There's a lot of red ink on Wall Street today after China took a bite out of the market's enthusiasm. The world's second-largest economy said GDP rose 7.7% in the first quarter, slowing from 7.9% in Q4 and falling short of economists' 8% estimate. Growth in China has helped drive global demand as the U.S. and Europe fight off economic struggles, so investors are more than a little concerned about the news. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) sold off 1.19% as a result of the news, while the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC ) is down 1.73% today.
Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT ) is taking the biggest hit on the Dow, crashing 3.1% today. The company relies on growth in emerging markets to grow sales, and China's GDP numbers will always affect the stock in the short term. A lot of this weakness is already priced into the stock, so it may not be bad for long-term investors. The company reports earnings next Monday, and estimates call for $1.44 per share in earnings, down from $2.37 a year ago.
Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2015: USA Mobility Inc.(USMO)
USA Mobility, Inc. provides wireless communications solutions to the healthcare, government, enterprise, and emergency response sectors in the United States. The company provides one-way and two-way messaging services. One-way messaging consists of numeric and alphanumeric messaging services. The numeric messaging services enable subscribers to receive messages that are composed entirely of numbers, such as a phone number. The alphanumeric messages may include numbers and letters which enable subscribers to receive text messages. Its two-way messaging services enable subscribers to send and receive messages to and from other wireless messaging devices, including pagers, personal digital assistants and personal computers. USA Mobility also offers voice mail, personalized greeting, message storage and retrieval, and equipment loss and/or maintenance protection to its one-way and two-way messaging subscribers. In addition, the company provides mobile voice and data services t hrough third party providers, which include BlackBerry devices and global positioning system location applications. Further, it offers machine to machine telemetry solutions for various applications that include asset tracking, utility meter reading, and other remote device monitoring applications. USA Mobility serves businesses, professionals, management personnel, medical personnel, field sales personnel and service forces, members of the construction industry and construction trades, real estate brokers and developers, sales and service organizations, specialty trade organizations, manufacturing organizations, and government agencies. The company is based in Springfield, Virginia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Among the sector stocks, 8x8 (NASDAQ: EGHT) was down more than 2.2 percent, while USA Mobility (NASDAQ: USMO) tumbled around 2.5 percent.
Top Headline
Tiffany & Co (NYSE: TIF) swung to a loss in the fourth quarter. Tiffany posted a quarterly loss of $103.6 million, or $0.81 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $179.6 million, or $1.42 per share. Excluding special items, it earned $1.47 per share. Its revenue climbed to $1.30 billion versus $1.24 billion. However, analysts were estimating earnings of $1.51 per share on revenue of $1.31 billion. For fiscal year 2014, Tiffany projects earnings of $4.05 to $4.15 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $4.27 per share. - [By Sally Jones]
USA Mobility Inc. (USMO): ReducedUp 26% over 12 months, USA Mobility has a market cap of $307.81 million; its shares were traded at around $14.22 with a P/E ratio of 13.10. The dividend yield of USMO is 3.52%.
5 Best High Tech Stocks To Watch For 2014: Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd (IMPUY.PK)
Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats) is a producer of platinum group metals (PGMs) and associated base metals. Implats has operations on the PGM-bearing orebodies of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa and the Great Dyke in Zimbabwe. PGMs include platinum, and the associated by-products, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and gold usually occur in association with nickel and copper. As of June 30, 2012, the Company�� holdings in various mining and exploration activities included Impala Platinum Limited (100%), which includes PGM mining, processing and refining; Impala Refining Services Limited (100%), which is engaged in purchase of concentrate and/or smelter matte; Impala Chrome (Pty) Limited (100%) and Makgomo Chrome (Pty) Limited (50%), which are engaged in purchase of chrome in tailings, and Zimplats Holdings Limited (86.9%), Afplats (Pty) Limited (74%), Marula Platinum (Pty) Limited (73%), Mimosa Investments Limited (50%) and Two Rivers Platinum (Pty) Limited (45%), which are engaged in PGM mining.
Impala Platinum
Impala Platinum, Implats��primary operational unit, has operations situated on the Impala lease area on the western limb of the Bushveld Complex near Rustenburg in South Africa, and in Springs east of Johannesburg. Impala holds contiguous mining rights and prospecting rights for a total area of 260 square kilometres. Operations comprise 14 operational shaft systems, five of which have underground decline systems.
Zimplats Holdings Limited
Zimplats Holdings Limited (Zimplats) is 87% owned by Implats and is located on the Hartley Geological Complex on the Zimbabwean Great Dyke south-west of Harare. Zimplats operates three underground mines and a concentrator at Ngezi. The Selous Metallurgical Complex (SMC), located some 77 kilometer north of the mine, comprises a concentrator and a smelter. The Company also owns the Hartley Platinum Mine situated at the SMC, which is under care and maintenance.
Marula Platin! um Limited
Marula Platinum Limited (Marula) is 73% owned by Implats. Marula is located in the Limpopo Province, some 50 kilometres north of Burgersfort. The operation consists of two on-reef decline shafts, one off-reef conventional decline and a concentrator plant.
Mimosa
Mimosa is wholly owned by Mimosa Investments Limited, a Mauritius-based company jointly held by Implats and Aquarius Platinum Limited (Aquarius) in a 50:50 joint-venture. Mimosa is located on the Wedza Geological Complex on the Zimbabwean Great Dyke east of Bulawayo. The operation comprises a shallow underground mine, accessed by a decline shaft, and a concentrator.
The Two Rivers Platinum Mine
The Two Rivers Platinum Mine (Two Rivers) is a joint venture between African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) (55%) and Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats) (45%). The operation is situated on the farm Dwarsrivier on the southern part of the eastern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The operation consists of two on-reef decline shafts and a concentrator.
Impala Refining Services (IRS)
IRS products include flotation concentrates from Marula, Mimosa and Two Rivers, as well as Aquarius��Marikana, Everest mine and Blue Ridge mines (on care and maintenance) and Eastern Platinum�� Crocodile River mine; furnace matte from Zimplats; spent autocatalysts from A-1 Specialised Services and Supplies Inc. for recycling, and selected base metal residues and other secondary materials.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Zacks Investment Research]
It is hard to find a good play in the Zacks Industry of mining non-ferrous metals, as the industry currently has a rank of 247 out of 261. In fact, in our five mining industries, there are only two No. 1-Ranked stocks: Brigus Gold (BRD) and Impala (IMPUY.PK). Both of these are in struggling industries, but they have proven to be best-in-class thanks to improving earnings estimates. Plus, both have seen their ranks surge from holds (or worse) up to strong buy territory, suggesting either of these names might be better picks than the struggling SCCO at this time.
5 Best High Tech Stocks To Watch For 2014: Hot Topic Inc.(HOTT)
Hot Topic, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mall- and Web-based specialty retailer in the United States. The company operates Hot Topic and Torrid store concepts, as well as an e-space music discovery concept, ShockHound. Its Hot Topic stores sell music/pop culture-licensed merchandise, including tee shirts, hats, posters, stickers, patches, postcards, books, novelty accessories, CDs, and DVDs; and music/pop culture-influenced merchandise comprising women?s and men?s apparel and accessories, such as woven and knit tops, skirts, pants, shorts, jackets, shoes, costume jewelry, body jewelry, sunglasses, cosmetics, leather accessories, and gift items for young men and women primarily between the ages of 12 and 22. The company?s Torrid stores sells casual and dressy jeans and pants, fashion and novelty tops, sweaters, skirts, jackets, dresses, hosiery, shoes, intimate apparel, and fashion accessories for various lifestyles for plus-size females primarily betw een the ages of 15 and 29. As of July 30, 2011, it operated 636 Hot Topic stores in 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada; 145 Torrid stores; and Internet stores, hottopic.com and torrid.com. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in City of Industry, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Marshall Hargrave]
In May True Religion (TRGL) announced a buyout offer from TowerBrook Capital for $826 million. Also in May, Rue21 decided to sell itself to Apax Partners for $2.2 billion. Before that, in March, Hot Topic (HOTT) announced that Sycamore Partners was buying out it out for $600 million.
5 Best High Tech Stocks To Watch For 2014: SunPower Corp (SPWR)
SunPower Corporation, incorporated in April 1985, is a vertically integrated solar products and services company that designs, manufactures and delivers solar electric systems worldwide for residential, commercial, and utility-scale power plant customers. The Company operates in two business segments: the Utility and Power Plants (UPP) Segment and the Residential and Commercial (R&C) Segment. The UPP Segment refers to its solar products and systems business, which includes power plant project development and project sales, turn-key engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for power plant construction, and power plant operations and maintenance (O&M) services. UPP Segment also sells components, including huge volume of sales of solar panels and mounting systems to third parties, sometimes on a multi-year, firm commitment basis. The R&C Segment focuses on solar equipment sales into the residential and small commercial market through its third-party global dealer network, as well as direct sales and EPC and O&M services in the United States and Europe for rooftop and ground-mounted solar power systems for the new homes, commercial and public sectors. In May 2012, K Road Power Holdings, LLC (K Road) and SunPower Corp announced that K Road acquired the 25-megawatt (AC) McHenry Solar Project, which the Company designed. In January 2013, the Company MidAmerican Solar acquired the 579-megawatt Antelope Valley Solar Projects (AVSP), two co-located projects in Kern and Los Angeles Counties in Calif from SunPower.
In January 2012, the Company completed its acquisition of the wholly owned Total SA subsidiary Tenesol SA, a global solar provider. In September 2011, NRG Energy Inc. acquired 250 megawatt California Valley Solar Ranch (CVSR) project from SunPower. In June 2011, the Company introduced SunPower E20 Series Solar Panel (E20) series. The Company�� customers in its UPP Segment include investors, financial institutions, project developers, electric utilities, and independent po! wer producers in the United States, Europe, and Asia. In its R&C Segment, the Company primarily sells its products to commercial and governmental entities, production home builders, and its third-party global dealer network serving residential owners and small commercial building owners.
Solar Cells
The A-300 solar cell is a silicon solar cell with a specified power value of 3.1 watts and a conversion efficiency averaging between 20.0% and 21.5%. The Company�� A-330 solar cell delivers 3.3 watts with a conversion efficiency of up to 22.7%.
Solar Panels
The Company�� SunPower solar panel series include solutions, such as SunPower E18 Series Solar Panel (E18), SunPower E19 Series Solar Panel (E19), and SunPower E20 Series Solar Panel (E20). Available in a 72-cell configuration, the E18 series panel uses its A300 all back-contact solar cells and delivers a total panel conversion of 18.1% to 18.5%. Available in a 72, 96, and 128-cell configuration, the E19 series panel uses its A300 all back-contact solar cells and delivers total panel conversion of 19.3% to 19.7%. Available in a 96-cell configuration, the E20 series panel uses its A-330 all back-contact solar cells and delivers total panel conversion of up to 20.1%.
Inverters
The Company sells a line of SunPower branded inverters. The inverters are manufactured by third parties.
Roof Mounted Products
The roof mounted products include SunPower T-5 Solar Roof Tile System (T-5), SunPower T-10 Commercial Solar Roof Tiles (T-10), PowerGuard Roof System (PowerGuard) and SunTile Roof Integrated System (SunTile). Tilted at a 5-degree angle, the T-5 roof tile is a non-penetrating photovoltaic rooftop product that combines solar panel, frame, and mounting system. The T-5 solar roof tile systems are primarily sold through its R&C Segment.
Tilted at a 10-degree angle, the T-10 commercial solar roof tiles is a non-penetrating panel interlock system! . Dependi! ng on geographical location and local climate conditions, this can allow for the generation of up to 10% more annual energy output than traditional flat roof-mounted systems. The T-10 commercial solar roof tile is primarily sold through its R&C Segment.
PowerGuard is a non-penetrating roof-mounted solar panel that delivers electricity while insulating and protecting the roof membrane from ultraviolet rays and thermal degradation. The PowerGuard roof system is primarily sold through its R&C Segment. SunTile solar shingles are designed to replace multiple types of roof panels, including the common concrete flat, low and high profile S tile and composition shingles. The SunTile roof system is also sold through its R&C Segment.
Ground Mounted Products
The ground mounted products include SunPower T-0 Tracker (T-0) & SunPower T-20 Tracker (T-20), SunPower Oasis Power Plant (SunPower Oasis), SunPower C-7 Tracker (C-7), and Fixed Tilt and SunPower Tracker Systems for Parking Structures. The T-0 and T-20 trackers are single-axis tracking systems that automatically pivot solar panels to track the sun's movement throughout the day. This tracking feature increases the amount of sunlight that is captured and converted into energy by up to 30% over flat or fixed-tilt systems, depending on geographic location and local climate conditions. A single motor and drive mechanism can control 10 to 20 rows, or more than 200 kilo watts of solar panels. The T-0 and T-20 trackers have been installed in a range of geographical markets principally in the United States, Germany, Italy, Portugal, South Korea, and Spain. The T-0 and T-20 trackers are sold through both its UPP and R&C Segments.
The Oasis is a solar power block that scales from 1 mega watts distributed installations to central station power plants. Oasis provides a way to deploy utility-scale solar power systems, streaming the development and construction process while optimizing the use of available land. The SunPow! er Oasis ! is sold through its UPP Segment. The C-7 combines a horizontal single-axis tracker with rows of parabolic mirrors, reflecting light onto linear arrays of its solar cells. The C-7 tracker is sold through its UPP Segment. SunPower has developed designs for solar power systems for parking structures in multiple configurations. These dual-use systems typically incorporate solar panels into the roof of a carport or similar structure to deliver onsite solar power while providing shade and protection. They are suited for parking lots adjacent to facilities. Fixed Tilt and SunPower Tracker Systems for parking structures are sold through both its UPP and R&C Segments.
Other System Offerings
SunPower�� metal roof system is designed for sloped-metal roof buildings, which are used in some winery and warehouse applications. This solar power system is designed for rapid installation. It also offers other architectural products, such as day lighting with translucent solar panels.
Balance of System Components
Balance of system components are components of a solar power system other than the solar panels. It includes SunPower branded inverters, mounting structures, charge controllers, grid interconnection equipment, and other devices depending on the specific requirements of a particular system and project.
The Company competes with Canadian Solar Inc., JA Solar Holdings Co., Kyocera Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, Q-Cells AG, Sanyo Corporation, Sharp Corporation, SolarCity Corporation, SolarWorld AG, Sungevity, Inc., SunRun, Inc., Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd., Trina Solar Ltd., Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd., Abengoa Solar S.A., Acconia Energia S.A., AES Solar Energy Ltd., Chevron Energy Solutions, EDF Energy plc, First Solar Inc., NextEra Energy, Inc., OPDE Group, NRG Energy, Inc., Recurrent Energy, Sempra Energy, Skyline Solar, Inc., Solargen Energy, Inc., Solaria Corporation, SolFocus, Inc., SunEdison and Tenaska, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sara Murphy]
Meanwhile, NRG is working in partnership with other solar companies. NRG and SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR ) are developing the 250-MW California Valley Solar Ranch together. Once the project is completed ��which is projected for December 2013 ��the companies will operate and maintain it jointly for two years, after which NRG will take sole responsibility. Just last month, First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR ) completed the 66-MW Alpine Solar Generating Facility it built for NRG. First Solar is also building Agua Caliente ��the world's largest solar plant at 250 MW ��for NRG and Warren Buffett's MidAmerican Solar.
- [By Travis Hoium]
Source: Company earnings releases.��
Solar companies have reported losses for some time now, but LDK Solar has more debt than most companies, and won't be able to survive with such feeble numbers. At the end of 2012, debt stood at $2.8 billion, and we know now that the company ran out of cash just this week. There's no way LDK Solar can survive on just $135.9 million in quarterly revenue and that kind of debt level.� � A problem across solar High debt loads and feeble margins aren't a challenge faced by LDK Solar alone. Suntech Power gave in to these pressures last month, defaulting on its own debt. Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE ) is now the most indebted Chinese solar company, with $2.5 billion in debt, and I wouldn't doubt if they're not far behind LDK and Suntech. The defaults of Suntech and LDK has to be concerning for all of Chinese solar, especially if banks don't keep the free flow of funds that have powered a rapid expansion in production.� � Balance sheets matter
What's becoming clearer and clearer every quarter is that balance sheets matter, not just for investors, but also for solar installers. Solar modules come with warranties, sometimes stretching as long as 25 years, and if a customer questions whether a company will be around in only a year or two, they may choose another option. Since Chinese modules vary very little from a performance perspective, the customer may choose a better-capitalized company like JinkoSolar instead of Yingli or LDK, or even move to a U.S. company like First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR ) or SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR ) . As financial conditions get worse at these companies more and more customers leave and the problems get worse, creating a downward spiral. LDK and Suntech are the poster children for this and are a major reason investors need to stick with quality in solar. � I've been down on LDK Solar since I began predicting its failure in 2011. Investors interested in g - [By Travis Hoium]
My top pick is still SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR ) , and another great company is SolarCity (NASDAQ: SCTY ) . Residential solar grew 53% in the first quarter, and both companies have a major share of this growing market. Unlike utility-scale solar, the residential space is far more consistent, and we can expect more growth in the future. Both SunPower and SolarCity sign customers up to 20-year leases, ensuring revenue long-term.�
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