Top Healthcare Equipment Companies To Own For 2014

After early losses stocks are swinging back to positive territory early this afternoon before crashing about an hour before the close. At 3:15 p.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) us down 0.15% and the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) is off 0.34% for the day. The big economic news of the day was a 4,000-person drop in jobless claims last week to 323,000. The four-week average, which smoothes out weekly volatility, is down to 336,750, the lowest it's been since November 2007. �

McDonald's� (NYSE: MCD  ) �is one of the big laggards, dropping 1.2% on continued pressure after weak same-store sales numbers. Global same-store sales dropped 0.6% on weakness in Asia. The drop in sales was short-term in nature because of the avian flu concerns in China so I would see the drop as an opportunity to buy. The stock has just a 16 forward P/E ratio and pays a 3% dividend so investors are getting a solid value right now.�

3M (NYSE: MMM  ) is trying its hardest to pull the Dow higher, gaining 1.8% today. There are no huge drivers of the stock, but investors are starting to realize the value in 3M stock and appreciate the small innovations the company is making. Shares trade at just 15 times forward estimates and pay a 2.4% dividend, which has grown for 53 straight years, so there's value there.

Top Consumer Service Companies To Own For 2015: Value Line Inc (VALU)

Value Line, Inc., incorporated on October 29, 1982, is engaged in producing investment periodicals and related publications and making available copyright data, including certain Ranking System and other information, to third parties under written agreements for use in third-party managed and marketed investment products. The Company operates in two segments: investment periodicals and related publications. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013 (fiscal 2013), the Company�� Wholly-owned operating subsidiaries include Value Line Publishing LLC, Vanderbilt Advertising Agency, Compupower Corporation (CPWR) and Value Line Distribution Center (VLDC). The Company markets under brands including Value Line, the Value Line Logo, The Value Line Investment Survey and The Most Trusted Name in Investment Research.

Investment Related Periodicals and Publications

The investment periodicals and related publications offered by Value Line Publishing LLC (VLP) covers a spectrum of investments, including stocks, mutual funds, options and convertible securities. The services generally fall into four categories include Comprehensive reference periodical publications; Targeted, niche periodical newsletters, and Current and historical financial databases. The services (The Value Line Investment Survey, The Value Line Investment Survey - Small and Mid-Cap, The Value Line 600, and The Value Line Fund Advisor Plus) provide both statistical and text coverage of a number of investment securities, with a focus placed on Value Line's research, analysis and statistical ranks. The Value Line Investment Survey is the Company's premier service, published each week and covering approximately 1,700 stocks.

The newsletters (The Value Line Special Situations Service, The Value Line Fund Advisor, The Value Line Convertibles Survey and The Value Line Options Survey) provide information on securities. The Company offers online versions of its products at the Company's Website, www.valueline.com. T! he Value Line Investment Survey is an investment periodical research product providing both timely articles on economic, financial and investment matters and analysis and ranks for equity securities. The Value Line Investment Survey is an investment periodical research product providing both timely articles on economic, financial and investment matters and analysis and ranks for equity securities. The Value Line Investment Survey - Small and Mid-Cap is an investment research product that provides short descriptions of and data for approximately 1,800 small and medium-capitalization stocks.

Value Line Investment Analyzer is a menu-driven software program with filtering, ranking, reporting and graphing capabilities utilizing over 350 data fields for range of industries and indices and for the approximately 1,700 stocks covered in VLP's publication, The Value Line Investment Survey. Value Line Investment Analyzer allows subscribers to apply more than 60 charting and graphing variables for comparative research. Value Line Mutual Fund Survey for Windows is a monthly CD-ROM or Internet product with weekly Internet updates. The program features powerful sorting and filtering analysis tools. It includes features, such as style attribution analysis, a portfolio stress tester, portfolio rebalancing, correlation of fund returns and hypothetical assets. For the Company's institutional customers, Value Line offers both current and historical data for equities, mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs), and convertibles.

Value Line's Fundamental DataFile I contains fundamental data (both current and historical) on approximately 6,400 publicly traded companies that follow United States generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Estimates and Projections DataFile offering contains the estimates from Value Line analysts on approximately 1,700 companies. Data includes earnings, sales, cash flow, book value, margin, and other popular fields. Projections are for the future one year, three ! year and ! five year periods. The Value Line Mutual Fund DataFile, covers more than 20,000 mutual funds with up to 20 years of historical data with more than 200 data fields. The Mutual Fund DataFile provides monthly pricing, basic fund information, weekly performance data, sector weights, and many other popular mutual fund data fields. The Value Line Research Center provides on-line access to select Company investment research products covering stocks, mutual funds, options and convertible securities, as well as special situation stocks.

Copyright Data Fees Programs

The Company has copyright data, which include certain ranking system information and other information used in third party products, such as unit investment trusts, variable annuities, managed accounts and exchange traded funds, which it distributes under copyright data agreements. The Company�� primary copyright data products have been structured as unit investment trusts, ETFs, annuity products and other types of managed products.

Investment Management Services

The Company through its wholly-owned subsidiary ESI, was the distributor for the Value Line Funds. State Street Bank is the custodian of the assets of the Value Line Funds and provides them with fund accounting and administrative services. Shareholder services for the Value Line Funds are provided by Boston Financial Data Services, an affiliate of State Street Bank.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  If a company has an at risk business, it can allocate capital to other areas. Many successful companies no longer engage in the business they started in. If American Express (AXP) stayed in its original business, it wouldn't be around today. The same is true of IBM, MMM, and BRK.B. Some companies choose to pay large dividends or buy back stock while the business is failing rather than allocating capital into a different industry. Let's look at Value Line (VALU). Over the last 10 years, Value Line has paid out about 85% of the company's current market cap. It's a dying business. It had a decision to make. It could allocate capital to new areas inside the corporation, it could pay dividends, or it could buyback stock. It chose to pay dividends.

Top Healthcare Equipment Companies To Own For 2014: Anglo American PLC (AAUKY.PK)

Anglo American plc (Anglo American), incorporated on May 14, 1998, is a mining company. The Company�� portfolio include Bulk commodities which consists of iron and manganese, metallurgical coal and thermal; base metals, which consists of copper, nickel and niobium; Precious metals and minerals, which include platinum and diamonds and Other Mining and Industrial. The Company operates in Africa, Brazil, Chile, North and South America, Australia, China, India, Japan, other Asia and Europe. In November 2013, Anglo American PLC announced the completion of its sale of the Amapa iron ore operation in Brazil (Amapa) to Zamin Ferrous Ltd. In January 2014, Anglo American completed the acquisition of Mineral Technology Exploration Production SA (MINTEP) and Societe Miniere d'Alumine SA.

Iron and Manganese

The Company�� Iron Ore portfolio consist a 69.7% holding in Kumba Iron Ore Limited (Kumba), a supplier of seaborne iron ore, and Iron Ore Brazil�� 100% interest in Anglo Ferrous Minas-Rio, a 49% shareholding in LLX Minas-Rio, which owns the port of Acu, and a 70% interest in the Amapa iron ore system. During the year ended December 31, 2012, Kumba operated three mines: Sishen Mine in the Northern Cape, which produced 33.7 million tons (MT) of iron ore, Thabazimbi Mine in Limpopo, with an output of 0.8 MT and Kolomela mine, also in the Northern Cape and produced 1.5 MT. During 2011, Kumba exported more than 85% of its total iron ore sales volumes of 44.4 million tons, with 69% of these exports destined for the People�� Republic of China and the remainder to Europe, Japan, South Korea and the Middle East. Its Minas-Rio iron ore project is located in the states of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro.

The Company�� Manganese interests consist of a 40% holding in Samancor Holdings, which owns Hotazel Manganese Mines and Metalloys, both in South Africa, and a 40% holding in each of the Australian-based operations Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO) and Tasmanian Electro ! Metallurgical Company (TEMCO), with BHP Billiton owning 60% and having management control. It is producer of seaborne manganese ore and is top three global producers of manganese alloy. Its operations produce a combination of ores, alloys and metal from sites in South Africa and Australia.

Metallurgical Coal

The Company�� coal operations in Australia are based on the east coast, from where Metallurgical Coal serves a range of customers throughout Asia and the Indian subcontinent, and Europe and South America. Its metallurgical coal operation in Canada, Peace River Coal, mainly serves customers in Europe, Japan and South America. Metallurgical Coal operated six mines, one wholly owned and five in which it has a controlling interest. Five of the mines are located in Queensland�� Bowen Basin: Moranbah North (metallurgical coal), Capcoal (metallurgical and thermal coal), Foxleigh (metallurgical coal), Dawson (metallurgical and thermal coal) and Callide (thermal coal). Drayton mine (thermal coal) is in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales. Moranbah North is an underground longwall mining operation with a mining lease covering 100 square kilometers.

Capcoal operates two longwall underground mines and an open cut mine. Together, they produce around 5.0 MT annually of hard coking coal, pulverised coal injection (PCI) and thermal coal. Capcoal also supplies methane-rich seam gas to Energy Developments Limited�� power station. Foxleigh is an open cut operation with an annual output exceeding 1.4 million tons of PCI coal. During 2012, Dawson, which is an open cut operation, produced 4.6 MT total of coking and thermal coal. During 2012, Capcoal operates two underground mines and an open cut mine. Together, they produced around 6.0 Mt of hard coking, pulverised coal injection (PCI) and thermal coals. During 2012, Foxleigh is an open cut operation which produced 1.9 Mt of high quality PCI coal.

Thermal Coal

Thermal Coal operates in South Africa a! nd and is! a joint partner in Cerrejon, Colombia. In South Africa, Thermal Coal wholly owns and operates nine mines and has a 50% interest in the Mafube colliery and Phola washing plant. During 2012, six of the mines supplied 23 million tons per annum of thermal coal to both export and local markets. New Vaal, New Denmark and Kriel collieries are domestic product operations supplying 29 million tons per annum of thermal coal to Eskom, the state-owned power utility. During 2012, Isibonelo mine produced five million tons per annum of thermal coal for Sasol Synthetic Fuels, the coal to liquids producer, under a 20 year supply contract. Thermal Coal�� South African operations route all export thermal coal through the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), in which it has a 24.2% shareholding, to customers throughout the Med-Atlantic and Asia-Pacific regions. Within South Africa, 62% of total sales tons are made to the Eskom power utility.

Copper

The Company has interests in six copper operations in Chile. The wholly owned operations consists of the Mantos Blancos and Mantoverde mines, and it hold a 50.1% interest in Anglo American Sur (AA Sur), which includes the Los Bronces and El Soldado mines and the Chagres smelter. It has a 44% interest in the Collahuasi mine. The mines also produce associated by-products, such as molybdenum and silver. In addition, it has interests in Quellaveco and Michiquillay projects in Peru and a 50% interest in the Pebble project in Alaska.

Nickel

Nickel has three ferronickel operations: Codemin and Barro Alto in Brazil and Loma de Niquel in Venezuela. Within the

business unit�� portfolio there are also two projects, Jacare and Morro Sem Bone, both in Brazil, and exploration projects in Finland, Canada and Australia.

Platinum

The Company�� Platinum business, based in South Africa, is the producer of platinum. Platinum mines, processes and refines the entire range of platinum group metals (PGMs): platin! um, palla! dium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium. Base metals such as nickel, copper and cobalt sulphate are secondary products and are contributors to earnings. Platinum�� operations exploit reserve of PGMs, known as the Bushveld Complex, which contains PGMbearing Merensky, UG2 and Platreef ores. During the year ended December 31, 2012, Platinum wholly owns 10 mining operations in production, a tailings re-treatment facility, three smelters, a base metals refinery and a precious metals refinery. Concentrating, smelting and refining of the output are undertaken at Rustenburg Platinum Mines��(RPM) metallurgical facilities. During 2012, Platinum�� 100% owned mining operations consists of the five mines at Rustenburg Section: Khomanani, Bathopele, Siphumelele, Thembelani and Khuseleka; Amandelbult Section�� two mines, Tumela and Dishaba, as well as Mogalakwena and Twickenham mines. Union Mine is 85% held with a black economic empowerment (BEE) partner, the Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela traditional community, holding the remainder. The Unki mine in Zimbabwe is wholly owned.

Diamonds

The Company�� diamond interests are represented by its 40% holding in De Beers. The other shareholders in De Beers are Central Holdings Ltd, which owns 40%, and the Government of the Republic of Botswana (GRB) with 15%. De Beers is a diamond company producing diamonds from its mines in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. As of December 31, 2012, De Beers held a 50% interest in Debswana Diamond Company and in Namdeb Diamond Corporation. In addition, De Beers has a 74% holding in South African based De Beers Mines Limited. De%Beers owns 100% of De%Beers Canada. De%Beers owns 100% of The Diamond Trading Company (DTC). De Beers, through Element Six Technologies, is a supplier of industrial supermaterials. Element Six operates internationally, with 10 manufacturing sites globally and a global sales network.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Kramer-Miller]

  The Pebble Project is an enormous potential mine in Alaska containing mostly copper, and some gold and molybdenum. The project is owned by the Pebble Partnership, of which Northern Dynasty Minerals owns half, while Anglo American (AAUKY.PK) owns the other half.

Top Healthcare Equipment Companies To Own For 2014: Societe Generale (GLE)

Societe Generale SA is a financial services company. The Company offers advisory and other services to individual customers, companies and institutions. The Company operates in five divisions: French Networks, International Retail Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, Specialised Financial Services and Insurance, and Private Banking, Global Investment Management and Services. It operates Retail Banking in France under the Societe Generale, Credit du Nord and Boursorama brands. Its International Retail Banking is present in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, the Mediterranean Basin, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and in the French Overseas territories. Private Banking, Global Investment Management and Services consist of four activities: Private Banking, Asset Management, Societe Generale Securities Services and Brokers. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ruth David]

  Block sales in western Europe reached $31.8 billion in the three months through September as Groupama SA sold shares in Societe Generale (GLE) SA and Sweden exited a stake in Nordea Bank (NDA) AB, data compiled by Bloomberg show. At the same time, investors poured about $22.2 billion into the region�� stock funds in the 15 weeks through Oct. 9, according to data from research firm EPFR Global Inc.

Top Healthcare Equipment Companies To Own For 2014: Wartsila Oyj Abp (WRT1V.HE)

Wartsila Oyj Abp is a Finland-based company. Its operations are divided into four segments: Power Plants, Ship Power, Services and PowerTech. The Power Plants segment offers multi-fuel solutions for power generation markets, such as gas power plants, dual-fuel power plants, oil power plants and liquid biofuel power plants, among others. The Ship Power segment offers a range of products and services to both shipyards and ship owners, such as medium-speed and low-speed engines, seals and bearings, automation systems, ship design and ballast water treatment systems, among others. The Services segment offers solutions, such as basic support, installation and commissioning, performance optimization and upgrades, among others. The PowerTech segment comprises research and development for medium-speed engines and other operations, with a focus on gas, environmental solutions and Smart Power Generation drives. It has operations in more than 160 locations in over 70 countries around the world. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Wall var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach(fu]

  The British company tried to strengthen its maritime engine business through a $10 billion takeover of Finland�� W盲rtsil盲 Oyj (WRT1V.HE) which rebuffed Rolls-Royce’s preliminary approach. The attempted acquisition of a company of that size surprised investors who hadn�� realized expansion was on management�� agenda so soon after its full takeover of Tognum, a German engineering company originally acquired in partnership with Daimler.

Top Healthcare Equipment Companies To Own For 2014: Wolverine World Wide Inc.(WWW)

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. designs, manufactures, sources, markets, licenses, and distributes branded footwear, apparel, and accessories. It offers industrial work shoes, boots, uniform shoes, outdoor sports footwear, rugged casual footwear, lifestyle footwear, sandals, and closed-toe products. It also provides outdoor apparel, and work and rugged casual apparel; and accessories, such as packs, bags, and luggage, as well as eyewear, gloves, handbags, socks, watches, and plush toys. The company offers its products under various brand names, including Bates, Cat Footwear, Chaco, Cushe, Harley-Davidson Footwear, Hush Puppies, HyTest, Merrell, Patagonia Footwear, Sebago, Soft Style, and Wolverine. It sells its products to a range of retail customers, which comprise department stores, national chains, catalogs, specialty retailers, mass merchants, Internet retailers, governments, and municipalities in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company also markets its products in approximately 190 countries and territories through company-owned wholesale operations, licensees, and distributors. It also licenses its brands for use on non-footwear products. As of December 31, 2011, the company operated 101 retail stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom; and operated 42 consumer-direct Websites. Further, it markets pigskin leather, and purchases raw pigskins from other source. Wolverine World Wide, Inc. was founded in 1883 and is based in Rockford, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Wolverine World Wide (WWW) has gained 1.1% to $58.41 after it reported a profit of $1.16 a share, above forecasts for $1.02.

  Tower Group International (TWGP) has plunged 28% to $5.35 after the insurance company increased the amount of cash it needed to set aside well above expectations and Fitch downgraded its credit rating.

Top Healthcare Equipment Companies To Own For 2014: Nam Tai Electronics Inc.(NTE)

Nam Tai Electronics, Inc. provides electronics manufacturing and design services to the original equipment manufacturers of telecommunication and consumer electronic products. The company?s Consumer Electronic and Communication Products segment manufactures mobile phone accessories, such as headsets containing Bluetooth wireless technology, and phone cradles, as well as snap-on portable music speaker, FM radio adaptors, and GPS adaptors; entertainment devices, including USB Web cam for interactive games, USB microphone and converter box Karaoke, and buzzer devices for quiz games; educational products consisting of digital pens, calculators, and electronic dictionaries; and optical devices comprising CMOS imaging sensor modules for notebook computers, portable media players, and recording cameras for the automotive industry. Its Telecommunication Component Assembly segment offers subassemblies and components, such as color and monochrome LCD modules for PDA phones, smart p hones, mobile phones, and telephone systems; RF modules for integration into mobile phones; DAB modules for digital radio products, including home tuners, kitchen radios, in-car receivers, CD players, clock radios, boom boxes, midi-systems, and handheld portable devices; FPC subassemblies for LCD modules and electronic devices; FPC boards for mobile phones, PDAs, office automation, and laptop computers; front and back light panels for handheld video game devices; and high-frequency cordless telephones and home feature phones. The company?s LCD Products segment manufactures LCD panels for watches and medical instruments, white goods and industrial applications, automotive parts and appliances, car audio systems, hand held products, VoIP phones, and office automation applications. It sells its products to customers in Hong Kong, North America, Europe, Japan, the People?s Republic of China, and Korea. The company was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Shenzhen, the Peopl e?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Nam Tai Electronics� (NYSE: NTE  ) -- $6.78
  Shares of Nam Tai took a hit three months ago after posting uninspiring quarterly results.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of Nam Tai Electronics (NYSE: NTE  ) got crushed today by as much as 37% after the company reported earnings.

  So what: Revenue in the first quarter more than doubled to $177.5 million, which translated into earnings per share of $0.11. Both figures handily topped consensus estimates, which were calling for $150 million in sales and $0.05 per share in profit. The real cause for concern was within Nam Tai's guidance.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another stock that's starting to move within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Nam Tai Electronics (NTE), which is an electronics manufacturing and design services provider to a select group of the world's leading OEMs of telecommunications and consumer electronic products. This stock has been destroyed by the sellers so far in 2013, with shares off sharply by 41%.

  If you look at the chart for Nam Tai Electronics, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending for the last month and change, with shares moving higher from its low of $6.05 to its recent high of $8.38 a share. During that uptrend, shares of NTE have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of NTE within range of triggering a big breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in NTE if it manages to break out above some key near-term overhead resistance levels at $8.38 to $8.79 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 647,483 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then NTE will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone from April that started near $11.50 a share. If this stock gets into that gap with volume, then the upside is tremendous and we could easily see NTE hit $11 to $12 a share.

  Traders can look to buy NTE off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day at $7.42 a share, or below more key support at $7.22 a share. One can also buy NTE off strength once it takes out that breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.