loses and is currently up 1.75 percent, and Korea Electric Power (NYSE: KEP), off 3.16 percent.
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.46 percent. Top gainers in the sector included PPL (NYSE: PPL), Empresa Distribuidora y Comercializadora Norte SA (NYSE: EDN), and Pampa Energia SA (NYSE: PAM). Telecommunications services sector was the top decliner in the US market on Wednesday. - [By Garrett Cook]
Utilities shares rose 0.26 percent in today’s trading. Top gainers in the sector included Pampa Energia SA (NYSE: PAM), up 2 percent, and New Jersey Resources (NYSE: NJR), up 1.9 percent.
- [By Eddie Staley]
Utilities shares rose 0.26 percent in today’s trading. Top gainers in the sector included Pampa Energia SA (NYSE: PAM), up 2.88 percent, and New Jersey Resources (NYSE: NJR), up 2.39 percent.
10 Best Dow Dividend Stocks To Buy For 2014: DineEquity Inc (DIN)
DineEquity, Inc., incorporated on May 07, 1976, owns franchise and operate two restaurant concepts: Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar, (Applebee's), in the bar and grill segment of the casual dining category of the restaurant industry, and International House of Pancakes (IHOP), in the family dining category of the restaurant industry. As of December 31, 2012, the franchise operations segment consisted of 2,011 restaurants operated by Applebee's franchisees in the United States, one United States territory and 15 foreign countries and 1,569 restaurants operated by IHOP franchisees and area licensees in the United States, two United States territories and five foreign countries. As of December 31, 2012, the Company restaurant operations segment consisted of 23 Applebee's Company-operated restaurants, 10 IHOP Company-operated restaurants and two IHOP restaurants reacquired from franchisees and operated by IHOP on a temporary basis until refranchised. Financing operations revenue primarily consists of interest income from the financing of franchise fees and equipment leases, as well as sales of equipment associated with refranchised IHOP restaurants and a portion of franchise fees for restaurants taken back from franchisees not allocated to IHOP intellectual property. In October 2012, it completed the refranchising program and completed the transitioning to a 99% franchised restaurant system.
Applebee's
The Company develops, franchises and operates restaurants in the bar and grill segment of the casual dining category of the restaurant industry under the name Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar. As of December 31, 2012, 68 franchise groups operated 2,011 of these restaurants and 23 restaurants were Company-operated. The restaurants were located in 49 states, one United States territory and 15 countries outside of the United States. During the year ended December 31, 2012, 20 domestic franchise restaurants opened, six domestic franchise restaurants closed. 154 Company-operated! restaurants were franchised. The number of restaurants held by an individual franchisee ranges from one to 438 restaurants. As of December 31, 2012, it is focusing on international franchising primarily in Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Mediterranean/Middle East. As of December 31, 2012, there were 149 international Applebee's franchise restaurants. During 2012, 14 international franchise restaurants opened and 13 international franchise restaurants closed.
IHOP
The Company develops franchises and operates restaurants in the family dining category of the restaurant industry under the names IHOP and International House of Pancakes. As of December 31, 2012 there were a total of 1,581 IHOP restaurants of which 1,404 were subject to franchise agreements, 165 were subject to area license agreements, 10 were Company-operated restaurants and two restaurants were reacquired from franchisees and operated by IHOP on a temporary basis. The Company owns and operates 10 IHOP restaurants in the Cincinnati market area primarily to test new remodel programs, operating procedures, products, technology, cooking platforms and service models. IHOP restaurants are located in all 50 states of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands and internationally in Canada, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates. As of December 31, 2012, the area licensee for the state of Florida and certain counties in Georgia operated or sub-franchised a total of 152 IHOP restaurants, and the area licensees for the province of British Columbia, Canada operated or sub-franchised a total of 13 IHOP restaurants. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had signed commitments and options from franchisees to build 245 IHOP restaurants over the next 17 years, comprised of 5 restaurants under single-restaurant or non-traditional development agreements, 120 restaurants under multi-restaurant development agreements and 63 restaurants! under in! ternational development agreements. As of December 31, 2012, there were 1,525 domestic IHOP franchise and area license restaurants. During 2012, its franchisees and area licensees opened 40 domestic franchise restaurants and 17 domestic franchise and area license restaurants were closed. As of December 31, 2012, there were 44 international IHOP franchise and area license restaurants. During 2012, its franchisees opened eight international franchise restaurants and no restaurants were closed.
The Company competes with Chili's, T.G.I. Friday's, Ruby Tuesday's, Denny's, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Bob Evans Restaurants.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]
AP/Jae C. Hong For all the talk about drones replacing parcel carriers or self-driving cars disrupting the taxi industry, there's a bigger tech revolution happening in the restaurant industry right now that may displace workers far sooner than anything futurists foresee in those other industries. The arrival of tablets and smartphone apps that detail menu items, take orders, and let you settle up your tab at the en of the meal will be a big theme among casual dining chains and even a few independent foodie haunts this year. Brinker International's (EAT) Chili's, DineEquity's (DIN) Applebee's, and a handful of San Francisco fine dining establishments are leading the push to add the technology, which will make waiters and waitresses less necessary. None of the chains have said that these tech initiatives will lead them to reduce waitstaff headcount -- but it doesn't take a lot of foresight to connect the dots. If folks are using table-side tablets to place orders and ask for drink refills, or firing up a smartphone app to pay at the end of a meal, that naturally translates into fewer front-of-house employees needed to keep an eatery going. Order Up In fact, some industry leaders outright deny that mobile tech will displace staff. "This really isn't a labor play," DineEquity CEO Julia Stewart said on CNBC late last year, explaining Applebee's move to deploy 100,000 tablets this year -- one at every table. "It's not about saving labor. This is really about creating an opportunity to talk to our guest, have an interactive conversation with our guest, and give our guest a lot more opportunities." At first, a waitstaff will be instrumental in assisting customers as they use the tablets to place orders or pay their bills. There will also be patrons who are apprehensive about embracing the technology, and Applebee's will still have waiters taking orders the old-fashioned way for people who prefer talking to a person. Chili's is going with a less-comprehensive table
- [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]
Alamy Fried chicken and waffles is a staple menu item at countless soul food and comfort food restaurants, but that's not stopping Burger King (BKW) from trying to give the meal a fast-food spin. Burger King is testing a new sandwich in the Northeast that takes the breaded chicken patty used in its Classic Crispy Chicken Sandwich from its King Deals Value Menu and replaces the bun with a split waffle. Burger King's Chicken & Waffle Sandwich isn't as hearty as the meal that it's based on. It's selling for as little as $2.29. But the chain's latest attempt to turn heads with a unique menu item will at least attract curious nibblers if it does decide to broaden the offering across the country. Waffling About Burger King isn't the first popular chain to attempt to reinvent this classic dish. As Nation's Restaurant News points out, last summer, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (PLKI) offered Chicken Waffle Tenders -- consisting of chicken tenders dipped in a vanilla maple-scented waffle batter, served with a honey maple dipping sauce. DineEquity's (DIN) IHOP did it three years ago by combining its chicken strips with Belgian waffle quarters. Yum! Brands (YUM) tried to breathe new life into its breakfast business last summer by testing a Waffle Taco -- an egg, sausage, and waffle breakfast sandwich. Even if it doesn't succeed -- and some of the early taste tests haven't been very flattering to the chain's new sandwich -- it's at least comforting to see that Burger King isn't just copying McDonald's (MCD) the way that it has for the past couple of years. Burger King followed McDonald's in offering fancy coffee drinks, fresh fruit smoothies, and popcorn chicken. It has gone on to roll out doppelgangers of the Egg McMuffin and McRib sandwiches. In November, it introduced the Big King, which any patron will quickly recognize as a body double to the Big Mac. Then again, it's not as if following McDonald's lead is such a clever idea right now. The world's largest re
- [By Rustic Nomad]
Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD), a Minneapolis-based restaurant chain, recently declared its fourth-quarter financial results and they were not impressive. Amid tough competition from its rivals such as Dine Equity (DIN) and McDonald�� (MCD), analysts were expecting better financial results, which the company failed to provide.
10 Best Dow Dividend Stocks To Buy For 2014: Orange County Business Bank (OCBB)
Orange County Business Bank is Orange County's elite full-service commercial bank. The Company is a capitalized bank in Southern California.
The Company is serving the needs of businesses and professionals throughout Orange County. It offers relationship banking services for locally owned and operated businesses, professional practices, and commercial/industrial companies in Orange County and adjacent markets.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By CRWE]
Today, OCBB remains (0.00%) +0.000 at $7.15 thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 2:07PM EDT August 1, 2013).
Orange County Business Bank previously reported financial results for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2013.
The Bank�� net income for the three months ended June 30, 2013 was $204 thousand versus a net loss of $47 thousand for the same period in 2012. The Bank reported net income for the first six months of 2013 of $649 thousand versus a net loss of $126 thousand for the same period in 2012.
The Bank�� net interest income for the three months ended June 30, 2013 was $1.4 million versus $1.1 million a year ago. The difference of $300 thousand in net interest income was primarily driven by an increase in the total loans outstanding. Net interest income for the six months ended June 30, 2013 was $2.6 million versus $2.4 million for the same period in 2012. The difference of $200 thousand was due to an increase in the total loans outstanding. The Bank continues to aggressively push into established and successful markets to develop profitable relationships. This push has resulted in the growth of loans, deposits and net interest income
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