Best Blue Chip Companies To Buy Right Now

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) is not just a collection of 30 market-defining blue chips. It's also packed with brilliant dividend stocks.

All 30 of the current components pay a dividend today, ranging from Bank of America' modest 0.3% yield (with a bullet, now that regulators have finally given the bank the option to raise payouts again) to AT&T and its massive 4.7% yield backed by monthly payments from more than 100 million wireless customers.

The average Dow stock sports a 2.6% dividend yield and has increased payouts by 8.7% annually over the last decade. As a testament to the Dow's dividend strength, that long-term growth includes the banking industry's blanket cuts after the 2008 meltdown. For another perspective on the Dow's dividend powers, consider that about half of the 2,800 stocks in the Russell 3000 index index don't pay dividends at all. The average yield on that wider market barometer is also 2.6%, but payouts grow at a far slower 6% annual rate.

Best Blue Chip Companies To Buy Right Now: Visa Inc.(V)

Visa Inc., a payments technology company, engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company owns and operates VisaNet, a global processing platform that provides transaction processing services. It also offers a range of payments platforms, which enable credit, charge, deferred debit, debit, and prepaid payments, as well as cash access for consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company provides its payment platforms under the Visa, Visa Electron, PLUS, and Interlink brand names. In addition, it offers value-added services, including risk management, issuer processing, loyalty, dispute management, value-added information, and CyberSource-branded services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Reuters]

  Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThe Dow Jones news ticker in Times Square, New York City. NEW YORK -- Investment bank Goldman Sachs Group (GS), credit-card company Visa (V), and footwear Nike (NKE) will join the blue chip Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) Dow Jones industrial average, the index managers said Tuesday, in the biggest shake-up for the 30-stock average in nearly a decade. The three companies will replace Bank of America (BAC), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Alcoa (AA), all lower-priced stocks that exert a lesser pull on the price-weighted index. The changes will be effective on Sept. 23, S&P Dow Jones Indices said in a statement. The average, first established in 1896, includes 30 stocks, but very little money is indexed to its performance, unlike the broader Standard & Poor's 500 (^GSPC) or other indexes. In addition, because it is weighted by price, companies that are smaller in value with higher prices have more influence on the average. "Wow, those are big changes," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Group in Bedford Hills, N.Y. "The Dow is really an antiquated index. It is price-weighted, which makes no sense. But there are still are some people that pay attention to it, and some technicians, so it has an influence on some people." Google (GOOG) and other names were considered for inclusion but passed over because of high stock prices, David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the S&P Index Committee, told CNBC. The index manager said the changes were prompted by the low stock price of the three companies slated for removal and a desire to diversify the make-up of the index. Alcoa, in particular, has been seen as a candidate for elimination for some time, as the stock's market value of $8.5 billion is easily the lowest in the average. It is the first three-for-three change to the index since April 8, 2004, when American International Group (AIG), Pfizer (PFE) and Verizon (VZ) replaced AT&

• [By Andy Obermueller]

  The magazine examined some large companies as the drivers in this new technological push, which hinges largely on the continued adoption of portable devices, like cellphones, that can be used much like a credit or debit card. Its winners are Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) because of its Google Wallet initiative, which I was among the first to cover; eBay's (Nasdaq: EBAY) PayPal; Visa (NYSE: V); MasterCard (NYSE: MA); Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Facebook (Nasdaq: FB).

Best Blue Chip Companies To Buy Right Now: Philip Morris International Inc(PM)

Philip Morris International Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside of the United States. Its international product brand line comprises Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, Chesterfield, Bond Street, Lark, Muratti, Next, Philip Morris, and Red & White. The company also offers its products under the A Mild, Dji Sam Soe, and A Hijau in Indonesia; Diana in Italy; Optima and Apollo-Soyuz in the Russian Federation; Morven Gold in Pakistan; Boston in Colombia; Belmont, Canadian Classics, and Number 7 in Canada; Best and Classic in Serbia; f6 in Germany; Delicados in Mexico; Assos in Greece; and Petra in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It operates primarily in the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The company is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Efficient Alpha]

  Philip Morris International (PM) is a favorite of mine, not only for its 4% dividend but also for its protection against global inflationary pressures. The company can pass through higher commodity prices and smokers will keep coming back for more. The company has 16% of the international market and is making strong progress in China. Asia accounts for 36% of sales, followed by the EMEA region (27%), the EU (26%) and Latin America/Canada (11%). Shares have posted an annual return of 15% since its spinoff in 2008.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Phillip Morris (PM) gained 2.8% to $86.56 after boosting its dividend by 10.6%.

  Restoration Hardware (RH) dropped 12% to $68.04 despite what many considered to be a solid earnings�report. Not Barron’s.

Hot Canadian Stocks To Buy Right Now: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM)

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. Its Global Technology Services segment provides IT infrastructure and business process services, including strategic outsourcing, process, integrated technology, and maintenance services, as well as technology-based support services. The company?s Global Business Services segment offers consulting and systems integration, and application management services. Its Software segment offers middleware and operating systems software, such as WebSphere software to integrate and manage business processes; information management software for database and enterprise content management, information integration, data warehousing, business analytics and intelligence, performance management, and predictive analytics; Tivoli software for identity management, data security, storage management, and datacenter automation; Lotus software for collaboration, messaging, and so cial networking; rational software to support software development for IT and embedded systems; business intelligence software, which provides querying and forecasting tools; SPSS predictive analytics software to predict outcomes and act on that insight; and operating systems software. Its Systems and Technology segment provides computing and storage solutions, including servers, disk and tape storage systems and software, point-of-sale retail systems, and microelectronics. The company?s Global Financing segment provides lease and loan financing to end users and internal clients; commercial financing to dealers and remarketers of IT products; and remanufacturing and remarketing services. It serves financial services, public, industrial, distribution, communications, and general business sectors. The company was formerly known as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. and changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. IBM was founded in 1910 and is based in Armonk, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  We recently had a chance to interview one of the portfolio managers for the Ranger Equity Bear ETF (NYSEMKT: HDGE), which is an actively managed short selling exchange-traded fund. It acts like a short selling hedge fund but with instant market liquidity features that an ETF structure provides. The ETF’s major short selling position in shares of International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) was what really piqued our interest. Investors did well who decided to move out of IBM as Big Blue’s stock price has managed to fall by more than $11 per share since then. It turns out that the team here remains a short seller of IBM, and this is indirectly a bet against Warren Buffett.

• [By Michael Flannelly]

  International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) announced early on Thursday that it is acquiring Daeja Image Systems Ltd, a privately held software company headquartered in the U.K. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

  Daeja Image Systems is a leading provider of software that makes it easier for businesses to view large documents and images.

  “IBM is continuing to lead the way in helping organizations access the content they rely upon for everyday operations,” said IBM Enterprise Content Management Business Leader Doug Hunt. “The acquisition of Daeja will simplify how business data is viewed by department or line-of-business users.”

  IBM shares were down 68 cents, or 0.35%, during early morning trading on Thursday. The stock is up 1.06% year-to-date.

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  Warren Buffett clearly does. If you listened to Buffett talk about why he bought IBM (IBM) ��this was when he was talking to the folks over at CNBC ��you could tell he was very excited about the idea that IBM had reduced its share count over time. He had no problem at all with modest sales growth if it was accompanied by constant share buybacks. That gives you a rising earnings per share number the same way much stronger sales growth ��through acquisitions ��would. Buybacks are just another form of capital allocation.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) posted its highest-ever share of the global server market — 18.8% — as competitors International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) both lost share. That s the good news for Dell; the bad news is that the worldwide market is shrinking.

Best Blue Chip Companies To Buy Right Now: Apple Inc.(AAPL)

Apple Inc., together with subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication and media devices, and portable digital music players, as well as sells related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications worldwide. The company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, retail stores, direct sales force, third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. In addition, it sells third-party Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores; and digital content and applications through the iTunes Store. The company sells its products to consumer, small and mid-sized business, education, enterprise, government, and creative markets. As of September 25, 2010, it had 317 retail stores, including 233 stores in the United States and 84 stores internationally. The company, formerly known as Apple Computer, Inc., was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Douglas A. McIntyre]

  On the one side are the 187 million Americans who watched 48 billion pieces of online video content in July. On the other is the new generation of smartwatches, the adoption of which probably will�be driven by Samsung and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). In the middle is the question of how small a screen is too small, at least to watch premium video content.

Best Blue Chip Companies To Buy Right Now: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL)

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. It offers oral care products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouth rinses, as well as dental floss and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals; personal care products, such as liquid hand soap, shower gels, bar soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, shampoos, and conditioners; and home care products comprising laundry and dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, bleaches, dishwashing liquids, and oil soaps. The company offers its oral, personal, and home care products under the Colgate Total, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate 360 Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the price target is now $68 (versus a $59.93 close) at Morgan Stanley.

• [By Dividend Growth Investor]

  In a previous article, I outlined that it is getting more difficult to find quality dividend paying stocks to buy. Most of the usual suspects like Kimberly-Clark (KMB) or Colgate-Palmolive (CL) are very overvalued today, which prevents me from adding to my positions there. Other companies like Chevron (CVX) are attractively valued today, but unfortunately my portfolio is overweight in them. Currently I find the oil sector to be cheap and have some of the lowest P/E ratios in the market. However, I would hate to be concentrated in one sector which is exposed to the fluctuating prices in its commodity products.

Best Blue Chip Companies To Buy Right Now: Chevron Corporation(CVX)

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment involves in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products; marketing of crude oil and refined products primarily under the Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex brand names; transportation of crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacture and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives. It a lso produces and markets coal and molybdenum; and holds interests in 13 power assets with a total operating capacity of approximately 3,100 megawatts, as well as involves in cash management and debt financing activities, insurance operations, real estate activities, energy services, and alternative fuels and technology business. Chevron Corporation has a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Smith]

  Bowing out of Egypt
  It's also noteworthy that Egypt shares a western border with Libya, which is a significant producer, but where chaos and contretemps also reign. Is it any wonder, then, that Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) announced on Tuesday that it will unload its Egyptian downstream operations, including 66 service stations and a couple of oil depots, to Total (NYSE: TOT  ) ? The French company is also buying the retail assets in the land of the Sphinx from Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-B  ) . Perhaps it knows something of which the rest of us are unaware.

Best Blue Chip Companies To Buy Right Now: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)

McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Teresa Rivas]

  McDonald�� (MCD) was edging ahead 0.4% as same-store sales were up 0.7% in July.

  Dean Foods (DF) fell 4% as it swung to a second-quarter loss and narrowed its guidance.

• [By Alyce Lomax]

  Fast food's identity crisis
  We can blame McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) recent weakness in stock price and business on all kinds of theories. Maybe it's tough comparisons to all those years when the fast-food giant was absolutely on fire. Maybe it's a difficult transition from now-retired turnaround pro, former CEO Jim Skinner, to his successor, Donald Thompson.

• [By AnnaLisa Kraft]

  A chicken-wing upstart
  But with success comes competition.�McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) is debuting its own Mighty Wings nationally, chicken wings seasoned similarly to Popeye's New Orleans style with cayenne and chili pepper. The huge quantity of wings that McDonald's will need likely driving up prices from $1.44 a pound most recently will of course, affect the entire space including Yum! Brands, AFCE, and chicken focused Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD  ) ��

• [By Douglas A. McIntyre]

  The arms war among the fast-food chains escalated as McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) confirmed that it would begin to sell chicken wings nationwide next month. Dubbed “Mighty Wings,” the new offering will come to market along with a growing set of coffee flavors and desserts. The move is just the kind of competitive menu maneuver that in this case threatens Yum Brands! Inc.’s (NYSE: YUM) KFC, but has been part of McDonald’s strategy for years — launch products meant to take customers from competitors and to build the bottom line.

An Unconventional Approach to Valuing Tesla

Source: Tesla Motors.

Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA  ) at $190? One year ago no one would have believed it. The stock is up about 500% over the past 12 months. With the stock hitting all-time highs again, it's time to look at the electric car-marker's valuation. While a number of articles have made a great case for the stock's overvaluation, very few have attempted to understand why the stock could actually deserve a valuation that defies gravity.

At Tesla's price today, the devil's advocate has received enough attention. On that note, it's time to call in the ... angel's advocate.

The bear case for Tesla's stock is easy. It's rational. It usually goes like this.

Whip up some standard valuation metrics -- price-to-earnings, sales per car, price-to-sales, whatever. Consider growth opportunities. Acknowledge monstrous growth as a gamble. Compare to auto peers. Shake head in disbelief, concluding the stock is wildly overvalued.

What's wrong with the typical bear case?
Despite rational cases for Tesla's overvaluation, investors shorting the stock continue to get burned. Instead of quickly concluding that Tesla is simply defying gravity because it's an irrational bubble, let's dig a bit deeper.

Here's the important facet of Tesla's valuation that the bear case often overlooks. Tesla doesn't need to report lucrative earnings to please the Street. In fact, it could be more than a decade before Tesla reports a net profit margin (earnings divided by sales) that is comparable to its peers.

No meaningful earnings, and the Street seems perfectly content; has the market lost its mind? Not at all. Actually, it makes a lot of sense.

If Tesla was reporting a lucrative net profit margin, I would be worried about the company's future competitive position. To gain a foothold among the big dogs, Tesla should be spending every dollar of gross profit possible. R&D, capex spending, SG&A -- bring it. Spend as much as possible.

Tesla is a small player. To compete with players such as Ford, GM, and Toyota, Tesla is going to need to achieve greater manufacturing scale than its current levels. Even more, with guidance for production and sales to double from 21,000 Model S in 2013 to more than 40,000 Model S in 2014, there's no reason for Tesla to aim for a meaningful net margin today.

Sure, earnings do matter. But as a small player, Tesla should focus on growing its scale and let earnings surface later on. Of course Tesla doesn't want to overspend -- but with sales growing as fast as they are today, investors shouldn't hope for a handsome net profit margin.

Hedging temporary competitive advantages
If there were competitors on Tesla's heels today, it would make sense for the company to be more conservative with spending, but there's not.

In fact, the company has two key short-term competitive advantages going for it that hedge the company's short-term success. For this reason, Tesla basically has soaring demand locked in for the next several years. This makes heavy spending a wise decision, not a risky bet.

Model S charging. Source: Tesla Motors.

The first competitive advantage Tesla sports is its dramatic lead on charging infrastructure. The Tesla-owned Superchargers are, on average, 16 times faster than most public charging stations. After an announcement earlier this year to boost construction, Tesla plans to have Superchargers within distance of 98% of the U.S. population by 2015.

But it doesn't stop in the United States. The expansion is just as aggressive internationally. A few weeks ago, Tesla launched onto the scene in Europe, when 90% of Norwegians gained access to a Supercharging station. Then, in a press release, Tesla laid out the details of its plans for its Europe expansion:

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By the end of 2014, 100 percent of the population of Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Denmark and Luxembourg will live within 320 km of a Supercharger station, with about 90 percent of the population in England, Wales and Sweden living within the same distance of a charging station.

That 320 km, of course, is well within the range of the 480 km-rated range of a Model S.

Model S. Source: Tesla Motors.

Tesla's second competitive advantage lies in the car's award-winning performance. Tesla's 265-mile battery range is far ahead of its electric counterparts from various other brands. Even more, Tesla was able to achieve this while racking up a number of other accolades, including Motor Trend Car of the Year, Consumer Reports' highest rated car ever, and the highest safety rating from the NHTSA.

Groundbreaking range and impressive performance together give the Model S an undeniable value proposition. And it shows in the marketplace. For the first half of 2013, the Model S captured 10% of the large luxury-car market in the United States. The share would have probably been higher if it wasn't for supply-chain bottlenecks. Even today, Tesla remains supply-limited, selling every car it makes.

With short-term demand pretty much in the bag thanks to an aggressive Supercharger expansion and award-winning car, Tesla should be spending aggressively to ramp up infrastructure, manufacturing, and demand.

How to value Tesla
So with earnings out of the picture, how can we value Tesla? One way is to look at the company's gross profit.

By the fourth quarter of 2013, Tesla believes it can achieve a gross profit margin of 25% on sales of 21,000 vehicles, annually. With a 25% gross profit margin basically already in the bag, and an aspiration to achieve margins that rival Porsche, it's reasonable to assume Tesla can achieve a 30% gross profit margin in 2014 on its projected sales that "could exceed 40,000 units per year" (we'll estimate 42,000).

These assumptions give us a 2014 gross profit of $275 million. At today's price, therefore, Tesla is trading at 79 times this 2014 estimate for gross profit.

Seventy-nine times next years gross profit is a bit ludicrous, but Tesla's not valued based on the Model S -- investors are counting on the company's "affordable car," which CEO Elon Musk believes Tesla can bring to market in as little as three to four years.

If the company brings the car to market in three years and maxes out its Fremont, Calif., factory's production capacity of 500,000 cars per year five years from now, Tesla's gross profit would be considerably higher by then.

Assuming the company's average selling price for its cars declines to $50,000 and Tesla reached 500,000 cars annually and maintained a 30% gross profit margin, Tesla could report a gross profit of $7.5 billion in five years.

That would put Tesla at about 2.9 times an estimate for the company's gross profit five years from now. Today, Ford trades at about 3.1 times its current gross profit levels.

If Tesla is able to accomplish this in five years, however, the business' incredible performance up to that point would probably merit a premium greater than the conservative valuation automakers have today. So let's assume, five years from now, Tesla's disruptive business model earns a premium to gross profit that is one and a half times that of Ford today.

Under these assumptions, Tesla would trade at $288, giving investors an annualized return of about 10% over the next five years.

The x-factor
This scenario leads to several conclusions.

First, there is a potential bullish scenario that could yield investors a meaningful return -- even with shares trading at $190. Even more, Tesla has done nothing to disprove this wildly positive scenario. And even though I tried to paint an extremely bullish scenario as the angel's advocate, there's always a possibility that Tesla could even outperform these expectations. For instance, Musk has mentioned that Tesla may open new manufacturing factories in Asia and Eruope, too -- a fact I didn't even take into consideration.

Second, as just a possible outcome at the higher end of the spectrum of possibilities, a bet on the stock today is speculative -- so I would avoid buying shares.

Last, shorting Tesla stock could be even more dangerous than buying shares. As long as this possible scenario is looming, the stock will likely continue to trade at valuations that make very little sense -- let's call it Tesla's X-factor. It's an American Cinderella story; the company is defying all odds. The X-factor, therefore, could lead to wildly bullish valuation metrics for decades, leaving investors shorting the stock wanting.

At $190, buying Tesla would be a gamble, selling Tesla would be rational, holding Tesla would be speculative, and shorting Tesla would be downright dangerous.

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Airline Shares Take Off on Delta Addition to S&P 500

It’s been a bumpy few weeks for airline stocks after the Department of Justice challenged AMR Corp.’s (AAMRQ) merger with U.S. Airways (LCC), calling into question not just the consolidation thesis that had boosted airlines recently but also AMR’s future.

for The Wall Street Journal (Kevin Hagen for The Wall Street Journal)

Today, however, the airline industry got some good news that had nothing to do with that litigation: Delta Air Lines (DAL) is set to join the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index. Now, we all know that an addition to the index is not meant to be a recommendation, but with index funds and index huggers, alike, being forced to buy its shares, Delta’s stock has surged today.

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Delta is up 6.9% to $21.26 today–and giving the rest of the industry a boost. U.S. Airways has climbed 3% to $17.30, United Airlines Continental (UAL) has risen 3% to $30.62 and Alaska Air (ALK) has advanced 1.5% to $58.26.

Shares of the Atlanta-based airline will replace those of BMC Software, which is being purchased by Bain Capital.

 

Use Russia's Support of Syria to Benefit Your Portfolio

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- To say that Russia has so far upstaged the United States in the midst of the so-called "Syrian Crisis" would not be an overstatement.

After Secretary of State John Kerry let slip some "rhetorical" and "hypothetical" comments on how Syria could avoid a U.S. offensive attack by giving up its chemical weapons, something remarkable occurred.

At a news conference afterward in London Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov gave Kerry's idea the Old Russian bear hug. By golly within a few days Syria endorsed it and everyone who is against attacking Syria breathed a sigh of profound relief...at least for the time being.

Kerry and Lavrov will convene a conference in Geneva Thursday with hopes for progress and a chance to raise their glasses in a toast for peace. No matter what the discussion will be lively. The United States will be looking for a Russian proposal that should disclose more details about what Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may be willing to do about turning over his chemical weapons to an authority like the United Nations. All this drama serves to remind us that Russia is becoming a big player once again on the world stage. That may be the reason famed investors like Jim Rogers have begun looking at investments in Russia this year. You may recall that Rogers co-founded the legendary Quantum Fund with George Soros. It helped both men become extremely wealthy. The potential for Russian resourcefulness brought to mind an article that Dr. Steve Sjuggerud shared with his readers of his Daily Wealth in June. Sjuggerud pointed out that in Rogers' neighborhood Russian President Vladimir Putin isn't thought of with affection. Yet that hasn't quenched Rogers' interest in examining investments in Russia. "Maybe [Putin] doesn't like being treated as a KGB thug," Rogers says. "He understands there has not been great prosperity in Russia in the past few years... I have the view that international capital is welcome in Russia. And if you go there and you invest, you will find opportunities."

Sjuggerud believes that one reason Rogers is stoked about the investment theme in Russia is because it's been a despised, mistrusted economic environment for a long time. This is in the process of changing before the entire world as the Syrian gambit unfolds.

Earlier this year Rogers was quoted saying, "Everybody hates Russia for many good reasons... including me for a long time. That's usually a place that you should look, when people hate a market. And so I am looking."

Fast forward to today. On Tuesday UBS named its top energy picks for 2013. On the list were two Russian companies; Lukoil and Novatek, which trade in European and U.K. exchanges.

UBS indicated that Lukoil is the "standout value play in Russia," while Novatek offers an opportunity for shareholder value. Yet my perspective is when it comes to investing in Russia, be diversified. In his article Sjuggerud suggested for those who want a diversified way to invest in Russia might consider the Market Vectors Russia ETF (RSX) which closed at $24.85 that same day in June. A little more than three months later the ETF closed Tuesday at $28.11. That's more than a 13 % increase, but Sjuggerud stated in June that he thought regarding RSX that "...from these levels, I believe we could make a 75% return in Russia over the next 12 months." Why not! The top 10 holdings of Market Vectors Russia ETF make up almost 61% of the ETF and Lukoil is one of them. The ETF also pays a dividend which appears to be slightly less than 3%. Another even more diversified way to have investment exposure to Russia as well as China, Brazil and some of the top dividend-paying, emerging market companies is with the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Equity (DEM). Four of the top holdings with the ETF are large Russian companies like Gazprom, Lukoil and Norilsk Nickel. At the latest price of $52.59 DEM is up almost 15% from the 52-week low on June 24 of $45.81. Here's a 1-year price chart of both RSX and DEM. Both ETFs seem volatile, so if you decide to buy shares of either let the price come to you. RSX data by YCharts

If you buy these ETFs do consider setting a stealth trailing stop loss to protect you from the unforeseen.

Putin has won a temporary reprieve for his Syrian ally from the threatened missile attack by the United States and its allies. Now he has to use his Russian diplomacy and influence to persuade Assad to comply with the terms of the deal to turn over Syria's entire chemical weapons arsenal.

If anyone can persuade Syria's leadership to cooperate it is the most powerful man in Russia. Those closest to the situation have stated in interviews that this process is strengthening Russia's world image.

No wonder Rogers is bullish on Russia's future and its economy. Rogers is one of the great international investors who won't set his sights on a target unless the rewards are brilliantly obvious. That's precisely why earlier this year he started doing the unthinkable and began looking for opportunities in Russia. With Putin's efforts to change his image to that of an international purveyor of peace, the Syrian crisis may end up being the catalyst for other changes in perceptions about Russia. Those investors who discern that the resurgent BRIC countries -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- including Russia, are starting to shape the course of international events may also have the chance to experience new ways to profit in the months ahead. At the time of publication the author held no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. Follow @m8a2r1 This article is commentary by an independent contributor, separate from TheStreet's regular news coverage.

Marc Courtenay is the founder and owner of Advanced Investor Technologies, LLC, as well as the publisher and editor of www.ChecktheMarkets.com. Courtenay holds a Master's of Science degree in Psychology from California Polytechnic State University, and is a former senior vice-president of Investments for two major brokerage firms. He's been a fiercely independent investment "investigator" and a consulting contributor to the investment publishing world for over 30 years. In addition to his role as an investment publisher and analyst, he serves as a marketing consultant to the investment media industries. In his role as a financial editor, he specializes in unique investment strategies, overlooked stock investments, energy and resource companies, precious metals, emerging growth companies, the prudent use of option strategies,real estate related opportunities,wealth preservation, money-saving offers, risk management, tax issues, as well as "the psychology of investing". Because of his training and background in Clinical Counseling and Psychology, he enjoys writing about investor behavior, the �herd mentality, how to turn investment mistakes into investment breakthroughs and the stock market's behavioral trends and patterns. Follow @m8a2r1

'Fast Money' Recap: Summers' Fall, Market's Rise

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- While tech closed in the red, the broader market jumped higher on news that Lawrence Summers will not be nominated as chairman of the Federal Reserve by President Obama.

On CNBC's "Fast Money" TV show, Brian Kelly pointed out gold spiked on the Summers news before falling, with equities having a weak close. He added the pace of Fed bond tapering would be important to the market and the coming debt ceiling debate would likely weigh on equities.

Guy Adami said steel has been performing well and U.S. Steel (X) seems to have gotten off the $17.50 support level. He added that the S&P 500 may have another 15 points of upside, but that the rally is getting long in the tooth.

Karen Finerman said trading around the FOMC meeting is hard because of two things: the actual outcome of the meeting and the perceived outcome leading up to the event. Kelly does not like the risk to reward ratio for going long big banks. This is despite rising interest rates potentially offsetting a shrinking mortgage and refinance business with improved profitability in lending. Adami pointed out that Blackstone Group (BX) was up almost 4% on Monday and thinks there is still a bit more upside. Outerwall (OUTR) cut its third-quarter profit and sales guidance. Dan Nathan said he would avoid the name unless investors know that particular market very well. Finerman said she was done with Apple (AAPL), even though the valuation is compelling. She said the stock is too volatile and it's too frustrating to own and manage. Adami said the stock could head to the $425 level after closing below the 50-day and 200-day moving average. Kelly said he was looking for these levels before the iPhone event this week, but wants to see Apple reverse and go higher before getting long. Nathan said a deal with China Mobile (CHL) is the only real, near-term catalyst, but said it will come eventually. He added that he'd rather buy Apple than the S&P 500. Homebuilders made a strong move higher on Monday and Kelly said he would use the pop to take profits. Adami agreed, saying he would take profits in the SPDR Homebuilders ETF (XHB) and look to buy a pullback or breakout over $32.

Dan Nathan said for growth reasons he would rather own the homebuilders in the XHB than the retailers in the exchange-traded fund.

Packaging Corporation Of America (PKG) was the first stock on the show's "Pops & Drops" segment and Adami said he wouldn't chase the move but would look at FedEx (FDX) instead.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) jumped 3% on Monday and Nathan said the move was attributed to falling oil prices and that he would not chase the stock.

Under Armour (UA) fell 4% on an analyst downgrade. Finerman said it's a great company but trades with too high of a valuation. Barrick Gold (ABX) jumped but Kelly said he would avoid the miners, because he does not trust the action in gold. Pandora (P) announced a 14 million-share secondary offering. Nathan said the stock is fine and called the move "genius." Kayla Tausche, a CBNC reporter, said big banks have a much stronger balance sheet than in 2007. With increases in cash and liquid securities and decreases in high-risk debt, some banks have even considered the move to be too safe. Kelly said systematic risk never disappeared, it just transferred to other other holders, such as the U.S. government, insurance companies and hedge funds. Although Adami said this will stunt the returns for big banks, Finerman said that she actually likes the money centers because the next big crisis will not likely come from them. Jon Najarian called into the show regarding the 17-minute halt in options trading on Monday. He said his main concern was that these problems are not being identified and need to be handled quickly. He added that the issues should be addressed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and that events like this will continue to weigh on investor confidence. Nathan said he doesn't expect Congress to take the debt ceiling debacle to the brink of its deadline as it did in December 2012, while wreaking havoc on the stock market. For their final trades, Adami said to buy FedEx ahead of earnings, Nathan said to sell AT&T (T), and Kelly and Finerman were buyers of puts because of low volatility and as portfolio insurance. -- Written by Bret Kenwell in Petoskey, Mich. Follow @BretKenwell Follow TheStreet.com on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Bret Kenwell currently writes, blogs and also contributes to Robert Weinstein's Weekly Options Newsletter. Focuses on short-to-intermediate-term trading opportunities that can be exposed via options. He prefers to use debit trades on momentum setups and credit trades on support/resistance setups. He also focuses on building long-term wealth by searching for consistent, quality dividend paying companies and long-term growth companies. He considers himself the surfer, not the wave, in relation to the market and himself. He has no allegiance to either the bull side or the bear side.

Top Growth Companies To Buy For 2014

Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) share repurchase program is a great way for the company to return value to shareholders. But to what extent, exactly, does it change the game for Apple investors?

Let's find out.

Apple has authorized a total of $60 billion in share repurchases. Even though the company has until the end of 2015 to follow through with this plan, it has already spent 30% of its allowance, leaving just about $42 billion left to spend.

To highlight the difference this $42 billion could make for investors, I'll value the stock based on two scenarios. In scenario one, Apple doesn't repurchase $42 billion in shares. In scenario two, Apple does -- at an average price of $495 per share.

Valuation without a buyback
Assuming a 10% discount rate and a projection for 3% annual growth in EPS going forward, a discounted cash flow valuation yields a fair value for Apple shares of $618.

Top Growth Companies To Buy For 2014: Crocs Inc.(CROX)

Crocs, Inc. and its subsidiaries engage in the design, development, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of footwear, apparel, and accessories for men, women, and children. The company primarily offers casual and athletic shoes, and shoe charms. It also designs and sells a range of footwear and accessories that utilize its proprietary closed cell-resin, called Croslite. The company?s footwear products include boots, sandals, sneakers, mules, and flats. In addition, it provides footwear products for the hospital, restaurant, hotel, and hospitality markets, as well as general foot care and diabetic-needs markets. Further, the company offers leather and ethylene vinyl acetate based footwear, sandals, and printed apparels principally for the beach, adventure, and action sports markets; and accessories comprising snap-on charms. The company sells its products through the United States and international retailers and distributors, as well as directly to end-user consumers th rough its company-operated retail stores, outlets, kiosks, and Web stores primarily under the Crocs Work, Crocs Rx, Jibbitz, Ocean Minded, and YOU by Crocs brand names. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 164 retail kiosks located in malls and other high foot traffic areas; 138 retail stores; 76 outlet stores; and 46 Web stores. Crocs, Inc. operates in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company was formerly known as Western Brands, LLC and changed its name to Crocs, Inc. in January 2005. Crocs, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Niwot, Colorado.

Top Growth Companies To Buy For 2014: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Nordstrom, Inc., a fashion specialty retailer, offers apparel, shoes, cosmetics, and accessories for women, men, and children in the United States. It offers a selection of brand name and private label merchandise. The company sells its products through various channels, including Nordstrom full-line stores, off-price Nordstrom Rack stores, Jeffrey? boutiques, treasure & bond, and Last Chance clearance stores; and its online store, nordstrom.com, as well as through catalog. Nordstrom also provides a private label card, two Nordstrom VISA credit cards, and a debit card for Nordstrom purchases. The company?s credit and debit cards feature a shopping-based loyalty program. As of September 30, 2011, it operated 222 stores, including 117 full-line stores, 101 Nordstrom Racks, 2 Jeffrey boutiques, 1 treasure & bond store, and 1 clearance store in 30 states. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Hot Heal Care Companies To Buy Right Now: Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.(BWLD)

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. engages in the ownership, operation, and franchise of restaurants in the United States. The company provides quick casual and casual dining services, as well as serves bottled beers, wines, and liquor. As of July 26, 2011, it had 773 Buffalo Wild Wings locations in 45 states in the United States, as well as in Canada. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Top Growth Companies To Buy For 2014: CNO Financial Group Inc. (CNO)

CNO Financial Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the development, marketing, and administration of health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, and other insurance products for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. The company markets and distributes Medicare supplement insurance, interest-sensitive and traditional life insurance, fixed annuities, and long-term care insurance products; Medicare advantage plans through a distribution arrangement with Humana Inc.; and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans through a distribution and reinsurance arrangement with Coventry Health Care. It also markets and distributes supplemental health, including specified disease, accident, and hospital indemnity insurance products; and life insurance to middle-income consumers at home and the worksite through independent marketing organizations and insurance agencies. In addition, the company markets primarily graded benefit and simplified issue life insurance products directly to customers through television advertising, direct mail, Internet, and telemarketing. It sells its products through career agents, independent producers, direct marketing, and sales managers. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has strategic alliances with Coventry and Humana. The company was formerly known as Conseco, Inc. and changed its name to CNO Financial Group, Inc. in May 2010. CNO Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.

Top Growth Companies To Buy For 2014: MEDIFAST INC(MED)

Medifast, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of weight management and disease management products, and other consumable health and diet products in the United States. The company?s product lines include weight and disease management, meal replacement, and vitamins. It also operates weight control centers that offer Medifast programs for weight loss and maintenance, customized patient counseling, and inbody composition analysis. The company markets its products under the Medifast and Essential brand names, including shakes, appetite suppression shakes, women?s health shakes, diabetics shakes, joint health shakes, coronary health shakes, calorie burn drinks, calorie burn flavor infusers, antioxidant shakes, antioxidant flavor infusers, bars, crunch bars, soups, chili, oatmeal, pudding, scrambled eggs, hot cocoa, cappuccino, chai latte, iced teas, fruit drinks, pretzels, puffs, brownie, pancakes, soy crisps, crackers, and omega 3 and digestive health products. Medifast Inc. sells its products through various channels of distribution comprising Web, call center, independent health advisors, medical professionals, weight loss clinics, and direct consumer marketing supported via the phone and the Web; Take Shape for Life, a physician led network of independent health coaches; and weight control centers. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland.

Technical Forecast for EUR/USD

 

EURUSD hit our next target of 1.3375/80 & topped exactly here. Good support at 1.3325/20 also held profit taking as predicted & we bottomed exactly here. However the outlook is quite negative so be ready to go with a break lower & look for the next support at 1.3280/75. A low for the day is possible here so we can exit shorts & try longs with stops below the next support at 1.3240. We then look for a buying opportunity at 1.3210.

 

If we manage to hold support at 1.3325/20 look for a return to 1.3350/55, possibly as far as 1.3375/80 for a selling opportunity with stops above 1.3410.

The following article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.

More Twitter ads are coming soon

Once Twitter is public, it will be under pressure to make even more money from its 200 million users.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Hey, little Twitter bird: It's time for you to show the stock market that you can make money.

Facebook (FB) and LinkedIn (LNKD) have proven that social media is a viable business. But Twitter's simplistic "micro-blogging" format carries bigger question marks than its peers.

Twitter's ads are rather unobtrusive by Internet standards, and it's unclear how successful the company's strategy has been. Because Twitter filed for an initial public offering confidentially, the world won't know for some time. Research firm eMarketer estimates that Twitter's ad revenue will more than double this year to nearly $583 million.

But it's a safe bet that no matter how successful Twitter's ad business has been so far, advertising on the social network will expand when the company goes public and investors begin demanding growth.

The current model: Like many of the newly public Internet companies, namely Facebook, Twitter's business model is dominated by ads. Rather than splash its homepage with display ads, Twitter includes sponsored content tucked right into users' feeds. The ads are denoted with the word "promoted" next to a yellow-orange arrow.

Twitter runs ads for corporate accounts, as well as specific tweets and topics.

Related story: Twitter CEO's advice to startups

Search for AT&T (T, Fortune 500) on Twitter, and a "promoted tweet" from Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) or Microsoft's (MSFT, Fortune 500) Windows Phone may pop up. A "who to follow" box suggests a promoted corporate account like Macy's (M, Fortune 500) in the top slot. Advertisers can also place "trends" -- say, the name of a TV show premiering tonight -- in the list of topics that are popular worldwide or in a particular locale.

Mobile strength: The big upshot for Twitter sales: More than half of this year's revenue is expected to come from mobile ads, according to eMarketer.

As the PC continues to decline, the focus on making money from mobile users can't be overstated -- and Facebook's disastrous IPO put that fact into sharp focus. Facebook didn't launch mobile ads until after its IPO, and the stock suffered until that point.

Related story: 4 ways Twitter can learn from Facebook's IPO

Advertisers can launch campaigns shown only to mob! ile users, or even target Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) Android or Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) iOS devices specifically.

Future ad expansion: Twitter's recent flurry of acquisitions show the company is squarely focused on beefing up its attractiveness to advertisers. Just this week, Twitter bought mobile-focused ad exchange AdMob for a reported $300 million.

More specifically, Twitter appears to be fine-tuning its focus on TV. Earlier this year, Twitter bought Bluefin Labs and Trendrr, both of which specialize in tracking the chatter around TV programming.

Twitter declined to comment on its future ad plans, citing the "quiet period" required after an IPO filing. But it's easy to see how advertisers would gladly pay for data that gives them insight into consumer opinion around specific topics like TV shows or a new snack food.

And, of course, advertisers would love to target those particular users with more and more "sponsored" content.

Like its predecessors, Twitter will have to toe the line between creating a viable business and alienating users with a barrage of ads. Even Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) had to promise in its press release announcing the purchase of mostly ad-free blogging site Tumblr that the company wouldn't "screw it up."

As a newly public company, Twitter will have to be even more careful of those potential screw-ups.

Is CBS Still an A+?

With shares of CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS) trading at around $49.19, is CBS an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

C = Catalyst for the Stock's Movement

CBS relies heavily on entertainment. That being the case, let's begin with television shows. The list below consists of the most popular CBS television shows and their IMDb ratings.

CSI 8.6

NCIS 7.7

The Big Bang Theory 8.6

Two and a Half Men 7.0

How I Met Your Mother 8.5

Criminal Minds 8.1

Person of Interest 8.3

The Good Wife 7.8

NCIS: Los Angeles 6.4

Elementary 7.6

2 Broke Girls 6.8

The Amazing Race 7.6

Blue Bloods 7.0

For the most part, these are very impressive ratings This is important, because popular shows lead to increased monetization opportunities with reruns, cable, and online streaming.

CBS management is optimistic about future prospects due to strong demand for its content. Currently, CBS is enjoying higher advertisement revenues as well as an increase in affiliate subscription fees. This is in addition to decreased interest expenses. Does the story get even better, or is there danger lurking somewhere?

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The chart below shows some basic fundamentals for CBS, News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWS), and The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS).

	CBS	NWS	DIS
Trailing P/E	19.47	12.91	19.11
Forward P/E	14.52	16.62	16.01
Profit Margin	11.54%	16.68%	13.64%
ROE	17.56%	19.56%	15.43%
Operating Cash Flow	1.76B	3.83B	7.72B
Dividend Yield	1.00%	0.50%	1.20%
Short Position	2.60%	1.00%	2.40%

Let's take a look at some more important numbers prior to forming an opinion on this stock.

T = Technicals Are Strong

CBS has performed exceptionally well over the past three years. There have been no indications of a slowdown.

	1 Month	Year-To-Date	1 Year	3 Year
CBS	4.54%	30.44%	65.27%	252.1%
NWS	0.88%	23.20%	73.20%	114.3%
DIS	-1.25%	26.69%	44.25%	89.51%

At $49.19, CBS is trading above its averages.

50-Day SMA	48.08
200-Day SMA	42.65

E = Equity to Debt Ratio Is Strong

The debt-to-equity ratio for CBS is stronger than the industry average of 1.10.

	Debt-To-Equity	Cash	Long-Term Debt
CBS	0.69	409.00M	6.47B
NWS	0.49	9.32B	16.47B
DIS	0.38	3.95B	16.94B

E = Earnings Are Strong

CBS seems to be very focused on the bottom line, which is good news for investors.

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Fiscal Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Revenue ($) in millions	13,950	13,015	14,060	14,245	14,089
Diluted EPS ($)	-17.43	0.33	1.04	1.92	2.39

When we look at the last quarter on a year-over-year basis, we see improvements in revenue and earnings. Revenue and earnings have also improved on a sequential basis.

Quarter	Mar. 31, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2013
Revenue ($) in millions	3,924	3,476	3,418	3,698	4,040
Diluted EPS ($)	0.54	0.65	0.60	0.60	0.69

Now let's take a look at the next page for the Conclusion. Is this stock an OUTPERFORM, a WAIT AND SEE, or a STAY AWAY?

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

Conclusion

Healthy EPS growth is likely for CBS. Revenue has been inconsistent on an annual basis, but it has been impressive over the past two quarters. Margins and cash flow are strong, and CBS is always looking to make strategic acquisitions to help fuel growth. Another positive is that analysts love the stock: 22 Buy, 7 Hold, 0 Sell. The biggest potential threat is a steep market correction (CBS isn't very resilient). For those looking for something safer, Disney is a much better option. For those looking to ride the momentum wave, CBS is an OUTPERFORM.

Top Hedge Funds Using Exchange Traded Funds to Boost Gains and Lower Costs

The hedge fund industry sure seems and looks different now when compared to a decade or two ago. We recently wrote about how the 2% and 20% pricing strategy long imposed on hedge fund investors may soon have a day of reckoning as far as being the standard pricing. Hedge fund investors have become increasingly dissatisfied with high fees for substandard performance.

It appears that hedge funds also are using other methods to lower costs as they feel the pressure from investors on fees. Everything from outsourcing back office, compliance and legal, to cutting costs from trading by lowering commissions paid to Wall Street. One way they are attempting to lower costs and track the broader markets is by using the same exchange traded funds (ETFs) that retail investors are using.

5 Best Biotech Stocks To Own For 2014

The world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, is based in Westport, Conn., and was founded by Ray Dalio in 1975. According to financial blog ZeroHedge, around $61 billion of the assets under management at Bridgewater are allocated to its Pure Alpha actively traded fund. Pure Alpha has generated averaged annualized net returns of 14% over its 22-year track record. Not stunning by hedge fund standards, but very solid.

Its 13F filings have consistently shown a heavy reliance on ETFs to obtain the broad market exposure that the fund looks for, while using large single stock positions to generate returns higher than their benchmarks, or generating alpha. Bridgewater and other large hedge funds are using staggering positions in ETFs to fill out their portfolio spectrum with these highly liquid, easily traded securities. It also buys a large basket of stocks for one commission, versus the hundreds the fund would pay to own all of the stocks within the ETFs.

In filings it was reported that Bridgewater owned just under $3 billion in the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF (NYSEMKT: EEM), $3.3 billion in the SPDR S&P 500 Trust (NYSEMKT: SPY) and about $3.6 billion in the Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEMKT: VWO). The Vanguard fund, for example, has an expense cost of an extremely low 0.18%, which like all funds is deducted from the net asset value. Clearly Bridgewater is content in using passive index ETF strategies to gain global equity coverage and save money on managing the position.

The question for investors considering hedge funds is why they would want to spend large fees on a hedge fund that is basically a closet indexer using the same tools that retail investors are. The answer is twofold. Hedge funds using the strategy have such tremendous firepower from the sheer amount of assets under management that they control, that combined with leverage they can substantially increase performance numbers. In addition, large positions in ETFs that pay dividends, like the ones Bridgewater owns, help contribute to the overall total return of the fund. Again, increased if the fund employs leverage.

This also may boost some of the more shrill arguments from pundits on Wall Street that ETFs may be the cause of the next big market crash. If retail investors and hedge funds all began to sell at once, there could be a difficult price to pay. However, that argument can be made of almost any asset class, so it is not just specific to ETFs.

Like we wrote about recently, hedge funds are having their feet held to the fire on costs. They are using every practical way to lower the costs they pay, so if the performance, or lack thereof, promotes discussion of lower fees from clients, they are still able to claw back some of the huge expense costs associated with running a large fund. Still, to many of our readers, the thought that hedge funds resort to the use of the same investment products that retail investors employ may take a little of the sheen of the hedge fund glow.

Is CBS Stock a Buy?

With shares of CBS (NYSE:CBS) trading around $55, is CBS an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

CBS operates as a mass media company in the United States and abroad. The company operates in segments that include Entertainment, Cable Networks, Publishing, Local Broadcasting, and Outdoor. Consumers seek entertainment of various forms and through an array of platforms at an increasing rate. Through its segments, CBS is able to fulfill consumer needs, as they continue to release content that excites the masses. Consumers around the world always seek varied forms of entertainment, and CBS is dedicated to delivering amazing media, which can only lead to growth and rising profits well into the future.

CBS’s strategy of using its status as the number one network in America to negotiate high retransmission fees from pay-TV providers is apparently working. The company reported that profits rose 11 percent in the second quarter. Also contributing to that gain is CBS's willingness to license its programming to online streaming services like Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), and Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) Prime Instant Video.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Strong

CBS stock has seen a consistent uptrend in the last several years. The stock is now trading at highs for the years, and does not see any significant signs of slowing. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages.

What are the key moving averages? They are the 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, CBS is trading above its rising key averages, which signals neutral to bullish price action in the near-term.

(Source: Thinkorswim)

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

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
CBS Options	22.57%	0%	0%

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

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

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

On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates, and what that means for CBS’s stock.

E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter

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

	2013 Q2	2013 Q1	2012 Q4	2012 Q3
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	16.92%	27.78%	9.32%	20.00%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	6.42%	6.43%	2.99%	1.58%
Earnings Reaction	3.80%*	2.04%	3.95%	1.05%

CBS has seen increasing earnings and revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, it seems the markets have been excited about CBS’s recent earnings announcements.

* As of this writing

P = Excellent Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has CBS stock done relative to its peers, Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Twenty-First Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA), Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS), and the overall sector?

	CBS	Comcast	Twenty-First Century Fox	Walt Disney	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	44.42%	23.15%	36.99%	31.39%	25.18%

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

Conclusion

CBS is one of the largest nationwide providers of entertainment and mass media services, and the company recently reported earnings that impressed investors. The stock is now trading at highs for the year, and seems like it wants to keep going. Over the last four quarters, investors in the company have been excited, as earnings and revenue figures continue to grow. Relative to its peers and sector, CBS has been a year-to-date performance leader. Look for CBS to OUTPERFORM.

Oil Bubbling Higher, Energy Names Rally

ASSOCIATED PRESS An oil refinery in Iraq.

As tensions mounted over U.S. intervention in Syria and crude inventories fell, oil futures prices crept higher.

The price for U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up $1.10 to $108.32 per barrel.  For Brent, the global benchmark,  prices rose more modestly in Thursday trading, up 14 cents, to near $115 per barrel.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Thursday that oil stockpiles for the week ended Aug. 30 fell to 1.8 million barrels. That’s a sizable figure, though analysts polled by Platts were looking for a larger decline of 2.5 million barrels, according to MarketWatch. Gasoline supplies also fell by 1.8 million barrels, while expectations called for a decline of 1 million barrels.

Natural gas prices fell more than 2% to $3.59 per million British thermal units Thursday, but have been soaring on hot weather in the South and on tropical storm activity. Tropical storm Gabriel is expected to miss the Gulf of Mexico, an important gas hub, but more storms are brewing.

Here was Chicago energy Analyst Phil Flynn earlier today explaining why the price story today is more about domestic futures:

“Oil prices are pushing back the timing of an attack on Syria so now the market can focus on the price impact of Fed tapering.  The Senate Foreign Relations Committee eked an approval of a war resolution by vote of 10–7, not exactly a ringing endorsement. What that means is that the October crude delivery will be unencumbered by war but may face the full fury of the Fed. The short term yields are rising as the economic data suggests that despite the likely will start the long journey back to interest rate normalcy. Whatever that happens to be.”

Among energy stocks rising today: Producers of gas and gas liquids were higherm, including Devon (DVN) and Consol Energy (CNX) rose about 2% each, while drillers Nabors Industries (NBR) and Rowan Companies (RDC) jumped more than 3% apiece. Oilfield services names Halliburton (HAL) and Baker Hughes (BHI) each rose nearly 2%.

Todd Scholl at Wunderlich Securities initiated coverage of offshore drillers Thursday, saying that for investors looking for long-term returns, he favors decent valuatins and, among large-cap companies, those with strong dividends. His observations and picks:

Top Large Cap Picks: Diamond Offshore (DO), Noble (NE), and Seadrill (SDRL) Top Small/Mid Cap Picks: Hercules Offshore (HERO) and Rowan Companies (RDC) Top Special Situation Picks: Pacific Drilling (PACD), Ocean Rig (ORIG), and Vantage Drilling (VTG) Initiated coverage with HOLD ratings: Transcoean (RIG), Atwood (ATW), and Ensco (ESV)

4 Stocks to Trade for Breakouts on Big Volume

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Professional traders running mutual funds and hedge funds don't just look at a stock's price moves; they also track big changes in volume activity. Often when above-average volume moves into an equity, it precedes a large spike in volatility.

>>5 Stocks Set to Soar on Bullish Earnings

Major moves in volume can signal unusual activity, such as insider buying or selling -- or buying or selling by "superinvestors."

Unusual volume can also be a major signal that hedge funds and momentum traders are piling into a stock ahead of a catalyst. These types of traders like to get in well before a large spike, so it's always a smart move to monitor unusual volume. That said, remember to combine trend and price action with unusual volume. Put them all together to help you decipher the next big trend for any stock.

>>5 Rocket Stocks to Buy This Week

With that in mind, let's take a look at several stocks rising on unusual volume today.

CECO Environment

CECO Environment (CECE) provides an array of solutions for industrial ventilation and air-quality problems through dust, mist and fume control systems and particle and chemical technologies to industrial and commercial customers. This stock closed up 4.7% to $13.12 in Monday's trading session.

Monday's Volume: 289,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 79,872

Volume % Change: 233%

>>5 Stocks Ready to Break Out

From a technical perspective, CECE ripped higher here back above its 50-day moving average of $12.97 with heavy upside volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of CECE within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if CECE manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $13.50 to $13.78 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CECE as long as it's trending above Monday's low of $12.34 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 79,872 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then CECE will set up to re-test or possibly take out its 52-week high at $14.26. Any high-volume move above that level will then give CECE a chance to tag $15 to $16.

QIWI

QIWI (QIWI), along with its subsidiaries, provides payment services in Russia and the CIS. This stock closed up 6% to $33.45 in Monday's trading session.

Monday's Volume: 566,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 190,412

Volume % Change: 200%

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From a technical perspective, QIWI jumped higher here right above some near-term support at $30 with strong upside volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last four months, with shares soaring higher from its low of $14.31 to its recent high of $34.59. During that move, shares of QIWI have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move is quickly pushing shares of QIWI within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if QIWI manages to take out its all-time high at $34.59 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in QIWI as long as it's trending above some near-term support at $30 and then once it sustains a move or close above its all-time high at $34.59 with volume that hits near or above 190,412 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then QIWI will set up to enter new all-time-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $40 to $45.

Health

Health (HNT) is an integrated managed care organization that delivers managed health care services through health plans and government-sponsored managed care plans. This stock closed up 4.2% to $30.85 in Monday's trading session.

Monday's Volume: 1.45 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 633,564

Volume % Change: 119%

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Shares of HNT jumped higher on Monday after Susquehanna upgraded the stock to positive from neutral in a note to clients, saying shares could double in value during the next 12 to 18 months if coverage expansions outlined in President Obama's health care overhaul work.

From a technical perspective, HNT trended up here right above some near-term support at $29.11 with above-average volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of HNT within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if HNT manages to take out its 50-day moving average at $31.39 and then once it clears Monday's high of $31.49 to $32 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in HNT as long as it's trending above near-term support at $29.11 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 633,564 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then HNT will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $33.61 to its 52-week high at $33.70. Any high-volume move above its 52-week high will then put its next major overhead resistance levels at $36 to $38 into range for shares of HNT.

ICU Medical

ICU Medical (ICUI) is engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of innovative medical devices used in infusion therapy, oncology and critical care applications. This stock closed up 1% at $73.64 in Monday's trading session.

Monday's Volume: 320,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 159,392

Volume % Change: 98%

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From a technical perspective, ICUI bounced modestly higher here right off some near-term support at $70 and back above its 50-day moving average of $72.62 with above-average volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of ICUI within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if ICUI manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance at $74.93 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ICUI as long as it's trending above support at $70 and then once it sustains a move or close above $74.93 with volume that this near or above 159,392 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then ICUI will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $76 to its 52-week high at $85.

To see more stocks rising on unusual volume, check out the Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

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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.