Bitcoin: A Joke or the Real Thing?

Bitcoin has crossed the $1,000 barrier.

Bitcoin is a virtual, decentralized currency that circumvents government regulation. It was the subject of two Senate hearings last week, and Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said virtual currencies “may hold long-term promise.”

And the FBI recently shut down Silk Road, an online marketplace where sellers offered drugs, firearms and other illicit goods and services, taking Bitcoins as payment.

Bitcoin’s advocates aim to make it a universal electronic currency. By a wide margin, Bitcoin is the best known among dozens of alternatives, collectively known as altcoins. PeerCoin, Litecoin and Anoncoin are some other altcoins.

Probably the main reason for the Bitcoin buzz is its soaring value. A year ago, Bitcoin was worth a few dollars. In November alone, the price has climbed from $215 to $1,000 on Mt. Gox, the leading altcoin exchange. Meanwhile, Bitcoins were trading for $950 on Bitstamp, the second most popular exchange, and for $915 on BTC-e.

The supply of Bitcoins recently stood at 12 million, worth about $12 billion at recent prices.

SecondMarket’s Bitcoin Trust “invests” in Bitcoins. SecondMarket is an online security brokerage specializing in illiquid assets. And at least one mutual fund is in the works.

Bitcoin is actually both a digital currency and a payment system. To get Bitcoins, you have to first set up a “wallet,” probably online at a site such as Blockchain.info. You then pay a willing seller the necessary hard currency to transfer the coins into that wallet.

A growing number and variety of US merchants are starting to accept Bitcoins as payment.

The Silk Road closing highlighted a key Bitcoin attribute: theoretical user anonymity, which enables secret transactions of various kinds. A network keeps track of all transactions made using Bitcoins but it doesn’t know w! ho is using them or for what, just the computer “wallet” IDs. Yet every transaction is publicly available for anyone to examine in the “blockchain,” a global, permanent ledger.

Strangely, the government of China evidently has endorsed the use of Bitcoin. Some say it’s because of the hope that digital money will undermine the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency. A subsidiary of Baidu Inc. (NSDQ: BIDU), China’s top search engine, started to accept Bitcoins last month.

Bitcoin supporters contend that it some day could become an effective alternative to government currencies or a cheap way to move money around the world.

But Bitcoin’s manic price movements undermine its credibility as a currency. Real currencies usually have relatively stable values, making them good units of exchange. And Bitcoin already has numerous competitors.

In addition, the Bitcoin system evidently isn’t completely secure. Numerous thefts of Bitcoins from encrypted accounts have been reported. These inevitably will grow in number with Bitcoin’s popularity and, for now, value.

Bitcoin itself was invented in 2008 by one or more computer programmers using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. His, her or their identity is still unknown.

Altcoin values are set partly through complicated mathematical algorithms and partly by what people think they should be worth at any time.

Bitcoins are created, or “mined,” by rewarding computer operators who solve a mathematical algorithm that grows increasingly difficult, which in turn slows the supply growth of Bitcoins. An algorithm limits the total number of Bitcoins ever mined to 21 million units, which is expected to occur by 2140.

It is extremely likely that governments ultimately will aim to regulate Bitcoin if its market gets big enough. Money is a tool of the state. Governments will not allow creation of an independent world currency outside of their cont! rol.
Meanwhile, it seems that the main reason people are willing to pay rising prices for Bitcoin is because other people also are willing to. Just like the Dutch tulip mania of the 17th century, probably the biggest financial bubble of all time.

Weekly CFO Sells Highlight

According to GuruFocus Insider Data, the largest CFO sells during the past week were: Genpact Ltd, Oshkosh Corporation, Anadarko Petroleum Corp, Charles Schwab Corp, and Skyworks Solutions Inc.

Genpact Ltd. (G): CFO Mohit Bhatia Sold 148,036 Shares

CFO Mohit Bhatia sold 148,036 shares of G stock on 11/19/2013 at the average price of $18.06. Mohit Bhatia owns at least 41,585 shares after this. The price of the stock has decreased by 0.22% since.

Genpact Ltd. has a market cap of $4.15 billion; its shares were traded at around $18.02 with a P/E ratio of 18.00 and P/S ratio of 2.03. Genpact Ltd. had an annual average earnings growth of 11.00% over the past 5 years.

Genpact Ltd. has released its third quarter 2013 results. These results included revenue growth of 8.9% over last year to $534.9 million, and income from operations growth of 22.9% to $86.0 million. Net income was $70.3 million for the quarter, up 179.1% over the third quarter of 2012, while adjusted net income was up 17.8%.

Oshkosh Corporation (OSK): Exec. VP and CFO David M. Sagehorn Sold 141,005 Shares

Exec. VP and CFO David M. Sagehorn sold 141,005 shares of OSK stock on 11/18/2013 at the average price of $50.36. David M. Sagehorn owns at least 69,667 shares after this. The price of the stock has decreased by 6.29% since.

Oshkosh Corporation has a market cap of $4.08 billion; its shares were traded at around $47.19 with a P/E ratio of 13.30 and P/S ratio of 0.55. The dividend yield of Oshkosh Corporation stocks is 0.32%.

Oshkosh has released its fiscal fourth quarter 2013 results. Fourth quarter net income was $35.7 million ($0.40 per share), compared to $83.7 million ($0.91 per share) prior year quarter. Consolidated net sales decreased 15.8% to $1.73 billion, and free cash flow was $386 million.

Director Richard M Donnelly and multiple other insiders have all also sold shares of OSK stock recently.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp (APC): EVP, Finance & CFO Robert G Gwin Sold 60,100 ! Shares

EVP, Finance & CFO Robert G Gwin sold 60,100 shares of APC stock on 11/19/2013 at the average price of $90.92. Robert G Gwin owns at least 61,248 shares after this. The price of the stock has increased by 1.23% since.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp has a market cap of $46.32 billion; its shares were traded at around $92.04 with a P/E ratio of 26.30 and P/S ratio of 3.17. The dividend yield of Anadarko Petroleum Corp stocks is 0.49%. Anadarko Petroleum Corp had an annual average earnings growth of 0.30% over the past 10 years.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp reported third quarter 2013 net income of $182 million, or $0.36 per share, and cash flow of $1.779 billion.

Director Paulett Eberhart sold 24,600 shares of APC stock on 11/13/2013 at the average price of $91.

Charles Schwab Corp (SCHW): EVP and CFO Joseph R Martinetto Sold 104,457 Shares

EVP and CFO Joseph R Martinetto sold 104,457 shares of SCHW stock on 11/21/2013 at the average price of $24.91. Joseph R Martinetto owns at least 82,685 shares after this. The price of the stock has increased by 0.04% since.

Charles Schwab Corp has a market cap of $32.13 billion; its shares were traded at around $24.92 with a P/E ratio of 35.60 and P/S ratio of 6.14. The dividend yield of Charles Schwab Corp stocks is 0.96%. Charles Schwab Corp had an annual average earnings growth of 4.80% over the past 10 years.

In its third quarter of 2013, Charles Schwab saw net revenues rise by 15% to $1.37 billion, while net income rose 17% to $290 million.

EVP - Advisor Services Bernard J. Clark and EVP and General Counsel Carrie E Dwyer have both also sold shares of SCHW stock over the past week.

Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (SWKS): VP & CFO Donald W Palette Sold 92,105 Shares

VP & CFO Donald W Palette sold 92,105 shares of SWKS stock on 11/18/2013 at the average price of $25.7. Donald W Palette owns at least 45,444 shares after this. The price of the stock has increased by 3.15% since.

Skyworks Solutions, Inc. ! has a mar! ket cap of $4.99 billion; its shares were traded at around $26.51 with a P/E ratio of 20.00 and P/S ratio of 2.84. Skyworks Solutions, Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 22.30% over the past 5 years.

In its fourth quarter of 2013 ended September 27, 2013, Skyworks Solutions Inc. delivered $477 million in revenues, up 13.3% over prior year quarter, and non-GAAP operating income of $130 million, up from $103.6 million last year.

President and CEO David J Aldrich sold 40,000 shares of SWKS stock on 11/20/2013 at the average price of $25.27. EVP Liam Griffin and multiple other insiders have all also sold shares of SWKS stock.

For the complete list of stocks that Sold by their CFOs, go to: Insider Buys.

CEO Buys, CFO Buys: Stocks that are bought by their CEO/CFOs. Insider Cluster Buys: Stocks that multiple company officers and directors have bought. Double Buys:: Companies that both Gurus and Insiders are buying Triple Buys: Companies that both Gurus and Insiders are buying, and Company is buying back.

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Top 10 Dividend Companies To Own For 2014

Next Tuesday, Ares Capital (NASDAQ: ARCC  ) will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed, knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

As a business development company, Ares Capital has attracted a lot of attention due to its huge dividend yield. But lately, capital appreciation has played an even more vital role in the company's long-term returns. Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Ares Capital over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report.

Stats on Ares Capital

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�

Analyst EPS Estimate

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Own For 2014: Johnson & Johnson(JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson engages in the research and development, manufacture, and sale of various products in the health care field worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Consumer, Pharmaceutical, and Medical Devices and Diagnostics. The Consumer segment provides products used in baby care, skin care, oral care, wound care, and women?s health care fields, as well as nutritional, over-the-counter pharmaceutical products, and wellness and prevention platforms under the brands of JOHNSON?S, AVEENO, CLEAN & CLEAR, JOHNSON?S Adult, NEUTROGENA, RoC, LUBRIDERM, DABAO, LISTERINE, REACH, BAND-AID, CAREFREE, STAYFREE, SPLENDA, TYLENOL, SUDAFED, ZYRTEC, MOTRIN IB, and PEPCID AC. The Pharmaceutical segment offers products in various therapeutic areas, such as anti-infective, antipsychotic, contraceptive, dermatology, gastrointestinal, hematology, immunology, neurology, oncology, pain management, and virology. Its principal products include REMICADE for the treatment of immune me diated inflammatory diseases; STELARA for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis; SIMPONI, a treatment for adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis; VELCADE for the treatment of multiple myeloma; PREZISTA and INTELENCE for treating HIV/AIDS patients; NUCYNTA for moderate to severe acute pain; INVEGA SUSTENNAtm for the acute and maintenance treatment of schizophrenia in adults; RISPERDAL CONSTA for the management of bipolar I disorder and schizophrenia; and PROCRIT to stimulate red blood cell production. The Medical Devices and Diagnostics segment primarily offers circulatory disease management products; orthopaedic joint reconstruction, spinal care, and sports medicine products; surgical care, aesthetics, and women?s health products; blood glucose monitoring and insulin delivery products; professional diagnostic products; and disposable contact lenses. The company was founded in 1886 and is based in Ne w Brunswick, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jessica Alling]

  Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ  ) is also up in trading this morning after its earnings beat analyst estimates. The good news was a surprise to analysts and investors alike, who have driven the stock 1.84% higher so far in trading. J&J reported increased demand for its specialty and OTC drugs, as well as higher sales for consumer products. Revenues grew by 8.5% year over year, propped up by 2.2% growth in consumer products like Tylenol and Listerine, as well as baby products.

• [By Chuck Carnevale]

  However, from 2002 to current time we see a conflicting relationship between interest rates and stock prices. In this case, as interest rates continued to decline, stock valuations (PEs) followed suit and declined as well. In theory, this should not happen. Because with interest rates so low, as a practical matter bonds become less competitive to stocks, but even worse, today bonds don�� even offer any real return. This is especially true when you compare blue-chip dividend yields available from stalwarts such as PepsiCo (PEP), Proctor & Gamble (PG), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), etc., to interest rates. For the first time since I can remember, these companies are offering higher dividend yields than not only the 10-year Treasury but the 30-year as well.

• [By Reuters]

  Richard Drew/APA board overlooking the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows an intraday number above 1,600 for the S&P 500 on Friday. A big gain in the job market lifted the stock market to a record high. NEW YORK -- The Dow and S&P 500 advanced to all-time closing highs on Friday, with major indexes jumping 1 percent after an unexpectedly strong April jobs report eased concerns about an economic slowdown. The S&P closed above 1,600 and the Dow briefly traded above 15,000 for the first time as stocks extended this year's rally. Bellwether companies, including Chevron Corp. (CVX), Boeing Co. (BA) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), reached 52-week highs. The Russell 2000 stock index of mid- and small cap companies also hit a record, confirming the broadness of the rally. About 70 percent of stocks on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq ended in positive territory. Non-farm payrolls rose by 165,000 last month and the unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent, a four-year low, from 7.6 percent, the government said. In addition, hiring was much stronger than previously thought in February and March. Investors welcomed the gains after weeks of disappointing data, including tepid manufacturing reports, that suggested the economic recovery was losing steam. "We were all wringing our hands over the past month but this alleviates fears about a sharp spring slowdown," said Brad Sorensen, director of market and sector analysis at Charles Schwab in Denver. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) was up 140.61 points, or 0.95 percent, at 14,972.19. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (^GSPC) was up 16.63 points, or 1.04 percent, at 1,614.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMPX) was up 38.01 points, or 1.14 percent, at 3,378.63. Both the Dow and S&P ended at all-time closing highs. For the week, the Dow rose 1.8, the S&P gained 2 percent and the Nasdaq rose 3 percent in its biggest weekly climb since the first week of the year. Sectors ti

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Own For 2014: Raytheon Company(RTN)

Raytheon Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides electronics, mission systems integration, and other capabilities in the areas of sensing, effects, and command, control, communications, and intelligence systems, as well as mission support services in the United States and internationally. It operates in six segments: Integrated Defense Systems, Intelligence and Information Systems, Missile Systems, Network Centric Systems, Space and Airborne Systems, and Technical Services. The Integrated Defense Systems segment provides integrated naval, air, and missile defense and civil security response solutions. The Intelligence and Information Systems segment offers intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, advanced cyber solutions, weather and environmental solutions, and information-based solutions for law enforcement and homeland security. The Missile Systems segment develops and produces weapon systems, including missiles, smart munitions, close-in weapon systems, projectiles, kinetic kill vehicles, and directed energy effectors for the armed forces of the U.S. and other allied nations. The Network Centric Systems segment provides net-centric mission solutions, including integrated communications systems, command and control systems, combat systems, and operations and precision components for the U.S. federal, state, and local government customers, as well as civil customers. The Space and Airborne Systems segment designs and develops integrated systems and solutions for missions, including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; precision engagement; unmanned aerial operations; and space. The Technical Services segment provides training, logistics, engineering, product support, and operational support services for the mission support, homeland security, space, civil aviation, counterproliferation, and counterterrorism markets. Raytheon Company was founded in 1922 and is based in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  After a busy week, during�which the Department of Defense handed out literally dozens of contracts worth a combined $1.9 billion, the generals found their wallets near empty come week-end. By the time Friday rolled around, the Pentagon could only muster up a bare two contracts to award. Here they are:

  Raytheon (NYSE: RTN  ) won a $12.7 million cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement for the development and integration of its AGM-154C-1 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) into the operational flight program software of the Boeing F/A-18E/F fighter jet.�Raytheon is expected to complete work on this contract by February 2015.

  The JSOW�is a Raytheon-designed 1000-lb. "glide bomb." Dropped from a fighter at high altitude, it can travel as far as 78 miles to strike a target, guided en route by GPS signals.

Top Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc.(SBGI)

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., a television broadcasting company, owns or provides certain programming, operating, or sales services to television stations in the United States. The company broadcasts free over-the-air programming, such as network provided programs, news produced locally, local sporting events, programming from program service arrangements, and syndicated entertainment programs. It owns or provides programming and operating services pursuant to local marketing agreements, or provides sales services pursuant to outsourcing agreements to 58 television stations in 35 markets. The company was founded in 1952 and is based in Hunt Valley, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap media stock�LIN Media LLC (NYSE: LIN) might not be a household name, but there is a good chance you might be watching the company�� programs because like the Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc (NASDAQ: SBGI) and Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc (NASDAQ: NXST), its helping to consolidate the media industry plus its making investment in other forms of media like social media. The stock has also outperformed those two peers along with the�PowerShares Dynamic Media Portfolio ETF (NYSEARCA: PBS).

• [By Eric Volkman]

  In the latest of a string of acquisitions, Sinclair Broadcast Group (NASDAQ: SBGI  ) is to buy Fisher Communications (NASDAQ: FSCI  ) . The merger transaction will cost the former roughly $373 million. Fisher stockholders are to receive a cash payout of $41.00 per share, which, according to Sinclair, is a 44% premium to the stock's recent closing price.

• [By Westcott Rochette]

  Assuming all of its announced mergers are completed (as we anticipate), Maryland-based Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBGI) will soon own or operate some 162 stations in 77 markets that, together, reach about 40% of US television households.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Own For 2014: Curtiss-Wright Corporation (CW)

Curtiss-Wright Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and overhauls precision components and systems. It operates in three segments: Flow Control, Motion Control, and Metal Treatment. The Flow Control segment designs, manufactures, and distributes engineered products, including valves, pumps, motors, generators, instrumentation, shipboard systems, and control electronics that manage the flow of liquids and gases, generate power, provide electronic operating systems, and monitor or provide critical functions for naval defense, power generation, oil and gas, and general industrial markets. The Motion Control segment designs, develops, manufactures, and maintains mechanical actuation and drive systems, specialized sensors, motors, electronic controller units, and embedded computing components and control systems for ground defense, aerospace defense, commercial aerospace, and general industrial markets. The Metal Treatment segment provides metallu rgical processing services comprising shot peening, laser peening, specialty coatings and heat treating for commercial and defense aerospace, oil and gas, power generation, automotive, transportation, construction equipment, and miscellaneous metal working industries. The company operates primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Curtiss-Wright Corporation was founded in 1929 and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  On Monday, Curtiss-Wright Corp. (CW) announced that it has completed its acquisition of Arens Controls, LLC for $98 million.

  The newly acquired business will operate under CW’s Controls segment. David C. Adams, President and CEO of CW noted: “The acquisition of Arens complements our previous acquisitions of Williams Controls and PG Drives, further strengthening and growing Curtiss-Wright’s existing industrial controls business.”

  “This is another step toward our vision of being the supplier of choice for operator control subsystems and critical drivetrain components in specialty vehicles. As a leading designer and manufacturer of critical vehicle controls technologies, Arens’ complementary products and long-standing customer relationships position Curtiss-Wright for increased penetration within the commercial and off-road vehicle markets. Additionally, this acquisition allows us to leverage our global manufacturing footprint to create margin expansion opportunities,” Adams added.

  Curtiss-Wright shares were down 46 cents, or 1.00%, during Monday morning trading. The stock is up 39% YTD.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Own For 2014: ENSCO plc(ESV)

Ensco plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services to the oil and gas industry. The company engages in the drilling of offshore oil and natural gas wells by providing its drilling rigs and crews under contracts with international, government-owned, and independent oil and gas companies. As of February 15, 2010, it owned and operated 42 jackup rigs, 4 ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rigs, and 1 barge rig. The company also has 4 ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rigs under construction. It operates in Asia, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa, and North and South America. The company was formerly known as Ensco International plc and changed its name to Ensco plc in March 2010. Ensco plc was founded in 1975 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Hill]

  In this segment, Jason and Taylor tell investors why they'll be watching shares of Transocean (NYSE: RIG  ) , Ensco (NYSE: ESV  ) and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) this week.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Own For 2014: Abbott Laboratories(ABT)

Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of health care products worldwide. The company offers adult and pediatric pharmaceuticals for rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and Crohn's disease; dyslipidemia; HIV infection; prostate cancer, endometriosis and central precocious puberty, and anemia caused by uterine fibroids; respiratory syncytial virus; adult males who have low or no testosterone; secondary hyperparathyroidism; hypothyroidism; and pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, as well as anesthesia products. It also provides diagnostic products, such as immunoassay systems; chemistry systems; assays used for screening and/or diagnosis for drugs of abuse, cancer, therapeutic drug monitoring, fertility, physiological, and infectious diseases; instruments that automate the extraction, purification, and preparation of DNA and RNA from patient samples, and detect and measure infections agents; genomic-b ased tests; hematology systems and reagents; and point-of-care diagnostic systems and tests for blood analysis. In addition, the company offers a line of pediatric and adult nutritional products. Further, it provides coronary, endovascular, vessel closure, and structural heart devices, such as drug-eluting stent systems, coronary metallic stents, balloon dilatation products, coronary guidewires, vessel closure devices, carotid stent systems, percutaneous valve repair systems, and drug eluting bioresorbable vascular products. Additionally, the company provides blood glucose monitoring meters, test strips, data management software, and accessories for people with diabetes; and medical devices for the eye, including cataract surgery, lasik surgery, contact lens, and dry eye products, as well as branded generic pharmaceutical products. Abbott primarily serves retailers, wholesalers, hospitals, and health care facilities. Abbott was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Carroll]

  Diversified medical firm Abbott Labs (NYSE: ABT  ) has begun�a new clinical trial of its Absorb bioresorbable next-generation stent that will judge its safety and efficacy in patients with coronary artery disease, or CAD.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Coming in a close second was Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT  ) , which rallied 2.4% after reporting its first-quarter results. For the quarter, net sales increased just shy of 2% to $5.38 billion as adjusted earnings rose 5% to $0.42 from $0.40 in the year-ago period. Revenue was about $30 million short of estimates, but EPS came in $0.01 above target, providing the impetus to send Abbott's shares higher. Perhaps the most intriguing factor from an optimists' perspective was that more than 40% of total sales came from fast-growing emerging markets during the quarter, giving the company ample opportunity to continue growing.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Medical device and branded generics maker�Abbott (NYSE: ABT  ) announced today its third-quarter dividend of $0.14 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past two quarters. Before that, the payout had been $0.51 per share, but on January 1�Abbott spun off to investors its research-based pharmaceuticals business into a new company, AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV  ) .

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, health care giant Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Own For 2014: Paragon Shipping Inc.(PRGN)

Paragon Shipping Inc. provides shipping transportation services worldwide. The company engages in the ocean transportation of various drybulk cargoes and containers. Its fleet consists of 11 drybulk vessels with a total carrying capacity of 747,994 dwt. The company was founded in 2006 and is based in Voula, Greece.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another under-$10 name shipping player that's starting to move within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Paragon Shipping (PRGN), which is engaged in transporting drybulk cargoes, including such commodities as iron ore, coal, grain and other materials along shipping routes worldwide. This stock has been on fire so far in 2013, with shares up sharply by 114%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Paragon Shipping, you'll notice that this stock just recently took out its 50-day moving average of $4.19 a share with strong upside volume. Shares of PRGN are showing relative strength today, despite the overall market weakness, which shows this stock is in strong demand at current levels. This move is now starting to push shares of PRGN within range of triggering a big breakout trade

  Market players should now look for long-biased trades in PRGN if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $4.90 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 25,811 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then PRGN will set up to re-test or possibly take out its 52-week high at $5.70 a share. If that level gets taken out with volume, then PRGN could easily tag its next major overhead resistance levels at $7 to $8.35 a share.

  Traders can look to buy PRGN off weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day moving average of $4.19 a share, or below its 200-day moving average at $3.74 a share. One can also buy PRGN off strength once it clears $4.90 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point. I would add to either position once PRGN takes out its 52-week high at $5.70 a share with strong upside volume flows.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Own For 2014: Qualstar Corporation(QBAK)

Qualstar Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and sells automated magnetic tape libraries used to store, retrieve, and manage electronic data primarily in network computing environments worldwide. Its tape libraries consists of cartridge tape drives, tape cartridges, and robotics to move the cartridges from their storage locations to the tape drives under software control. The tape libraries also provide data storage solutions for organizations requiring backup, recovery, and archival storage of critical electronic information. The company also offers ancillary products related to its tape libraries, such as tape media, tape magazines, cables, bar code labels, and fiber channel adapters. In addition, it designs, develops, and sells switching power supplies that are used to convert alternate current line voltage to direct current voltages for use in electronic equipment, such as telecommunications equipment, servers, routers, switches, lighting, and gaming devices. Qualstar Corporation sells its tape drive products primarily to value added resellers and original equipment manufacturers, as well as switching power supplies primarily to original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers, and distributors. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Simi Valley, California.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Own For 2014: Dreyfus Strategic Municipals Inc. (LEO)

Dreyfus Strategic Municipals, Inc. operates as a diversified, closed-end management investment company. The fund invests primarily in municipal obligations of various states of the United States. The Dreyfus Corporation serves as the investment adviser of the fund. Dreyfus Strategic Municipals was founded in 1987 and is based in New York City.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Own For 2014: S&P GSCI(GD)

General Dynamics Corporation, an aerospace and defense company, provides business aviation; combat vehicles, weapons systems, and munitions; military and commercial shipbuilding; and communications and information technology products and services worldwide. Its Aerospace group designs, manufactures, and outfits various large and mid-cabin business-jet aircraft; provides maintenance, repair work, fixed-based operations, and aircraft management services; and performs aircraft completions for aircraft. The company?s Combat Systems group offers tracked and wheeled military vehicles, weapons systems, and munitions. Its product lines include wheeled combat and tactical vehicles; battle tanks and infantry vehicles; munitions and propellant; rockets and gun systems; and axle and drivetrain components and aftermarket parts. This group also manufactures and supplies engineered axles, suspensions, and brakes for heavy-load vehicles for military and commercial customers. The company Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Perhaps appropriately for an arms merchant, General Dynamics (NYSE: GD  ) stock is exploding this week, up nearly 8.8% since reporting earnings Wednesday morning -- and up about twice as much as the gains o fellow defense contractor Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) , which also reported Wednesday.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  General Dynamics (NYSE: GD  ) is electing to keep its dividend level for the time being. The company has declared a quarterly disbursement of $0.56 per share of its common stock, to be paid on Aug. 9 to shareholders of record as of July 5.

• [By Rich Smith]

  This led to warnings of further weakness ahead, with Textron cutting its guidance for b-jet deliveries this year, saying it will deliver fewer than it did in 2012. Going forward, it bodes ill for rival General Dynamics (NYSE: GD  ) , which has a big business jet division as well.

Krawcheck: The market giveth, the government taketh away

Sallie Krawcheck, a former executive at Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc., called government fines and charges levied on the largest U.S. banks a tax on excess profits.

“There is a cost of overearning in which some of that money gets paid back to the government in fines,” Ms. Krawcheck said Wednesday at The Year Ahead: 2014, a two-day conference sponsored by Bloomberg in Chicago.

Top 10 High Tech Companies To Watch In Right Now

The six biggest U.S. lenders have piled up more than $100 billion in legal costs since the financial crisis, including settlements and lawyers’ fees, data compiled by Bloomberg show. JPMorgan Chase & Co., which posted three years of record profit through 2012, reached a $13 billion settlement tied to mortgage bond sales yesterday. The firm still faces criminal probes that range from possible bribery in Asia to its relationship with Ponzi scheme operator Bernard Madoff.

“We can talk about whether it’s a fine for wrongdoing, we can also talk about it as a tax on over-earning,” Ms. Krawcheck said about JPMorgan’s accord. “It really has implications for the industry as you look to other banks and what they are potentially going to pay.”

Ms. Krawcheck was Citigroup’s chief financial officer and head of strategy, and later ran the bank’s wealth management division until late 2008, when she was replaced by current chief executive Michael L. Corbat. She joined Bank of America in August 2009 to run wealth management before being ousted amid a management shakeup in September 2011.

Ms. Krawcheck didn’t see executives acting ille

Hot Heal Care Companies To Watch For 2014

The following video is from Monday's Investor Beat, in which host Chris Hill and analysts Jason Moser and Andy Cross dissect the hardest-hitting investing stories of the day.

Waze is a leading provider of maps and traffic data. Last month Facebook (NASDAQ: FB  ) was rumored to be close to buying Waze for $1 billion, but that was then, and this is now. Today Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) is reportedly close to buying Waze for $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion. In the lead story from yesterday's�Investor Beat, Motley Fool analysts Jason Moser and Andy Cross analyze what the deal means for Google, why Waze makes much more sense for Google than Groupon, and how it affects shares of Google's stock.

As one of the most dominant Internet companies ever, Google has made a habit of driving strong returns for its shareholders. However, like many other web companies, it's also struggling to adapt to an increasingly mobile world. Despite gaining an enviable lead with its Android operating system, the market isn't sold. That's why it's more important than ever to understand each piece of Google's sprawling empire. In The Motley Fool's new premium research report on Google, we break down the risks and potential rewards for Google investors. Simply click here now to unlock your copy of this invaluable resource.

Hot Heal Care Companies To Watch For 2014: Cincinnati Financial Corporation(CINF)

Cincinnati Financial Corporation engages in the property casualty insurance business in the United States. Its Commercial Lines Property Casualty Insurance segment provides coverage for commercial casualty, commercial property, commercial auto, and workers? compensation. It also offers specialty packages, including coverages for property, liability, and business interruption for specific industry classes, such as artisan contractors, dentists, or street businesses. In addition, this segment provides contract and commercial surety bonds, fidelity bonds, and director and officer liability insurance, as well as machinery and equipment coverage. The company?s Personal Lines Property Casualty Insurance segment offers coverage for personal auto and homeowners, as well as other insurance products, such as dwelling fire, inland marine, personal umbrella liability, and watercraft coverages to individuals. Cincinnati Financial?s Excess and Surplus Lines Property Casualty Insurance s egment offers commercial casualty insurance that covers businesses for third-party liability from accidents occurring on their premises or arising out of their operations, including products and completed operations; and commercial property insurance, which insures loss or damage to buildings, inventory, equipment, and business income from causes of loss, such as fire, wind, hail, water, theft, and vandalism. The company?s Life Insurance segment provides term insurance; universal life insurance; whole life insurance; and worksite products, which include term, whole life, universal life, and disability insurance offered to employees through their employer. This segment also markets disability income insurance, deferred annuities, and immediate annuities. Its Investment segment invests in fixed-maturity investments, equity investments, and short-term investments. Cincinnati also offers commercial leasing and financing services. The company was founded in 1950 and is headquarte red in Fairfield, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividends4Life]

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• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Loew’s, however isn’t just cheap on its own terms. It’s also cheap relative to other investor insurers, including Markel (MKL), Cincinnati Financial (CINF) and Berkshire Hathaway. Shanker and Stefano write:

Hot Heal Care Companies To Watch For 2014: Altair Ventures Incorporated (AVX.V)

Altair Gold Inc. engages in the development and exploration of gold in Canada. Its projects include the Kena property that comprises 152 claims units covering 7,609 hectares located south of the Nelson town in southeastern British Columbia; and the Lobstick property, which consists of 32 claims units covering 512 hectares in northwestern Ontario. The company was formerly known as Altair Ventures Incorporated and changed its name to Altair Gold Inc. in September 2012. Altair Gold Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Top 5 Performing Companies To Own In Right Now: Skyline Corporation(SKY)

Skyline Corporation and its subsidiaries engage in designing, producing, and marketing manufactured houses, modular homes, and towable recreational vehicles to independent dealers and manufactured housing communities in the United States and Canada. The company?s manufactured homes include two to four bedrooms, kitchen, dining area, living room, one or two bathrooms, kitchen appliances, and central heating and cooling, as well as exterior dormers and windows, interior or exterior accent columns, fireplaces, and whirlpool tubs. Its towable recreational vehicles comprise travel trailers and fifth wheels offered under the Aljo, Bobcat, Koala, Layton, Mountain View, Nomad, Texan, Wagoneer, Walkabout, and Weekender brands; and park models under the Cedar Cove, Cutlass, Cutlass Elite, Deerfield, Forest Brook, Shore Park Homes, and Vacation Villa brands, which consists of sleeping, kitchen, dining, and bath areas. The company markets its manufactured and modular housing to subur ban and rural areas of the continental United States and Canada. Skyline Corporation markets its recreational vehicles to vacationing families, traveling retired couples, and sports enthusiasts pursuing four-season hobbies. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in Elkhart, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon] rch 12, Third Avenue Management sold 55.7% of its stake in Skyline Corp. for a total value of $3,394,689. It now has 361,805 shares, or 4.31% of the company.

  Third Avenue incurred a loss on Skyline. The firm has had the stock since before the second quarter of 2009 after it had been sliding for several years. That quarter, Third Avenue bought it for roughly $20 per share. Since 2009 its stock price has declined 60% and the firm has been mostly selling its shares since then. The stock closed at $7.98 per share on Friday.

  Third Avenue Management was founded by legendary value investor Martin Whitman and manages mutual funds, separate accounts and hedge funds. Third Avenue managers believe that the current balance sheet rather than projected future figures are the best measure of a company�� value. Companies they invest in are also usually cheap and safe.

  Skyline makes manufactured housing and recreational vehicles. Its revenue per share has been declining at a rate of 13.2% over the last 10 years, and 23.2% in the last 5 years. The company has been operating at a loss since 2008, and EBITDA and free cash flow has been negative since 2007.

  NWQ Managers and PrivateBancorp (PVTB) Bob Evans Farms (BOBE)

  On February 29, NWQ reduced its stake in PrivateBancorp (PVTB) by 28.48%. At $14.50 per share, the total value of the sale was $18.8 million. It now owns 3,253,454 shares or 4.49% of the company. NWQ initiated its holding in PrivateBancorp in the fourth quarter of 2009 with 4,334,692 shares at an average price of $12.15. It sold shares as the price rose during 2010, and added 2,008,454 shares in the third quarter of 2011 when its price dropped to an average of $10 per share. On Friday, the stock is trading near $15 per share.

  PrivateBancorp is a small, regional bank based in Chicago. After its stock fell to a 52-week low of $6.44 in late 2011, its 2011 fourth-quarter and full-year results helped push it up 38% to $15 in 2012. Afte

Hot Heal Care Companies To Watch For 2014: Gaming Partners International Corporation(GPIC)

Gaming Partners International Corporation engages in the manufacture and supply of casino table game equipment worldwide. The company offers gaming chips, such as american-style casino chips comprising injection molded chips, thermo-compression molded chips, and sublimation chips; and European-style casino chips, including jetons and plaques. It also provides playing cards; table layouts; gaming furniture consisting of tables, bases, and pit podiums; and table game accessories, such as roulette reader boards, foot rails, chip trays, drop boxes, shoes, cut cards, dice sticks, lammers, markers, buttons, and air rail system ventilation devices, as well as dice. In addition, the company offers low and high frequency RFID readers and antennas, and other products used with casino table games, such as blackjack, poker, baccarat, craps, and roulette. Further, it provides themed products for customers to promote special events, including sporting events, conventions, holidays, casi no anniversaries, and premier entertainment events. The company sells its products directly to end-users, as well as through distributors under the Paulson, Bourgogne et Grasset, and Bud Jones brand names. Gaming Partners International Corporation was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Hot Heal Care Companies To Watch For 2014: Community Partners Bancorp(CPBC)

Community Partners Bancorp operates as the holding company for Two River Community Bank, a state-chartered commercial bank that provides a range of commercial and retail banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, not-for-profit organizations, professionals, and individuals principally in Monmouth and Union counties, New Jersey. The company offers a range of deposit products, including non-interest bearing or lower cost interest bearing checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit accounts. It also provides various loan products consisting of construction loans for residential dwellings, apartment buildings, restaurants, shopping centers, and owner-occupied business properties; commercial business loans; commercial real estate loans for the acquisition of new property or the refinancing of existing property; residential real estate and consumer loans, including residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, equity loans, personal loans, automobile loans, and overdraft protection; participation loans; and small business administration loans. In addition, the company offers safe deposit boxes, night depositories, wire transfers, money orders, travelers? checks, automated teller machines, direct deposits, telephone and Internet banking services, and corporate business services. It operates 15 banking offices in Middletown, Allaire, Atlantic Highlands, Cliffwood, Manasquan, Navesink, Port Monmouth, Red Bank, Tinton Falls, West Long Branch, Westfield, Cranford, and Fanwood, New Jersey. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Middletown, New Jersey.

Hot Heal Care Companies To Watch For 2014: SVB Financial Group(SIVB)

SVB Financial Group, a diversified financial services company, provides various banking and financial products and services. The company offers deposit products, such as traditional deposit and checking accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and sweep accounts, as well as lockbox and merchant services; and lending products and services, including traditional term loans, equipment loans, asset-based loans, revolving lines of credit, accounts-receivable-based lines of credits, capital call lines of credits, and credit cards. It also provides cash management products and services comprising wire transfer and automated clearing house payment services, collection services, disbursement services, electronic funds transfers, and online banking services. In addition, the company offers foreign exchange services; letters of credit, including export, import, and standby letters of credit; investment services and solutions; brokerage; asset management; investment a dvisory services, such as outsourced treasury services; and non-banking products and services, such as funds management, venture capital/private equity investment, and equity valuation services. Further, it provides private banking services comprising mortgages, home equity lines of credit, restricted stock purchase loans, and other secured and unsecured lending services. As of March 09, 2012, the company operated 26 offices in the United States and 7 offices internationally. It serves customers in the technology, venture capital/private equity, life science, wine, and clean tech industries. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Maxfield]

  Given that you clicked on this article, it seems safe to assume you either own stock in SVB Financial (NASDAQ: SIVB  ) or are considering buying shares in the near future. If so, then you've come to the right place. The table below reveals the nine most critical numbers that investors need to know about SVB Financial stock before deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold it.

Hot Heal Care Companies To Watch For 2014: Gafisa SA (GFA)

Gafisa S.A. (Gafisa), incorporated on November 12, 1996, is a diversified national homebuilder serving all demographic segments of the Brazilian market. The Company�� brands include Tenda, which serves the affordable entry-level housing segments, Gafisa, which offers a variety of residential options to the mid to higher income segments and Alphaville, which focuses on the identification, development and sale of residential communities. In addition, it provides construction services to third parties. Gafisa�� core business is the development of residential units in attractive locations. During the year ended December 31, 2009, approximately 55% of the value of its launches was derived from high and mid high-level residential developments under the Gafisa brand. It is also engaged in the development of land subdivisions, also known as residential communities, representing approximately 18% of the value of its launches under the Alphaville brand, and affordable entry-level housing, which represents approximately 27% of the value of its launches under the Tenda brand. In addition, it provides construction services to third parties. Gafisa operates in more than 120 cities, including Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Fortaleza, Natal, Curitiba, Belo Horizonte, Manaus, Porto Alegre and Belem, across 21 states and the Federal District.

Real Estate Activities

The Company�� real estate business includes developments for sale of residential units; land subdivisions (also known as residential communities); commercial buildings; construction services to third parties, and sale of units through its brokerage subsidiaries, Gafisa Vendas and Gafisa Vendas Rio, jointly referred to as Gafisa Vendas. In the residential buildings product category, Gafisa develops three main types of products: luxury buildings targeted at upper-income customers, buildings targeted at middle-income customers; and affordable entry-level housing targeted at lower-income customers. Quality residential buildi! ngs for middle- and upper-income customers are its core products. Luxury buildings units usually have over 180 square meters of private area, at least four bedrooms and three parking spaces. The development includes swimming pools, gyms, visitor parking, and other amenities.

Buildings targeted at middle-income customers have accounted for the majority of its sales. Units usually have between 90 and 180 square meters of private area, three or four bedrooms and two to three underground parking spaces. Buildings are usually developed in large tracts of land as part of multi-building developments and, to a lesser extent, in smaller lots in attractive neighborhoods. Affordable entry-level housing consists of building and house units. Units usually have between 42 to 60 square meters of indoor private area and two to three bedrooms.

Commercial Buildings

During 2009, the Company launched four commercial buildings. These buildings include Centro Empresarial Madureira, Paulista Corporate, Reserva Eco Office Life and Global Offices.

Construction Service

Gafisa provide construction services to third parties, building residential and commercial projects for developers in Brazil. The Company�� principal construction services clients are large companies, many of them developers that do not build their own projects. As of December 31, 2009, its principal construction services clients were Fibra Empreendimentos Imobiliarios S.A., Sisan-Grupo Silvio Santos, Camargo Correa Desenvolvimento Imobiliario S.A., Helbor Empreendimentos Imobiliarios Ltda., InCons S.A., SDI Desenvolvimento Imobiliario Ltda. and Abyara. It also provides construction services on certain developments where it retains an equity interest.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Brazilian construction firm Gafisa (NYSE: GFA  ) is not only selling houses these days. The company has signed an agreement to sell a 70% stake in residential community developer Alphaville Urbanismo to funds managed by Blackstone (NYSE: BX  ) and the American company's Brazilian partner firm Patria Investimentos.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Gafisa (GFA) is a homebuilder in Brazil. This stock closed up 5% to $3.13 in Tuesday's trading session.

  Tuesday's Range: $2.97-$3.15
  
  52-Week Range: $2.22-$5.24
  
  Tuesday's Volume: 1.70 million
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 1.77 million

  From a technical perspective, GFA ripped higher here right above some near-term support at $2.80 with decent upside volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last month, with shares moving higher from its low of $2.27 to its intraday high of $3.15. During that move, shares of GFA have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of GFA within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if GFA manages to take out Tuesday's high of $3.15 to some past resistance at $3.30 with high volume.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in GFA as long as it's trending above support at $2.80 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 1.77 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then GFA will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at its 200-day moving average of $3.68 to more resistance at $4.20 to $4.70.

Hot Heal Care Companies To Watch For 2014: Vmware Inc.(VMW)

VMware, Inc. provides virtualization and virtualization-based cloud infrastructure solutions in the United States and internationally. The company?s products address planned and unplanned downtime management, system recoverability and reliability, backup and recovery, resource provisioning and management, capacity and performance management, and security issues. Its cloud infrastructure products and technologies include VMware vSphere, which is a data center platform that also enables live migration of actively running virtual machines across servers or storage locations without disruption or downtime; enables availability for all applications against hardware and operating system failures; and enables centralized point of control for cluster-level networking, as well as automatically manages the placement and balancing of a virtual machine across storage resources. The company also offers cloud application platform solutions that help organizations build, run, and manage enterprise applications in public, private, or hybrid clouds optimized for vSphere. In addition, it provides end-user computing solutions, which provide secure access to applications and data from various devices and location, as well as serves the corporate IT departments through managing and connecting end-user assets delivering them as a managed service. The company?s end-user computing solutions also provide the ability to manage software as a service, Windows, Mobile, or enterprise applications, as well as enhance communication and collaboration between end users. Further, it provides a range of professional services, such as consulting, education, and technical account manager services, as well as customer support services. The company sells its products through distributors, resellers, system vendors, and systems integrators. VMware, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. VMware, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of EMC Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lee Jackson]

  EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) is not a software company. Yet the majority ownership position its has in VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) makes it is a dual threat. Owning the stock gives investors a top storage name in enterprise hardware, as well as the cloud computing software from its majority stake. The consensus price target for this top tech name is $31. Investors also receive a 1.5% dividend.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  VMware (NYSE: VMW  )
  Cloud-computing giant VMware is an example of how corporate structures can give individual-stock investors opportunities that index funds lack. As a roughly 80%-owned subsidiary of EMC, VMware lacks a substantial float, which makes it unlikely that the stock will ever get into the S&P as long as EMC retains its stake.

• [By Sue Chang]

  VMware Inc. (VMW) is expected to report earnings of 82 cents a share in the third quarter.

5 Hated Earnings Stocks You Should Love

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Short-sellers hate being caught short a stock that reports a blowout quarter. When this happens, we often see a tradable short squeeze develop as the bears rush to cover their positions to avoid big losses. Even the best short-sellers know that it's never a great idea to stay short once a bullish earnings report sparks a big short-covering rally.

>>5 Rocket Stocks to Buy for September Gains

This is why I scan the market for heavily shorted stocks that are about to report earnings. You only need to find a few of these stocks in a year to help enhance your portfolio returns -- the gains become so outsized in such a short time frame that your profits add up quickly.

That said, let's not forget that stocks are heavily shorted for a reason, so you have to use trading discipline and sound money management when playing earnings short-squeeze candidates. It's important that you don't go betting the farm on these plays and that you manage your risk accordingly. Sometimes the best play is to wait for the stock to break out following the report before you jump in to profit off a short squeeze. This way, you're letting the trend emerge after the market has digested all of the news.

>>5 Stocks Ready to Break Out

Of course, sometimes the stock is going to be in such high demand that you risk missing a lot of the move by waiting. That's why it can be worth betting prior to the report -- but only if the stock is acting technically very bullish and you have a very strong conviction that it is going to rip higher. Just remember that even when you have that conviction and have done your due diligence, the stock can still get hammered if The Street doesn't like the numbers or guidance.

If you do decide to bet ahead of a quarter, then you might want to use options to limit your capital exposure. Heavily shorted stocks are usually the names that make the biggest post-earnings moves and have the most volatility. I personally prefer to wait until all the earnings-related news is out for a heavily shorted stock and then jump in and trade the prevailing trend.

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With that in mind, here's a look at several stocks that could experience big short squeezes when they report earnings this week.

Ascena Retail Group

My first earnings short-squeeze trade idea is Ascena Retail Group (ASNA), a specialty retailer of apparel for women and tween girls, which is set to release numbers on Tuesday after the market close. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect Ascena Retail Group to report revenue of $1.17 billion on earnings of 21 cents per share.

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

The current short interest as a percentage of the float Ascena Retail Group is notable at 5.4%. That means that out of the 126.24 million shares in the tradable float, 6.87 million shares are sold short by the bears. The bears have also been increasing their bets from the last reporting period by 5.4%, or by 349,000 shares. If the bears are caught pressing their bets into a bullish quarter, then shares of ASNA could soar sharply higher post-earnings as the shorts rush to cover some of their bets.

From a technical perspective, ASNA is currently trending below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bearish. This stock has been uptrending modestly for the last month, with shares moving higher from its low of $16.15 to its intraday high of $17.48 a share. During that uptrend, shares of ASNA have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of ASNA within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade post earnings.

If you're bullish on ASNA, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above its 50-day moving average at $17.51 a share to its 200-day moving average at $18.02 a share with high volume. Look for volume on that move that hits near or above its three-month average action of 1.17 million shares. If that breakout hits, then ASNA will set up to re-test or possibly take out is next major overhead resistance levels at $19.33 to $20.50 a share. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give ASNA a chance to tag $22 to $23 a share.

I would simply avoid ASNA or look for short-biased trades if after earnings it fails to trigger that breakout and then drops back below some key near-term support levels at $16.40 to its 52-week low at $15.95 a share with high volume. If we get that move, then ASNA will set up to enter new 52-week-low territory, which is bearish technical price action. Some possible downside targets off that move are $14 to $13 a share.

Synnex

Another potential earnings short-squeeze play is technology services provider Synnex (SNX), which is set to release its numbers on Wednesday after the market close. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect Synnex to report revenue of $2.72 billion on earnings of 95 cents per share.

>>4 Tech Stocks Triggering Breakout Trades

The current short interest as a percentage of the float for Synnex stands at 4.3%. That means that out of the 26.20 million shares in the tradable float, 1.14 million shares are sold short by the bears. This is a decent short interest on a stock with a relatively low tradable float. Any bullish earnings news could easily spark a large short-squeeze for SNX post-earnings.

From a technical perspective, SNX 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 month, with shares moving higher from its low of $46.87 to its intraday high of $64.50 a share. During that move, shares of SNX have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action.

If you're in the bull camp on SNX, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above its 52-week high at $64.50 a share with high volume. Look for volume on that move that hits near or above its three-month average action of 232,502 shares. If that breakout triggers, then SNX will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $70 to $75 a share.

I would simply avoid SNX or look for short-biased trades if after earnings it fails to trigger that breakout and then drops back below some key near-term support at $60 a share with high volume. If we get that move, then SNX will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major support levels at $52 a share to its 50-day moving average at $51.12 a share.

Carnival

One potential earnings short-squeeze candidate is cruise line operator Carnival (CCL), which is set to release numbers on Tuesday before the market open. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect Carnival to report revenue of $4.65 billion on earnings of $1.30 per share.

>>5 Stocks Insiders Love Right Now

The current short interest as a percentage of the float for Carnival stands at 4.3%. That means that out of the 563.25 million shares in the tradable float, 17.72 million shares are sold short by the bears. The bears have also been increasing their bets from the last reporting period by 13.4%, or by 2.09 million shares. If the bears are caught pressing their bets into a strong quarter, then shares of CCL could jump sharply higher post-earnings.

From a technical perspective, CCL is currently trending above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock has been uptrending sideways for the last two months, with shares moving between $35.11 on the downside and $37.96 on the upside. A high-volume move above the upper-end of its recent range could trigger a big breakout trade for shares of CCL post-earnings.

If you're bullish on CCL, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $37.96 a share to its 52-week high at $39.95 a share with high volume. Look for volume on that move that hits near or above its three-month average action of 3.46 million shares. If that breakout triggers, then CCL will set up enter new 52-week high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $45 to $48 a share.

I would avoid CCL or look for short-biased trades if after earnings it fails to trigger that move and then drops back below its 50-day moving average of $36.67 a share with high volume. If we get that move, then CCL will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major support levels at its 200-day moving average of $35.38 a share to more support at $35.11 a share. Any high-volume move below those levels will then give CCL a chance to tag $33 to $32 a share.

CarMax

Another earnings short-squeeze prospect is used cars retailer CarMax (KMX), which is set to release numbers on Tuesday before the market open. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect CarMax to report revenue of $3.16 billion on earnings of 57 cents per share.

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Just recently, Oppenheimer increased its price target on CarMax to $61 from $52 as the firm thinks the company's used car comps are strengthening as macro pressures and supply constraints ease and internal initiatives take hold. The firm expects the company's sales recovery to continue for some time.

The current short interest as a percentage of the float for CarMax sits at 2.6%. That means that out of the 222.25 million shares in the tradable float, 5.88 million shares are sold short by the bears. If the bulls get the earnings news they're looking for, then shares of KMX could spike notably higher post-earnings

From a technical perspective, KMX 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 $40.34 to its recent high of $52.27 a share. During that uptrend, shares of KMX have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of KMX within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade.

If you're bullish on KMX, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $52 to its 52-week high at $52.27 a share with high volume. Look for volume on that move that hits near or above its three-month average action of 1.13 million shares. If that breakout triggers, then KMX will set up to enter new 52-week high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $60 to $65 a share.

I would simply avoid KMX or look for short-biased trades if after earnings it fails to trigger that breakout and then drops back below its 50-day at $49.07 a share with high volume. If we get that move, then KMX will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major support levels at $47 to $45 a share. Any high-volume move below those levels will then give KMX a chance to tag its 200-day moving average at $43.86 a share.

Red Hat

My final earnings short-squeeze play is global provider of open source software solutions Red Hat (RHT), which is set to release numbers on Monday after the market close. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect Red Hat to report revenue of $372.07 million on earnings of 33 cents per share.

The current short interest as a percentage of the float for Red Hat sits at 2.4%. That means that out of the 188.21 million shares in the tradable float, 4.58 million shares are sold short by the bears. Any bullish earnings news could easily spark a decent short-covering rally for shares of RHT post-earnings.

From a technical perspective, RHT 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 four months, with shares moving higher from its low of $44.95 to its recent high of $54.38 a share. During that move, shares of RHT have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of RHT within range of triggering a big breakout trade post-earnings.

If you're in the bull camp on RHT, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $54.38 to $55.59 a share with high volume. Look for volume on that move that hits near or above its three-month average volume of 1.24 million shares. If that breakout triggers, then RHT will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major resistance levels $57 to $60 a share. Any high-volume move above those levels will then put $63 to $65 into range for shares of RHT.

I would avoid RHT or look for short-biased trades if after earnings it fails to trigger that breakout and then drops back below both its 50-day moving average at $51.54 and its 200-day moving average at $50.98 a share with high volume. If we get that move, then RHT will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major support levels at $50 to $48 a share. Any high-volume move below those levels will then put $47 to $45 into range for shares of RHT.

To see more potential earnings short squeeze plays, check out the Earnings Short-Squeeze Plays portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

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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.

#DigitalSkeptic: Crowdfunding Doesn't Work Like You Think, and Not Much Is New

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Griffin Reinhard recognizes that if investors rely on the crowd when it comes to crowdfunding, they're probably going to wind up all by their lonesome.

"It's not like people with money get up and go to Kickstarter or Indiegogo at 8 o'clock in the morning and decide, 'Oh, I'm going to give money to this idea,'" Reinhard said to me on the phone. The man is as close to a crowdfunding pro as I could dig up: He's director of digital media at The Crowdfund Mafia, a thriving San Diego-based crowdfunding marketing company.

"What really happens is backers hear about a campaign through their network," he said. "So you have to be out there promoting your service, or even the best idea has little chance."

Just guess what turns out to be The Crowdfund's Mafia's secret high-tech weapon when it comes to getting the next, hip socially funded product "made"? You got it: old-school dialing and smiling. "We started in the business of helping new products with their videos, copy and project pitches for their campaigns," he said. But that turned out, he said, to not be the biggest bang for the buck. Instead, getting the message out to potential backers was the real challenge. "So now we offer direct, human outreach to journalists, bloggers and other influencers," he said. Also see: #DigitalSkeptic: The Targeted Web Ad Is a Lie>> Reinhard's firm, which has doubled in size in the past year to a staff of six, charges $2,500 for three weeks of press support before a product launch. And so far, so good. They've helped drive the buzz to such slick offerings as the TILT Stealth MacBook cooling pad, ChargerGenie charging tote bag and the iDoorCam Wi-Fi connected doorbell. "We do offer deals where we turn over the press releases and contacts lists to startups for about half that cost, so they can use their own manpower," he said. "But if you have like three Twitter followers and you wait until your campaign begins to get the word out, it's too late." New age fundraising grows up What's fascinating about digging into the crowded realities of modern crowdfunding with Reinhard is how quickly raising money in this new age is becoming like raising money in the old age.

"There are four basic components now to a well-managed crowdfunding campaign," Reinhard explained.

First, a product must be well-developed, with a defined benefit and a clear brand. Long gone are the days where Kickstarter is a cuddly place to work out an idea. Next, a product has to serve a large affinity group with a powerful social footprint. Then companies are ready for a well-structured pitch, including a top-flight video and a strong public relations push. And finally, a product has to have the organizational muscle to execute on the promise of its campaign.

If you're not ready to do what you say you are going to do at the moment you'll say you'll do it, it can get rough, he explained. "The crowd is not afraid to go negative."

When I asked the obvious question -- Doesn't all this sophistication raise the cost, and barrier to entry, to social fundraising? -- Reinhard was thoughtful. Also see: The Digital Skeptic: It Turns Out Hardware as a Business Is Hard>> "Does it mean that somebody with a $2,000 project will struggle to manage all these pieces?" he asked. "I suppose it probably does." Reinhard estimates that $10,000 is the rough dollar amount needed to comfortably cover the cost of video promotion, PR and other support tools for a reasonable social fundraising marketing effort. And it is not hard to see the edge bigger socially funded projects now seek to exploit. In August, open source mobile software provider Ubuntu pushed the outer limits of crowd capital formation when it attempted to raise a cool $32 million (that's no typo, Thirty Two MILLION) on an Indiegogo campaign for its Edge smartphone. Though the Edge missed it fundraising goal, it did raise north $12 million in pledges. And its marketing campaign, which included positive buzz from first-tier media outlets including Fast Company, Engadget, Forbes and most everybody else, was as sophisticated as any I've seen. Crowdfunding gets tricky The changing crowdfunding reality would be just another Digital Age silliness, save for one fact. Regulators will soon dump such crowd-financed intricacies into an private investor's laps. Baked into the new JOBS Act is clear provisions that allow for direct equity investment in private companies, many of which raise money on social funding platforms. "We are all waiting for the JOBS act to get passed," Reinhard said. "That is why we got into this business. When that comes, it is going to change everything." Unless investors are careful about pulling the social fundraising stars out from the crowdfunding rabble, that change may not be for the better.

This commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet guest contributor program. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of TheStreet or its management.

Honeywell International Inc. (HON): Why China Matters To Honeywell?

Honeywell International Inc.'s (NYSE: HON) future China growth should outperform, even China's overall pace of economic expansion were to slow further.

China's slower pace of economic expansion (over the past 1-2 years) may ultimately not revert toward a re-acceleration the way many aspire. However, the growth across dozens of tier 2, 3 and 4 cities (1 million persons plus) should provide significantly faster growth opportunities than the overall market as these centers industrialize while economic expansion broadens throughout the country.

Pollution presents a serious problem in several cities such as Beijing. Government appears serious toward halting the problem, although this could take a long time

[Related -Honeywell International Inc. (HON): Sales, Margins To Get A "Turbo" Boost]

"Significant business opportunities could ensue, such as more rapid growth of Honeywell's Life Safety respirator masks and building air and water filtration solutions – Honeywell filtration solution content in an "average" sized commercial building in China is roughly $5mm," Deutsche Bank analyst John Inch wrote in a note to clients.

U.S. MNCs have substantially ramped Chinese R&D by over 20x over the past 15 years, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. Chinese companies have been increasingly aligning with U.S. multi-national corporations.

Honeywell's future China (non-Aerospace, principally ACS/Turbo) growth will be derived from tier 2+ cities. The company is anticipating adding roughly 85 percent of new headcount in these cities over the next 5 years that will account for about 60 percent of the company's workforce in China.

[Related -Will The Dividend And Buyback Frenzy Continue?]

Meanwhile, aerospace growth in China in the near term is expected to be slow – particularly aftermarket – as central government cutbacks specifically reduce business-class air travel demand, resulting in spare de-stocking among Chinese airlines.

"Se! gment growth is expected to be flat this year, down from 13-15% growth last year. Spare/R&O revenues represent the high majority of Honeywell Chinese Aerospace profit. Overall, high Chinese aerospace infrastructure expansion appears to remain on track," Inch noted.

Honeywell technology (eg, Ground Based Augmentation System or GBAS) continues to distinguish the company in terms of electronics aerospace-industry product development. This quarter, HON faces tough China Aerospace comparisons because of pre-buying a year ago.

The company anticipates the proliferation of Maintenance Service Agreements (MSAs) to drive future regional segment expansion. Long term segment growth to be driven by Chinese flight hour expansion – prospectively high single digits.

"Turbocharger growth in China appears on track for sustainable double-digit growth in future years – Honeywell is the leading global turbocharger player in China along with BorgWarner. Chinese regulation to drive 40% higher fuel economy requirements to approximately 5 liters/100KM by 2020," Inch said.

Honeywell expects industry sales to at least double to 10 million units by 2018 and the company is expected to outgrow the market and is currently in the process of increasing Chinese volume capacity by 2.5x. Honeywell is launching on 13 new vehicle platforms over the next 18 months.

Meanwhile, Honeywell's Process Solutions (HPS) launch of mid-range "PlantCruise" product about15 months ago, having taken only 9 months to develop, and reportedly meeting high success – accounting for 1/3rd of 150 in-country projects currently underway. Total China process market (for Honeywell served market) approaching $3 billion.

Honeywell shares leading position with competitors Emerson and Yokogawa, among other industry players. HPS sales mix roughly 80 percent installation and 20 percent service (service growing at 2x installation growth).

"In our view, Honeywell has developed substantially greater (localized) critical mass! over the! past few years, both within the key China market and across high growth regions globally," Inch added.

With its leading positions across all segments, the company could benefit from up to a point of annual margin improvement from internal initiatives before the contribution benefit of future volume increases.

AMR Corp. and US Airways: “The Merger That Never Should Have Been Blocked”

What a wild ride it’s been for AMR Corp. (AAMRQ) shareholders. The parent of American Airlines lost 45% on the day when the DoJ said it would try to block its merger with US Airways (LCC). Then it started rising as support for the deal grew and analysts predicted as much as a 75% chance that the AMR Corp. and US Airways merger would go through.

Associated Press

Call it 99%. Today the DoJ announced that it would approve the merger, although the combined airline would have to give up some gates at certain airports to promote competition.

Cowen’s Helane Becker and Conor Cunningham call it “the merger than never should been blocked.” They write:

Despite the divestitures, the companies maintained their synergy target of $1 Bn annually by 2015. We believe the company will achieve 25% to 35% of their target in 2014. We have always been skeptical of airline synergy targets but believe the company has significant earnings potential when a single operating certificate is achieved…

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We view the settlement as positive for both the group and more importantly US Airways. The $1.0 billion synergy target is unchanged from prior guidance, despite slot divestitures at Washington National Airport and New York LaGuardia Airport, as well as gates at Boston Logan, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas Love Field, Los Angeles International and Miami
International. We would be a buyer of US Airways on any weakness as momentum traders will probably look to sell despite having a positive outlook on profitability going forward.

S&P Capital IQ’s Jim Corridore reiterated his Strong Buy on US Airways:

The Department of Justice has issued a press release outlining terms of an agreed upon settlement that will allow the merger to go through. LCC will give up 104 slots at Reagan not reserved for smaller planes, 34 slots at LaGuardia, and gates and facilities at various other airports throughout the U.S. We think the divestitures are somewhat more severe than we expected, but do not think they will significantly alter the economics of the merger. The true value of the merger lies in the international route network of American coupled with LCC’s low cost culture and management.

Shares of AMR Corp. have surged 17% to $11.15, while US Airways has dropped 1.4% to $22.95.

Eli Lilly’s Lackluster Pipeline + Premium Valuation = Goldman Sachs Downgrade

Shares of Eli Lilly (LLY) have dropped this morning after Goldman Sachs downgraded the drug makers stock to Sell from Neutral, as they appear overvalued relative to competitors AbbVie (ABBV),  Merck (MRK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and  Pfizer (PFE).

Reuters

Goldman’s Jami Rubin and team explain why they cut Eli Lilly:

Relative to our attractive view on Pharma, we see risk to the downside for LLY. LLY's
most important pipeline assets (diabetes and oncology) are undifferentiated or me-too (e.g. empagliflozin, insulin glargine), in our opinion. In particular, LLY's broad diabetes portfolio is likely to face further pricing pressure as payors demand discounts in exchange for formulary placement. While this is a common practice with most therapeutic drug categories, diabetes stands out as being more vulnerable to pricing pressure because new drugs in this class (DPP4s, GLP-1s, SGLT2s, etc.) are largely undifferentiated.

Even with an aggressive cost cutting program, we don't think LLY has gone far enough to address its upcoming challenges from patent expirations. Uncertainty around top-line visibility post 2014 exists as much today as it did a couple years ago when management came out with 2014 guidance. Yet, LLY trades at a premium valuation for a pipeline which we view as underwhelming, and prospects for major optionality from a potential break-up (highly unlikely) or another Alzheimer's – like opportunity in the next few years, seems limited.

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Lilly trades at 16x 2015 earnings, Rubin notes, well above AbbVie’s 14x, Merck’s 12x and Johnson & Johnson’s 15x, all of which are rated Neutral. Pfizer, meanwhile, trades at 13x 2015 earnings and has more realistic potential for a break up.

Shares of Eli Lilly Lilly have dropped 1.3% to $49.95 today at 1:07 p.m., while AbbVie has gained 1% to $48.53, Merck has risen 0.4% to $46.97, Johnson & Johnson has ticked up 0.1% to $94.17 and Pfizer has dropped 0.4% to $31.21.

Make Your Retirement Money Last

Top 5 Financial Stocks To Watch For 2014

Jane Bennett Clark, of Kiplinger's Personal Finance, offers several strategies designed to help your investments provide the income you need throughout your retirement years.

Steve Halpern: We're here today with Jane Bennett Clark of Kiplinger's Personal Finance. Thanks for joining us today, Jane.

Jane Bennett Clark: Thanks for having me.

Steve Halpern: You wrote the cover story for the new issue of Kiplinger's; it just hit the newsstands. Your article's called "Making Your Money Last." I can't think of anything more important to those who are nearing retirement.

Jane Bennett Clark: That is absolutely true. Considering today's life expectancy, you could easily live another 25 to 30 years after you retire, so it's up to you to save as much as you can, and to figure out how to make your savings last over several decades.

Steve Halpern: Well, while many investors who are beginning to focus on retirement are thinking about fixed income investing, you say that the number one role, to make your money last through retirement, is to not dump stocks. Could you expand on that?

Jane Bennett Clark: Absolutely. You know, with longer life expectancies, again, you'll need to generate some growth in order to keep up with, and beat, inflation over many years; otherwise you'll actually lose buying power as you age.

The general guideline is to keep about 60% in stocks and 40% in fixed income investments at the beginning of your retirement.

Then, if you're on the conservative side, you might go with, maybe, 30% in stocks and 70% in fixed income, or if you're more aggressive, you might reverse the mix to 70/30. You don't want to get out of stocks altogether.

Steve Halpern: And how do those investing guidelines change as one gets older and moves further down the road into their retirement years?

Jane Bennett Clark: Sure, you know, you want to gradually adjust the mix, so that it becomes more conservative as you get further into retirement and have less time to recover from a market downturn.

From that 60/40 you might move to maybe 70 or 80% in cash and fixed investments as you age, and 30 or 20% in stocks. Again, very few people get out of stocks altogether. That would be a really conservative strategy.

Steve Halpern: Now, one investment vehicle that you highlight in your article is called Target Date funds. Could you explain what those are and how they should play a role in one's retirement plan?

Jane Bennett Clark: Right. Well, you know, rather than adjust the mix yourself as you head into and through retirement, you can invest in a Target Date fund, which will adjust the mix for you. What it does is, it gradually moves your investments from stocks to bonds and short-term funds as you move through retirement.

One thing you have to be aware of is that Target Date funds have different asset mixes and different timetables for adjusting your investment. You should make sure that you know and understand what you're getting when you choose a Target Date fund.

Steve Halpern: Now, are Target Date Funds a difficult investment, or is that something that somebody could get through any of the major mutual fund companies?

Jane Bennett Clark: Oh, sure, yeah. You can pick them up in any of the major companies, and they are a very common investment.

Steve Halpern: What other strategy should investors consider to make their income last?

Jane Bennett Clark: Well, one sort of classic strategy is to live off the interest and dividends that are generated by your investments and preserve the principal, but with fixed interest rates, you would really need a lot of money to be able to generate enough income to be able to live comfortably.

Another strategy, which is also somewhat time-honored, is to take 4% of your total portfolio in the first year of retirement and increase the amount each year by the rate of inflation.

If the stock market tanks in a particular year, you could take a little less than 4%, or if your investments are doing really well, you could take more. The point is to adjust your withdrawals as circumstances dictate.

Another strategy is to calculate your withdrawals based on the actuarial tables the IRS uses for required minimum distributions, which is something you would have to do anyway from your tax-deferred accounts when you're 70 and a half.

Another strategy is to invest enough money in liquid conservative investments to cover several years' worth of basic costs, and then you can leave the rest invested more aggressively to generate growth. There are a number of ways to do this, but the point is, save as much as you can and then be strategic about how you use that money in retirement.

Steve Halpern: Well, thank you for joining us today. We appreciate your insights.

Jane Bennett Clark: Thanks for having me.

Subscribe to Kiplinger's Personal Finance here...

You Won't Like Next Month's Jobs Report

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Beware of November's jobs report.

While economists, investment analysts and traders cheered the surprising 204,000 jobs added in October, many of them cautioned that the government shutdown could have a lagging effect on the labor market.

"It sort of proves the case, given the revisions, that we had strength heading into the shutdown," Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab, said in a phone interview. "It may be a little too soon to say there was no effect from the shutdown, because we'll have to see what happens next month."

Economists were expecting nonfarm payrolls to rise just 120,000 in October and for the unemployment rate to gain to 7.3%. The rate rose to that level as expected, but the topline jobs number beat forecasts as economists may have overestimated the immediate effects of the 16-day shutdown. A deeper dive into the numbers revealed some weak spots in the report. The U-6 measure -- total unemployed, plus people marginally attached to the workforce, long-term unemployed and part time -- ticked higher to 13.8%, from 13.6%. The labor force participation rate declined to 62.8% from 63.2% -- a drop that actually may have prevented the unemployment rate from rising half a percentage point, said Darrell Cronk, regional chief investment officer. Republicans and conservatives have been among the most vocal critics of the steadily lowering participation rate, and have said it suggests that the protracted slow economic regrowth in the United States has left workers looking for work discouraged. While the GOP has used the indicator as a political tool, economists of varying disciplines generally agree the decline has been alarming. Still, the labor force participation rate can't be cited as the main culprit. BlackRock Chief Investment Strategist Russ Koesterich said the participation rate has been falling for 13 years, and while the current economic circumstances are contributing to it, there are changes in how long people go to school, and an ageing population. It's not just what happens month to month, there are longer-term structural forces at work, Koesterich said.

As for Friday's jobs data, managers on the ground said they weren't surprised by the big data beat and warn that a pullback could come in November's headline number, set to be released next month.

Mike Starich, president of Orion International, which is the largest military recruiting firm in the United States, said August and the first half of September were strong interview months, which were followed by hires in October -- in other words, there's a lag between the interview and the start date of employees. Starich said he saw activity sharply contract heading into October.

"All the folks that we had in the interview pipelines, everything started to change [ as October approached]," said Starich. "Everything just sort of iced over, and now it's releasing ever since the [debt ceiling] was resolved - the ice is breaking."

Employment gains in leisure and hospitality (53,000) and retail (44,000), outpaced professional and technical services (21,000) and manufacturing (19,000). "This is a 2% economy," said Steve Blitz, chief economist at ITG Investment Research, referring to the slow, steady rising trend in gross domestic product. "We're seeing numbers that give us growth in employment, but not growth in high quality employment in terms of higher wage jobs." This continues to be the case with employment reports month-to-month: We see growth in payrolls, a dip in participation and little change to the unemployment rate. It's a new normal for Americans, most of whom have never experienced half a decade straight of 7%-plus unemployment. But the labor and economic recovery won't be fully realized until next year, said Shang-Kin Wei, director of the Chazen Institute of Business at the Columbia University Business School. Weo said businesses are reasonably optimistic about the next 10 years, and that the slow growth of sub 3% GDP may be behind us in three years. In fact, Thursday's upward GDP revision to 2.8% may have hinted at a turn, though economists were worried by the weak consumer spending rate in the report. Fundamentally, the jobs reports are positive and show that the United States is moving in the correct direction since the financial crisis. Whatever the case may be, analysts seemed content with Friday's jobs report. But those celebrations came with a disclaimer that the government shutdown effects will enter the data by the next report. The positive print suggested the Federal Reserve could begin to taper sooner than expected, but the central bank will have the advantage of getting one more set of monthly labor data to determine if this was a one-hit wonder, or the beginning of a robust trend. -- Written by Joe Deaux in New York. >Contact by Email. Follow @JoeDeaux