Contingency Clauses In Home Purchase Contracts

A contingency clause defines a condition or action that must be met in order for a real estate contract to become binding. A contingency becomes part of a binding sales contract when both parties (i.e., the seller and the buyer) agree to the terms and sign the contract. Accordingly, it is important to understand what you're getting into if a contingency clause is included in your real estate contract. Here, we introduce widely used contingency clauses in home purchase contracts and how they can benefit both buyers and sellers.

Real Estate Contracts

A real estate transaction typically begins with an offer: a buyer presents an offer to purchase to a seller who can either accept or reject the proposal. Frequently, the seller counters the offer and negotiations go back and forth until both parties reach an agreement. If either party does not agree to the terms, the offer becomes void and the buyer and seller go their separate ways with no further obligation. If both parties agree to the terms of the offer, however, the buyer makes an earnest money deposit – a sum paid as evidence of good faith, typically amounting to 1% of the sale price. The funds are held by an escrow company while the closing process begins.

Sometimes a contingency clause is attached to an offer to purchase real estate and included in the real estate contract. Essentially, a contingency clause gives parties the right to back out of the contract under certain circumstances that must be negotiated between the buyer and seller. Contingencies can include details such as the timeframe (e.g. "The buyer has 14 days to inspect the property") and specific terms (e.g. "The buyer has 21 days to secure a 30-year conventional loan for 80% of the purchase price at an interest rate no higher than 4.5%"). Any contingency clause should be clearly stated so that all parties understand the terms.

If the conditions of the contingency clause are not met, the contract becomes null and void, and one party (most often the bu! yer) can back out without legal consequences. Conversely, if the conditions are met, the contract is legally enforceable and a party would be in breach of contract if he or she decided to back out. Consequences vary, from forfeiture of earnest money to lawsuits. For example, if a buyer backs out and the seller is unable to find another buyer, the seller can sue for specific performance, forcing the buyer to purchase the home.

Types of Contingency Clauses

Contingency clauses can be written for nearly any need or concern. Here are the most common contingencies included in today's home purchase contracts:

Appraised Contingency

An appraisal contingency protects the buyer, used to ensure a property is valued at a minimum, specified amount. If the property does not appraise for at least the specified amount, the contract can be terminated and the earnest money, in many cases, is refunded to the buyer. An appraisal contingency may include terms that permit the buyer to proceed with the purchase even if the appraisal is below the specified amount, typically within a specified number of days after the buyer receives the notice of appraisal value. The seller might have the opportunity to lower the price to the appraisal amount. The contingency specifies a release date, on or before which the buyer must notify the seller of any issues with the appraisal; otherwise, the contingency will be deemed satisfied and the buyer will not be able to back out of the transaction.

Financing Contingency

A financing contingency (also called a "mortgage contingency") gives the buyer time to apply for and obtain financing for the purchase of the property. This provides important protection for the buyer, who can back out of the contract and reclaim his or her earnest money in the event he or she is unable to secure financing from a bank, mortgage broker or other type of private lending. A financial contingency will state a specified number of days that the buyer has to obtain financing. The buyer has until this date to terminate the contract (or request an extension that must be agreed to in writing by the seller); otherwise, the buyer automatically waives the contingency and becomes obligated to purchase the property – even if a loan is not secured.

House Sale Contingency

Although in most cases it is easier to sell before buying another property, the timing and financing don't always work out that way. A house sale contingency gives buyers a specified amount of time to sell and settle their existing homes in order to finance the new one. This type of contingency protects buyers because, if an existing home doesn't sell for at least the asking price, the buyer can back out of the contract without legal consequences. House sale contingencies can be difficult on the seller, who may be forced to pass up another offer while waiting for the outcome of the contingency. The seller retains the right to cancel the contract if the buyer's home is not sold within the specified number of days.

Inspection Contingency

An inspection contingency (also called a "due diligence contingency") gives the buyer the right to have the home inspected within a specified time period, such as 5-7 days. It protects the buyer, who can cancel the contract or negotiate repairs based on the findings of a professional home inspector. An inspector examines the property's interior and exterior, including the condition of electrical, finish, plumbing, structural and ventilation elements. The inspec! tor furnishes a report to the buyer detailing any issues discovered during the inspection. Depending on the exact terms of the inspection contingency, the buyer can:

Approve the report and the deal moves forward Disapprove the report and back out of the deal (and have earnest money returned) Request time for further inspections if something needs a second look Request repairs or concession (if the seller agrees, the deal moves forward; if the seller refuses, the buyer can back out of the deal and have his or her earnest money returned) A cost of repair contingency is sometimes included in addition to the inspection contingency. This specifies a maximum dollar amount for necessary repairs. If the inspection indicates that repairs will cost more than this dollar amount, the buyer can elect to terminate the contract. In many cases, the cost of repair contingency is based on a certain percentage of the sales price, such as 1-2%.

Kick-Out Clause

The kick-out clause is a contingency added by sellers to provide a measure of protection against a house sale contingency. While the seller agrees to a house sale contingency, he or she can add a kick-out clause stating that the seller can continue to market the property. If another qualified buyer steps up, the seller gives the current buyer a specified amount of time (such as 72 hours) to remove the house sale contingency and keep the contract alive; otherwise, the seller can back out of the contract and sell to the new buyer.

The Bottom Line

A real estate contract is a legally enforceable agreement that defines the roles and obligations of each party in a real estate transaction, and contingencies are attached to and made part of contracts. It is important to read and understand your contract, paying attention to all specified dates and deadlines. Because time is of the essence, one day (and one missed deadline) can have a negative - and costly - effect on your real estate transaction.

In certain states, real estate professionals are allowed to prepare contracts and any modifications, including contingency clauses. In other states, however, these documents must be drawn up by licensed attorneys. It is important to follow the laws and regulations of your state. In general, if you are working with a qualified real estate professional, he or she will be able to guide you through the process and make sure that documents are correctly prepared (by an attorney if necessary). If you are not working with an agent or broker, check with an attorney if you have any questio! ns about real estate contracts and contingency clauses.

aRia Reveals Path to Elite RIA Status for Savant and Beacon Pointe

Call it an opportunity to grow like the best.

The Alliance for Registered Investment Advisors (aRIA), a think tank comprising six elite RIA firms which includes such notable names as Ron Carson and John Furey, principal of the advisor consulting firm Advisor Growth Strategies, on Tuesday released the first two case studies of a six-part series on their member RIA firms.

(aRIA was named to Investment Advisor's IA 25 this year; see the firm's extended profile here.)

Titled “How to Grow Bionically vs. Organically With an M&A Strategy” and “How to Identify and Invest in High-Upside Individuals,” the first two case studies detail the experiences and strategies of aRIA member firms Savant Capital Management and Beacon Pointe, which manage $3.3 billion and $5.6 billion in assets, respectively. Collectively, aRia members manage $20 billion in client assets.

In the Savant case study, CEO Brent Brodeski discusses the merger with The Monitor Group (TMG), “taking the reader behind the deal curtain to reveal challenges and specifics about the deal not previously released,” according to the group. The study analyzes Savant’s transition from being solely organic-growth focused to incorporating what it terms “bionic” growth through the merger of TMG, a $500 million AUM RIA based in McLean, Va.

Four key takeaways from the Savant case study include:

The Beacon Pointe case study, by President Matt Cooper, details the creation of the firm's successful financial planning practice with a focus on hiring well.

As with the each case study in the series, it looks at what went right and what went wrong, examining the early errors alongside the eventual successes.  This particular study demonstrates how Beacon Pointe was not only able to hire top talent, but also knew when the timing was right to so, which is crucial to any RIA’s growth. Three key takeaways include:

“With this six-part case study series, we hope we are able to share our member firms’ secrets to success with our advisor colleagues, and these first two are indicative of the quality of thought leadership they are able to put forth,” Furey, aRIA's founder and a former executive at Schwab Advisor Services, said in a statement. “We founded aRIA in the hopes of creating an elite advisor think tank that would benefit our entire industry and our members continue to express willingness to bare all for the sake of helping the RIA community in general. I learn from them every day and I hope others in the industry benefit from their experience as well.”

The remaining case studies will focus on the following aRIA member firms: Carson Wealth Management, Exencial Wealth Advisors, Highline Wealth Management, and Stratos Wealth Partners.

Broadcom Guidance Sinks Shares

Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) reported third quarter 2013 results after markets closed on Tuesday. For the quarter, the semiconductor maker posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.76 on revenues of $2.15 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $0.79 on revenues of $2.09 billion. Third-quarter results compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.69 EPS and $2.13 billion in revenues.

On a GAAP basis, Broadcom reported quarterly diluted EPS of $0.55, compared with EPS of $0.38 in the same period last year. GAAP net income included a one-time gain of $75 million, a charitable contribution of $25 million and $12 million in restructuring charges.

Top Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now

The company's CEO said:

Looking forward, we are taking the necessary steps to tightly manage the business while focusing on strategic initiatives, including LTE, data center innovation and driving the next generation of home video with HEVC [high-efficiency video coding].

For the fourth quarter of the 2013 fiscal year, Broadcom expects revenue of $1.975 billion, plus or minus 3% and gross margins down in a range of 0.5% to 1% compared with the third quarter. The consensus estimate calls for fourth quarter EPS of $0.59 on revenues of $2.13 billion. For the full year, the consensus estimate calls for EPS of $2.62 on revenues of $8.36 billion.

Broadcom's fourth-quarter forecast will cancel the top and bottom line beats the company posted for the third quarter. Lower pricing for high-end mobile devices from all manufacturers has taken a particular toll on Broadcom. Shares are down nearly 20% over the past 12 months, while peers like Qualcomm Corp. (NASDAQ: QCOM), Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN), and Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) are up around 17%, 45%, and 30%, respectively.

Broadcom shares are trading down about 6.6% at $25.35 in after-hours trading Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $23.25 to $37.85. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $32.60 before today's report.

Orbitz launches rewards program for hotel stays

Orbitz, the online travel booking site, is launching a new rewards program that it hopes will make travelers come to it as quickly for a hotel room as they might when reserving a flight.

The program, set to officially launch on Monday, will allow members to earn loyalty currency, or "orbucks,'' as soon as they book a flight, hotel or travel package that they can redeem to lower the cost of a hotel stay.

And unlike many loyalty programs, redemptions can be immediate when booking a flight. A traveler who books a flight can use the loyalty currency that's earned to bring down the price of a hotel room they're booking for the same trip.

"I think historically people thought Orbitz is where I book my air,'' says Chris Orton, president of Orbitz.com. Now, travelers can see that "the same place I book my air, is a great place to book my hotel . ... The program is designed to give them an incentive.''

When reserving a hotel room, customers earn orbucks equaling 3% of the cost, while booking a flight or travel package will earn orbucks equal to 1% of the price. There's an extra bonus for booking a hotel room on Orbitz's mobile app, with travelers able to earn loyalty currency equal to 5% of the price.

That means, for instance, that if a traveler books a two night hotel stay that costs $200, they'll earn $6 in orbucks, which is equivalent to $6 off the price of another hotel stay. They'll earn $10 in orbucks if they book the stay through Orbitz's mobile app.

Some other online travel booking sites also have loyalty programs. For instance, Travelocity has a program linked to its Travelocity Rewards American Express Card that allows card holders to earn a point for each dollar spent, and to get three points for every dollar spent with Travelocity. But customers need a minimum of 5,000 points to start redeeming them, with that amount adding up to a $50 credit.

Meanwhile, Expedia reward program members can rack up points by booking everything from a flight to a helicopter ri! de through their site. The minimum amount for redemption is 3,500 points, and points can be used for both hotels and flights.

Orbitz says that it will allow travelers to combine deals, using their loyalty credits, along with any discount codes or other promotions to chip away at the price of a hotel room. And, through Dec. 3, if a program member pays to check their first bag, Orbitz will reimburse them with $25 in orbucks.

Maggie Rauch, a travel analyst with PhoCusWright, says that Orbitz has lagged behind its online peers in hotel bookings, which has left it with "a competitive disadvantage,'' particularly since myriad mergers in the airline industry have left fewer carriers to choose from and airlines have gotten better at encouraging fliers to book directly through their specific sites.

"It's easy for a consumer to say I can go to the sites of these three airlines and do my travel research that way,'' she says. " But with a hotel there are so many options, people are more likely to go through an intermediary. ... There's a better opportunity in hotels right now.''

Giving extra orbucks to those who book a hotel through Orbitz's mobile app could also pay off over time, Rauch says.

"It's more long-term,'' she says of the strategy. "As people are booking more and more through mobile, they're hoping when they do, that they'll do it with Orbitz.''

Best High Tech Stocks To Own For 2014

Still, while a frequent flier program may encourage some travelers to stick with a particular airline, loyalty programs are less of a lure for online travel booking sites, Rauch says. Pricing, ease and selection tend to matter more to their customers.

"We haven't seen loyalty programs be a big driver in choosing to book with one site vs. another,'' she says. With the new rewards program, Orbitz is "doing some interesting things, like the launch promotion with the free bag. ... They're! definite! ly going into it pretty aggressively. But it's hard to say whether it will have the desired effect.''

But Adam Hill, a physician based in New York City who was part of the new Orbitz program's pilot phase, says he's been pleased.

Previously, he'd go from site to site, looking for the best deal, and he found them to all be about the same. "I didn't have loyalty to any one of them,'' he said. But after becoming part of its new program, he's been going to Orbitz for pretty much all his trips.

Hill appreciates being able to combine his credits with promotion codes and other discounts, a feature he says is unusual for a loyalty program. Stacking deals recently allowed him to shave 40% off the cost of a hotel he's headed to in New Orleans. "My hotel is going to be a lot cheaper,'' he said. "If I can buy through (Orbitz), I will.''

Liquidmetal Technologies to Provide Turnkey Manufacturing Solution to Licensees (OTCBB:LQMT, OTCMKTS:CRWE)

Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc. (LQMT)

Today, LQMT has shed (-6.60%) down -0.01 at $.13 with 950,168 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 1:45PM EDT October 14, 2013).

Liquidmetal Technologies previously reported delivery of its customized induction melt system, developed to adapt standard plastic injection molding machines to manufacture Liquidmetal components.

After extensive revisions and trials with the current Liquidmetal system, Liquidmetal Technologies and Engel Austria GmbH (Engel), a Certified Liquidmetal Partner, have agreed to a configuration that can be commercially supplied and supported by Engel. The Liquidmetal-designed system has been shipped to Engel to be installed as part of a standard injection-molding machine.

Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc. (LQMT) 5 day chart:

Crown Equity Holdings Inc. (CRWE)

Crown Equity Holdings Inc. (OTCMKTS:CRWE) (www.crownequityholdings.com) together with its digital network of Websites, offers advertising branding and marketing services as a worldwide online multi-media publisher.

Today, CRWE is at $.0050 with 1,000,000 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 10:06AM EDT October 14, 2013).

CRWE daily range is at ($.005 – $.005) thus far and currently at $.0050 would be considered a (+354.54%) gain above the 52 wk low of $.0011.

Crown Equity Holdings Inc. (CRWE) 5 day chart:

Guru Action in Four Aerospace Companies

Here's an update on what the billionaire investors are doing with four aerospace companies as of the third quarter, starting with LMI Aerospace, a manufacturer of aluminum aircraft parts. As of the third quarter, LMIA is held by only two billionaire investors. LMIA's increased production of Boeing 737 and 767 winglet modifications was expected to increase sales for the second half of 2013. Ten days ago the company reported it was having year-to-date record sales of $316.2 million.

LMI Aerospace Inc. reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2013, with net sales up by 48.2%, at $104.7 million. Last year's third quarter had net sales of $70.6 million. The company reported net income of $2.1 million, down from $5.6 million in the same quarter a year ago. Earnings of $0.16 per diluted share were reported for third quarter, down from $0.48 in the third quarter of 2012.

LMI Aerospace Inc. (LMIA)

Down 39% over 12 months, LMI Aerospace Inc. (LMIA) has a market cap of $150.9 million. Shares trade with a P/E of 15.70. The company does not pay a dividend.

LMIA is in a 52-week low. The current share price is $11.76, 49.3% off its 52-week high of $23.20.

LMI Aerospace provides design engineering services and supplies structural assemblies, kits and components to the aerospace and defense markets. The company manufactures more than 30,000 products for integration into a variety of aircraft platforms manufactured by leading original equipment manufacturers and Tier 1 aerospace suppliers.

Guru Action: As of Sept. 30, 2012, Guru Chuck Royce increased his position by 75.3%, buying 410,825 shares at an average price of $15.63 for a loss of 26.4%. In four quarters, Royce has lost 37% buying 956,435 shares at an average price of $18.19 per share.

As of Sept. 30, 2012, Guru Richard Snow also increased his position by 78.74%, buying 21,320 shares at an average price of $15.63 for a 24.8% loss. Overall, Snow has averaged a loss of 36% buying 62,700 shares at ! an average price of $18.27 per share. He averaged a loss of 38% buying 14,305 shares at an average price of $19.11 per share.

Check out the guru trades here.

There is no recent insider trading found.

Historical share pricing, revenue and net income tracking:

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Safran SA (SAFRY)

Down 60% over 12 months, Safran SA has a market cap of $6.61 billion. Shares trade with a P/E of 3.70. The dividend yield is 6.80%.

SAFRY is in a 52-week low. The current share price is $15.84, off 75.7% from its 52-week high of $65.29.

Safran SA is an aerospace, defense and security company with operations in Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.

Guru Action: As of Sept. 30, 2012, Guru Ken Fisher is the sole guru stakeholder. He made a new buy of 44,224 shares at an average price of $57.44 per share, for a loss of 72%.

There is no insider trading found.

Historical share pricing, revenue and net income tracking:

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Lockheed Martin (LMT)

Up 53% over 12 months, Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) has a market cap of $45.06 billion. The current share price is $140.67, and trades with a P/E of 15.00. The dividend yield is 3.30%.

Lockheed Martin Corporation was formed in 1995 by combining the businesses of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta Corporation. Lockheed Martin operates in four principal business segments: Aeronautics, Electronic Systems, Information Systems & Global Services and Space Systems.

Guru Action: As of Sept. 30, 2012, Jim Simons bought a new holding of 145,800 shares at an average price of $121.40 for a gain of 15.9%.

Guru Ray Dalio sold out his LMT after 16 quarters of high gains. In the third quarter of 2013, he sold 10,176 shares at an average price of $121.40 for a gain of 15.9%.

Numerous gurus traded LMT i! n third q! uarter.

There is recent insider selling.

Historical share pricing, revenue and net income tracking:

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B/E Aerospace Inc. (BEAV)

Up 93% over 12 months, B/E Aerospace Inc. has a market cap of $9.05 billion.

The current share price is $86.28, and trades with a P/E of 25.60. The company does not pay a dividend.

B/E Aerospace Inc. is a global manufacturer of aircraft cabin interior products and a distributor of aerospace fasteners and consumables.

Guru Action: As of Sept. 30, 2012, Guru Ken Fisher is one of four gurus making a new buy. Fisher bought a new holding of 21,800 shares at an average price of $70.20 for a gain of 23%.

Guru Larry Robbins was one of two gurus selling out in the third quarter. Robbins sold 341,692 shares at an average price of $70.20 for a gain of 22.9%.

Here's a lot more guru action and recent insider selling.

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GuruFocus "Real Time Picks" reports the stock purchases and sales that Gurus have made within the prior 2 weeks. The report time lag can be as short as 2 days after the date of the transaction. This feature is for Premium Members only.

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Also check out: Ken Fisher Undervalued Stocks Ken Fisher Top Growth Companies Ken Fisher High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Ken Fisher keeps buying Richard Snow Undervalued Stocks Richard Snow Top Growth Companies Richard Snow High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Richard Snow keeps buying
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Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Invest In 2014

State Street already has a pretty robust ETF lineup, including two of the five most popular funds on the market. Still, the firm is always looking to gain market share and hold onto its second place position in the ETF industry, especially with Vanguard right behind in terms of total assets.

In order to do this, State Street has launched several new ETFs this year, competing both in terms of price and finding new niches as well. The company�� latest fund definitely falls into the first category though, as State Street has pushed out its very own product tracking the Russell 2000 Index (read Time to Focus on Small Cap ETFs?).

This new fund, the SPDR Russell 2000 ETF (TWOK), seeks to give exposure to this popular benchmark which is considered by many to be a barometer of small cap performance in the U.S. market. The index is a subset of the Russell 3000 Index, which represents approximately 10% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000 Index, consisting of roughly 2,000 securities overall.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Invest In 2014: EZchip Semiconductor Limited(EZCH)

EZchip, a fabless semiconductor company, engages in the development and marketing of Ethernet network processors for networking equipment. Its products include network processor chips, evaluation boards and network-processor based systems, and development software toolkits. The company offers network processors for use in forming the silicon core of networking equipment, such as switches and routers; and for voice, video and data integration in various applications. Its network processors are single-chip solutions, which enable its customers to design multi-port line cards, such as processing and classification engines, traffic managers, media access controllers, as well as a range of specialized hardware blocks that accelerate various functions. The company offers Evaluation systems which enable customers to test NPU-based systems; and toolkits that assist customers in creating, verifying, and implementing solutions based on its network processors. It provides a library f eaturing data plane code for a range of applications, which include Metro Ethernet protocols, Multi-Protocol Label Switching, IPv4 and IPv6 routing, Access Control Lists, GPON/EPON OLT functionality, Network Address Translation, and Server Load Balancing. The company sells its products directly, and through contract manufacturers and distributors to network equipment vendors. It markets its products in Israel, China, Hong Kong, the Far East, Canada, the United States, and Europe. The company was formerly known as LanOptics Ltd. and changed its name to EZchip Semiconductor Ltd. in July 2008. EZchip Semiconductor Ltd. was founded in 1989 and is based in Yokneam, Israel.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  EZchip Semiconductor (NASDAQ: EZCH) shares climbed 5.80% to $23.53. The volume of EZchip Semiconductor shares traded was 635% higher than normal. EZchip Semiconductor's PEG ratio is 1.57.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  EZchip Semiconductor (NASDAQ: EZCH) was also up, gaining 7.16 percent to $24.11 after a Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) announced a new product that would not threaten the company as previously thought. Equities Trading DOWN
  Shares of Cypress Semiconductor (NASDAQ: CY) were down 16.05 percent to $9.91 after the company lowered its Q3 forecast.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of EZchip (NASDAQ: EZCH  ) have jumped today by as much as 13% after the company reported first-quarter earnings.

  So what: Revenue in the first quarter totaled $15.3 million, topping the Street's forecast of $15.1 million. Non-GAAP net income per share came in at $0.23, which was right on target with expectations.

• [By Paul McWilliams]

  Paul McWilliams: Oh, absolutely. Another company that most investors probably have never heard of is a tiny little Israeli semiconductor company named EZChip (EZCH).

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Invest In 2014: Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ACHN)

Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of treatments for infectious diseases. The company focuses on the development of antivirals for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C; and the development of antibacterials for the treatment of resistant bacterial infections. Its drug candidates for the treatment of chronic HCV include ACH-1625, a protease inhibitor, which is in phase IIa clinical trial for the treatment of chronic HCV; ACH-2684, a pangenotypic protease inhibitor, which is in phase I clinical trial for the treatment of chronic HCV infection; and NS5A inhibitors for the treatment of chronic HCV infection, including ACH-2928, which is to enter a phase I clinical trial, as well as various additional NS5A inhibitors in preclinical development. Its pipeline of product candidates also includes ACH-702 and ACH-2881 for drug resistant bacterial infections; elvucitabine for HIV infection; and AC H-1095 for HCV infection. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in New Haven, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Achillion Pharmaceuticals (ACHN) has plunged 51% to $3.53 after the FDA kept a hold on its hepatitis C drug in trials. The stock was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.

Top 10 Casino Companies To Watch In Right Now: 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.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Invest In 2014: OCZ Technology Group Inc(OCZ)

OCZ Technology Group, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes computer components for computing devices and systems worldwide. It primarily offers solid state drives, flash memory storage, memory modules, thermal management solutions, AC/DC switching power supply units, and computer gaming solutions. The company?s products are used in industrial equipment and computer systems; computer and computer gaming solutions; mission critical servers and high end workstations; personal computer (PC) upgrades to extend the useable life of existing PCs; high performance computing and scientific computing; video and music editing; home theatre PCs and digital home convergence products; and digital photography and digital image manipulation computers. OCZ Technology Group, Inc. offers its products to retailers, on-line retailers, original equipment manufacturers, systems integrators, and distributors. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in San Jose, Califo rnia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  The not-so-great and wonderful OCZ
  There was no company-specific news that caused solid-state-drive maker OCZ Technology (NASDAQ: OCZ  ) to fall almost 8% Wednesday. But an article that appeared on Seeking Alpha �questioning whether the company had six months or less to live before it filed for bankruptcy seemed to coincide with its fall.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Invest In 2014: OmniVision Technologies Inc.(OVTI)

OmniVision Technologies, Inc. designs, develops, and markets semiconductor image-sensor devices. The company offers CameraChip image sensors, which are single-chip solutions that integrate various functions, such as image capture, image processing, color processing, signal conversion, and output of a processed image or video stream for use in various consumer and commercial mass-market applications; and CameraCube imaging devices that are image sensors with integrated wafer-level optics. It also provides companion chips used to connect its image sensors to various interfaces, including the universal serial bus and other industry standard interfaces; and companion digital signal processors that perform compression in standardized still photo and digital video formats. In addition, the company designs and develops software drivers for Linux, Mac OS, and Microsoft Windows, as well as for embedded operating systems, such as Blackberry OS, Palm OS, Symbian, Windows CE, Windows Embedded, and Windows Mobile. Its products are used in mobile phones, notebooks, Webcams, digital still and video cameras, commercial and security and surveillance, and automotive and medical applications, as well as in entertainment devices. The company sells its products directly to original equipment manufacturers and value added resellers, as well as indirectly through distributors worldwide. OmniVision Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is based in Santa Clara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Stocks on the move: Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) is up 8.9% at $85.66 after a $3.1 billion asset sale to Sinopec. OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) is down 16.1% at $15.45 after warning on earnings due to lower sales of smartphones. E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NYSE: DANG) is down 10.1% at $7.80 on a downgrade from JPMorgan.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Invest In 2014: bebe stores inc.(BEBE)

bebe stores, inc. engages in the design, development, and production of women?s apparel and accessories. Its products include a range of separates, tops, dresses, active wear, and accessories in career, evening, casual, and active lifestyle categories. The company markets its products under the bebe, BEBE SPORT, bbsp, and 2b bebe brand names targeting 21 to 34-year-old woman. As of July 2, 2011, it operated 252 retail stores, and an online store at bebe.com in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Japan, and Canada, as well as 60 international licensee operated stores in south east Asia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Russia, Mexico, and Turkey. The company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Brisbane, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Women's fashion leader bebe (NASDAQ: BEBE  ) has a new face on its board of directors. The specialty retailer announced Monday it has named Narry Singh to join the board, noting his contributions in the world of digital entertainment.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Bebe Stores (BEBE) reported a loss of 14 cents a share, more than the 13 cent loss forecast by analysts, and said it would experience a loss in the low- to mid-teens during the current quarter.

• [By Rich Smith]

  This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines include upgrades for both industrialist Aixtron (NASDAQ: AIXG  ) and fashionista bebe stores (NASDAQ: BEBE  ) . But the news isn't all good, so let's start off with a few words on...

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of Bebe Stores (NASDAQ: BEBE  ) were back in style today, gaining as much as 11% after receiving an upgrade from Janney Capital from Neutral to Buy.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Invest In 2014: Petroquest Energy Inc(PQ)

PetroQuest Energy, Inc. operates as an independent oil and gas company. It engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of oil and gas properties in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas, as well as onshore and in the shallow waters offshore the Gulf Coast Basin. As of December 31, 2009, the company had estimated proved reserves of 1,931 thousand barrels of oil and 167,361 million cubic feet equivalent of natural gas. It owned working interests in 9 net producing oil wells and 277 net producing gas wells. PetroQuest Energy was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  PetroQuest Energy Inc. (NYSE: PQ) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at J.P. Morgan.

  Rubicon Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RBCN) was downgraded to Underperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Invest In 2014: FuelCell Energy Inc.(FCEL)

FuelCell Energy, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacturing, and sale of high temperature fuel cells for clean electric power generation primarily in South Korea, the United States, Germany, Canada, and Japan. The company offers proprietary carbonate Direct FuelCell Power Plants that electrochemically produce electricity from hydrocarbon fuels, such as natural gas and biogas. Its fuel cells operate on a range of hydrocarbon fuels, including natural gas, renewable biogas, propane, methanol, coal gas, and coal mine methane. The company also develops carbonate fuel cells, planar solid oxide fuel cell technology, and other fuel cell technologies. It provides its products to universities; manufacturers; mission critical institutions, such as correction facilities and government installations; hotels; and natural gas letdown stations, as well as to customers who use renewable biogas for fuel, including municipal water treatment facilities, br eweries, and food processors. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Danbury, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Despite horrendous losses for investors over the long term, small cap fuel cell stocks FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ: FCEL) and Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ: PLUG) have both made gains this year. However, which is the better small cap fuel cell stock for investors moving forward or should you just ignore both?

• [By John Udovich]

  Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) has a growing�battery fire mess on its hand but should investors in small cap fuel cell stock Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ: PLUG) be more worried than investors in fuel cell peers like FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ: FCEL) and Ballard Power Systems Inc (NASDAQ: BLDP)? After all, Tesla Motors Inc�� battery fire problems seem to result from drivers running over debris that damage�or pierce the undercarriage rather than with the batteries�themselves (as in Boeing�� case). Nevertheless, any news about batteries or fuel cells and the like catching on fire could spill over�and impact peers - unless there are other concerns for investors. ��

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Had shares of its peers and competitors performed as well, it may not even be worth bringing up. But, Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) shares have done significantly better than FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:FCEL) and Ballard Power Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:BLDP) since the end of March. And, PLUG has performed considerably better than FCEL and BLDP have since mid-August. This is more than "just a little volatility." This is a leader breaking away from the pack after a very long lull. Thing is, there's plenty more room for Plug Power to keep running.

• [By Green Energy Addict]

  On June 3, 2013 I gave my 5 Bullish Signs ahead of the FuelCell Energy (FCEL) Q2 2013 earnings report. I cited the large backlog as one of the reasons for my bullish views. I gave as my reasoning the following:

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Invest In 2014: Sky-mobi Limited(MOBI)

Sky-mobi Limited engages in the operation of a mobile application store in the People?s Republic of China. It works with handset companies to pre-install its Maopao mobile application store on handsets and with content developers to provide users with applications and content titles. The users of its Maopao store could browse, download, and purchase a range of applications and content, such as single-player games, mobile music, and books. The company?s Maopao store enables mobile applications and content to be downloaded and run on various mobile handsets with hardware and operating system configurations. It also operates a mobile social network community, the Maopao Community, where it offers localized mobile social games, as well as applications and content with social network functions to its registered members. The company owns proprietary mobile application technology in the cloud computing, the MRP format, and SDK development environment. As of March 31, 2011, it had entered into cooperation agreements with approximately 523 handset companies to pre-install Maopao. The company was formerly known as Profit Star Limited and changed its name to Sky-Mobi Limited in October 2010. Sky-mobi Limited was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Hangzhou, China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another stock that's starting to move within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Sky-mobi (MOBI), which, through its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of a mobile application platform embedded on mobile phones to provide mobile application store and services in the People�s Republic of China. This stock has been red hot so far in 2013, with shares up a whopping 88%.

  If you look at the chart for Sky-mobi, you'll notice that this stock recently formed a triple bottom chart pattern at $3.31, $3.28 and $3.40 a share. That bottoming pattern occurred over the last two months. Shares of MOBI have now started to uptrend and flirt with its 50-day moving average of $3.76 a share. That move is quickly pushing MOBI within range of triggering a big breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in MOBI if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $3.71 to $3.83 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 145,934 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then MOBI will set up to re-test or possibly take out its 52-week high at $4.96 a share. Any high-volume move above that level will then give MOBI a chance to tag its next major overhead resistance levels at $5.55 to $6.13 a share.

  Traders can look to buy MOBI off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at $3.40 to $3.28 a share. One can also buy MOBI off strength once it takes out that breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Invest In 2014: Sify Technologies Limited(SIFY)

Sify Technologies Limited provides enterprise and consumer Internet services primarily in India. The company offers various corporate network/data services comprising e-commerce and network connectivity solutions, such as end-to-end services network, application, and security services; voice origination and termination services; co-location and managed hosting services; and system integration services for data centre build, hardware distribution, security solutions, and turnkey projects. It also provides application services, including SLEMS and Microsoft Exchange messaging platforms; I-test for online assessment and LiveWire, which enable management of training processes across the organization; document management system for the management of documents electronically; and Forum, a forward supply chain solution. In addition, the company operates e-Ports that offer browsing, chat, email, gaming, utility bill payment, travel ticketing, hotel booking, mobile recharge, Intern et telephony, and online share trading services; and portals, which provide news, views, reviews, interactions, and services in the areas of movies, sports, finance, food, videos, astrology, online games, shopping, and travel, as well as offers content offerings and broadband services. Further, it provides infrastructure management services, such as network management, datacenter and helpdesk outsourcing, desktop and storage outsourcing, IT security outsourcing, LAN and WAN outsourcing, database and telecom outsourcing, and application monitoring and management services to automotive, chemical, media, and financial enterprises; and virtualization design, integration, and deployment services for servers, storage, networks, and end user clients. Sify has approximately 1,278 e-Ports in 200 towns and cities; and serves 1,06,000 broadband subscribers through 1500 cable TV Operators. The company, formerly known as Sify Limited, was founded in 1995 and is based in Chennai, India.

Mid-Day Market Update: La-Z-Boy Surges On Upbeat Results; Smucker Shares Drop

Top Heal Care Companies To Invest In Right Now

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.05 percent to 15,975.63 while the NASDAQ surged 0.33 percent to 3,944.46. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.17 percent to 1,790.97.

Top Headline Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW) reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings and raised its outlook for fiscal 2013.

Lowe's quarterly earnings surged to $499 million, or $0.47 per share, from $396 million, or $0.35 per share, in the year-earlier period.

Its revenue climbed 7% to $12.96 billion from $12.07 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.48 per share on revenue of $12.73 billion. Its sales at stores open at least a year increased 6.2%.

Equities Trading UP J. C. Penney Company (NYSE: JCP) shot up 8 percent to $9.41 after the company reported a wider Q3 loss. J. C. Penney also projects gross margin and comparable sales to improve versus the year-ago period.

Shares of NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ) got a boost, shooting up 5.61 percent to $14.12 after the company expected record revenue for its fiscal year 2014.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE: LZB) was also up, gaining 10.11 percent to $26.89 after the company reported upbeat fiscal second-quarter results and lifted its dividend.

Equities Trading DOWN Shares of Seaspan (NYSE: SSW) were down 9.82 percent to $21.13 after the company priced 3,500,000 equity offering at $22.00 per share.

The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE: SJM) shares tumbled 6.36 percent to $101.68 after the company reported a 3.1% rise in its fiscal second-quarter earnings and cut its sales forecast for the year.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW) was down, falling 4.77 percent to $48.04 after the company reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings.

Commodities In commodity news, oil traded up 0.50 percent to $93.81, while gold traded down 0.97 percent to $1,261.10.

Silver traded down 0.59 percent Wednesday to $20.22, while copper rose 0.30 percent to $3.18.

Eurozone European shares were mostly lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.83 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index tumbled 0.21 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.07 percent and the French CAC 40 dropped 0.09 percent while U.K. shares declined 0.22 percent.

Economics The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity fell 2.30% in the week ending November 15.

US retail sales rose 0.4% in October, versus economists' expectations for a 0.1% gain.

The consumer price index fell 0.1% in October, while the core CPI gained 0.1%. However, economists were projecting the overall index to increase 0.1% and the core rate to climb 0.1%.

Sales of existing homes dropped 3.2% to an annual rate of 5.12 million in October.

Business inventories rose 0.6% in September, versus economists' expectations for a 0.3% gain.

Crude supplies climbed 400,000 barrels for the week ending November 15, the US Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a fall of 500,000 barrels.

Posted-In: News Options Economics Intraday Update Markets Analyst Ratings

(c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Best Blue Chip Companies To Own In Right Now

The major U.S. indices had another record-breaking week last week, driven to new highs by stronger-than-expected earnings by many blue chip names. While the U.S. unemployment rate reached a four-year low at 7.4% and factory activity rose to a 2-year high of 55.4, the lackluster labor force participation rate of 63.4% has caused concern among investors. These metrics prompted the Federal Reserve to issue a statement making it clear the U.S. still has a long way to go.

International indices moved largely higher on the positive U.S. data and improvements in eurozone economic figures. Britain�� FTSE 100 rose 1.34%, Germany�� DAX 30 rose 1.92%, and Japan�� Nikkei 225 rose 2.38% on the week. In the eurozone, ECB President Mario Draghi stated that recent economic indicators signaled that the region was now through the worst of the economic crisis, although officials plan to keep rates low for the foreseeable future.

SEE: Economic Indicators That Affect The U.S. Stock Market

Best Blue Chip Companies To Own In 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 Christopher F. Davis]

  For those unaware, FIO engages in the development, marketing, and sale of storage memory platforms for enterprise data decentralization. FIO operates primarily in the United States, but does some business internationally. FIO's integrated hardware and software platform enables the decentralization of data from legacy architectures and specialized hardware. FIO makes popular storage memory platforms including ioDrive, ioFX, and ioCache products; directCache data-tiering software; ioTurbine virtualization software; ioSphere platform management software; and ION data accelerator software. Its products are used in various markets, such as financial services, Internet, technology, education, retail, manufacturing, energy, life sciences, and government. Some of its highest paying customers are Apple (AAPL) and Facebook (FB). These two companies rely heavily on FIO's services to decentralize data. Fundamentally, the company seems strong, even though the stock is down significantly from touching $32 in the fall of 2012.

Best Blue Chip Companies To Own In 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 Eric Volkman]

  It's one of the steadiest dividend payers on the market, and it's continuing to fly level. Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) has declared a fresh quarterly common stock dividend, which is to be $0.34 per share, paid on August 15 to shareholders of record as of July 23. That amount matches the firm's previous distribution; this was paid in May. Prior to that, Colgate-Palmolive handed out $0.31 per share.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Lately, Johnson & Johnson has presented two different faces to investors. On one hand, the company has faced the challenge of dealing with a weak consumer-products business, as multiple recalls and close regulatory oversight of its production facilities have exacerbated J&J's problems. With its more focused consumer-goods business, Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) has worked harder at taking advantage of international growth opportunities than many of its rivals, and Colgate's strong overseas sales, in comparison to J&J's international weakness, show the effectiveness of that strategy. In particular, Asia has been a focus point for Colgate, with revenue from the region having risen 9% year over year compared with less than 3% growth overall. Moreover, Latin America represents Colgate's biggest region for sales, with more than half again the revenue its U.S. segment produces.

5 Best Heal Care Stocks To Invest In 2014: 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 Douglas A. McIntyre]

  Burger Kind has few advantages over its much larger�rival McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD), which has almost 13,000 locations in the United States.�Burger King has just�over 7,000. Wendy’s Co. (NYSE: WEN) is gaining with almost 6,000 stores. Burger King’s sales last year were less than $2 billion, in contrast to McDonald’s sales of $27.5 billion.

• [By The Part-time Investor]

  The following stocks met the criteria in January of 2008 and were put into the initial portfolio:

  Abbot Labs (ABT)Advanced data processing (ADP)Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC)Bank of America (BAC)BB&T Corp. (BBT)Bemis Company (BMS)Anheuser Busch (BUD)The Chubb Corporation (CB)Clorox (CLX)Comerica Inc. (CMA)Diebold Inc. (DBD)Emerson Electronics (EMR)First Dollar Corp. (FDO)First Third BanCorp. (FITB)Gannett Co, Inc. (GCI)General Electric (GE)Hershey (HSY)Illinois Tools Works (ITW)Johnson and Johnson (JNJ)Leggett and Platt (LEG)Eli Lilly (LLY)La-Z-Boy (LZB)McDonald's (MCD)Marsh and Ilsley (MI)M&T Bancorp (MTB)PepsiCo (PEP)Pfizer (PFE)Procter & Gamble (PG)Pentair Ltd. (PNR)Regions Financial Corp. (RF)Rohm and Haas (ROH)RPM International (RPM)Sherwin Williams (SHW)Sysco Corp. (SYY)UDR Inc. (UDR)

  Historical quotes were taken from Yahoo Finance. $10,000 was put into each position, to the nearest whole share, so a total of $349,262.89 was invested. From 1/15/08 through 5/16/13 all dividends were reinvested back into the stock that paid them. If a dividend cut was announced, that stock was sold on the ex-div date of the new, lower dividend.

• [By Reuters]

  Ricardo Ricote Rodríguez/Flickr World's biggest fast-food chain seeks new ketchup for its famous french fries. McDonald's Corp (MCD) on Friday said it plans to end its 40-year relationship with ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co, since that company is now led by Bernardo Hees, the former chief executive of hamburger rival Burger King Worldwide Inc. "As a result of recent management changes at Heinz, we have decided to transition our business to other suppliers over time," McDonald's said in a statement. "We have spoken to Heinz and plan to work together to ensure a smooth and orderly transition," said McDonald's, which has more than 34,000 restaurants around the globe. Heinz declined to comment. "As a matter of policy, Heinz does not comment on relationships with customers," company spokesman Michael Mullen said. The switch will be more apparent overseas than in the United States, as McDonald's only serves Heinz ketchup in two domestic markets - Pittsburgh and Minneapolis, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on Friday. Indeed, ketchup packages handed out at McDonald's restaurants in the United States often say only "fancy ketchup." Most in-store ketchup dispensers are not branded. The move from McDonald's could benefit Heinz ketchup rivals Hunt's, owned by ConAgra Foods Inc, and Del Monte. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and an investment fund affiliated with 3G Capital bought Heinz for $28 billion in June and immediately named Hees CEO. Burger King went public in June 2012, less than two years after it was taken private by 3G Capital Management LLC, which retains a stake in the fast-food chain.

• [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

  AP The hungry will get some new value-priced dining options at McDonald's (MCD) next month as the world's largest restaurant chain breaks the buck to offer a broader Dollar Menu. Facing what it foresees will be a challenging holiday quarter, McDonald's is going national with the Dollar Menu & More menu that it has been testing in five markets. The rollout will officially kick off on Nov. 4, but may be available at an eatery near you before that. McDonald's will make sure that you hear all about it. A national advertising campaign will kick off a week after its debut. Bucking the Trend The premise of Dollar Menu & More is simple. Instead of simple sandwiches, side salads, and dessert treats for a dollar, the new offerings will be slightly more robust and sell for $2. There will also be shareable items available for $5. Franchisees are on board with the shift -- indeed, they'd been pushing for it, and it's easy to see why. The profit on a $1 McDouble sandwich is far less than what they can earn by merely adding bacon to the same burger and charging $2 for it. With labor and operating costs on the rise, the burger beast probably didn't have much of a choice. Pricing flexibility is a big reason why rival Wendy's (WEN) moved away from a value menu where everything set patrons back just 99 cents. It now has more wiggle room under its "Right Price Right Size" signage. If poultry or beef prices shoot higher, it can adjust accordingly. McDonald's now feels that it can offer different value items at dollar intervals. This would make it seem as if customers will wind up paying more when they head out to the Golden Arches next month, but there's more to offering bargains than meets the eye. Too Much Gilding on the Golden Arches McDonald's knows it has a problem. After nearly a decade of consistently rising same-restaurant sales, McDonald's has posted several negative months of unit-level activity since last October. The company concluded that trying to m

Best Blue Chip Companies To Own In 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 Dan Caplinger]

  Finding bargain stocks
  Even if you think the stock market today is overvalued, you can still find individual stocks that look much less expensive. Energy stocks in general carry relatively low multiples, reflecting concerns about future production and oil and gas prices. Yet even while some large oil companies have struggled, Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) has been more successful than most at finding ways to seek production growth through a combination of aggressive and opportunistic asset purchases along with new discoveries in key areas like Australia and the ultradeep zone of the Gulf of Mexico. Similarly, ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP  ) has identified the Canadian oil sands as well as the U.K. and Norway as being major contributors to production growth in the coming years. Both companies have P/E ratios in the 9 to 11 range.

Best Blue Chip Companies To Own In 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 Diane Alter]

  Dividend Stocks That Increased Payout in September

  Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) announced a 14.8%, or $0.12 per share, increase to its semiannual dividend. The management consulting firm will now pay a semiannual dividend of $0.93. Shares yield 2.53%. Agruim Inc. (NYSE: AGU) boosted its dividend by $1.00 per share to a total dividend of $3.00 on an annualized basis. Shares of the global retailer of agricultural products now sprout a 3.54% yield. Air Industries Group Inc. (NYSE: AIRI) doubled its dividend to $0.125 per share. The maker of airplane and helicopter parts now floats a lofty yield of 6.6%. Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. (NYSE: ARE) upped its dividend 4.6% to $0.68 per quarter for a yield of 4.21%. Banner Corp. (Nasdaq: BANR) boosted its quarterly dividend 25% to $0.15 per share. The parent company of Banner and Islander Bank serves the Pacific Northwest region. Brady Corp. (NYSE: BRC) lifted its quarterly dividend 2.6% to $0.78 per share. It was the 28th straight dividend increase from the identification solutions company. Shares yield 2.57%. Campbell Soup Co. (NSE: CPB) raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share, up from $0.29. The company last raised its dividend in November 2010. Shares yield a hearty 3.06%. CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE: CLC) raised its quarterly dividend 26% to $0.17 per share. It's the largest percentage increase from the Tennessee-based diversified marketer of mobile filtration and packaging products in the last 20 years, and it continues the company's consecutive streak of increasing dividends for the last 30 years. Franklin Resources Inc. (NYSE: BEN) boosted its quarterly dividend 2.6% to $0.10 per share. Frisch's Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: FRS) increased its quarterly dividend 12.5% to $0.18. Shares yield 3.10% The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: GT), in a move that suggests good times are ahead, reinstated its dividend at $0.05 per share. Good
• [By Bill Maurer]

  Philip Morris (PM):

  Philip Morris saw a surprise short interest drop of more than 20% during the final two weeks of March. More than 2.5 million of the roughly 12.2 million shares short were covered, stopping the recent rise in short interest that you can see in the chart below.

• [By Dividend Growth Investor]

  Altria Group (MO) was able to spin-off its Kraft Foods division in 2007. Shareholders in Altria received shares in Kraft for each share of Altria stock they held. In 2008, this was followed by the spin-off of Phillip Morris International (PM), which represented the international tobacco business of Altria Group.

Best Blue Chip Companies To Own In 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 Jae Jun]

  Having missed out on Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA), stumbling upon FleetCor is a pleasant surprise. FleetCor Technologies is a company that provides fuel cards and payment products used by employees. The company also has lodging cards, but since the overall concept is the same, I will focus most of the discussion on fuel cards.

• [By Jason Moser]

  MasterCard's share of electronic payments
  This represents the share of the 15% of transactions that are already in electronic form. On the one hand, according to the Nilson Report competitor Visa (NYSE: V  ) holds about 63% share versus MasterCard's 31%. But when we consider that MasterCard's network has the capacity to handle more than 160 million transactions per hour, and only runs at about 80% capacity per day, there is obviously room to grow, and that is what management is doing. CFO Martina Hund-Mejean put it bluntly: "Look, we are looking at ourselves as a growth company, and obviously all of our investments that we are doing are really pointed to make sure that the top line continues to grow."�

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Two credit-card companies, two different responses to their earnings. While disappointed investors have sold off shares of Visa (V), MasterCard (MA) is relatively unchanged.

• [By Sean Williams]

  The biggest concern for the two largest credit card processing companies -- MasterCard and Visa (NYSE: V  ) �-- is whether or not consumer spending is growing or slowing. If global dollars transacted and volumes are falling, that would mean less processing revenue for these giants. However, I can't actually recall the last time we saw a steady decline in credit card usage since the deep recession of 2009.

Best Blue Chip Companies To Own In 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 Jeff Reeves]

  The dogs of the Dow you should sell right now include Caterpillar (CAT), Walmart (WMT), IBM (IBM), Coca-Cola (KO) and Exxon Mobil (XOM).

  Here�� why these are all big-time stocks to sell:

5 Best Oil Stocks To Invest In Right Now

German automaker Volkswagen (NASDAQOTH: VLKAY  ) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) have partnered to unveil the iBeetle, a model of the former's iconic car that will integrate directly with an iPhone.

Both the Beetle and Beetle Convertible will interface with the iPhone through a specialty app and docking station built directly into the dashboard.

The specialized models will launch in early 2014, and will debut at the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show this month. Once docked, all of the iPhone's functions can be used within the car, including navigation, hands-free calling, and music listening, among others. The Beetle app will allow functions such as measuring oil and coolant temperatures, sending the car's location to friends as a digital postcard, and sending photos taken inside the car directly to social networks.

Volkswagen said the iBeetle is one of the first cars to feature this level of integration with iPhones after collaborating with Apple. The company also said the styling of colors and equipment features would be similar to Apple's design aesthetic.

5 Best Oil Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Markwest Energy Partners LP (MWE)

MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. (MarkWest Energy) is a master limited partnership engaged in the gathering, processing and transportation of natural gas; the transportation, fractionation, storage and marketing of natural gas liquids (NGLs), and the gathering and transportation of crude oil. It provides services in the midstream sector of the natural gas industry. The Company also provides processing and fractionation services to crude oil refineries in the Corpus Christi, Texas area through its Javelina gas processing and fractionation facility. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated in four segments: Southwest, Northeast, Liberty and Gulf Coast. Effective December 31, 2011, the Company acquired the remaining 49% interest in MarkWest Liberty Midstream. On February 1, 2011, the Company acquired Langley processing plant.

Southwest Segment

The Company owns a system in East Texas that consists of natural gas gathering pipelines, centralized compressor stations, a natural gas processing facility and an NGL pipeline. The East Texas system is located in Panola, Harrison and Rusk Counties and services the Carthage Field. Producing formations in Panola County consist of the Cotton Valley, Pettit, Travis Peak and Haynesville formations. During the year ended December 31, 2011, approximately 77% of its natural gas volumes in the East Texas System result from contracts with six producers. The Company sells substantially all of the purchased and retained NGLs produced at its East Texas processing facility to Targa Resources Partners, L.P. (Targa) under a long-term contract. Such sales represent approximately 19.4% of its consolidated revenue in 2011.

The Company owns a natural gas gathering system in the Woodford Shale play in the Arkoma Basin of southeast Oklahoma. The liquids-rich natural gas gathered in the Woodford system is processed through Centrahoma Processing LLC (Centrahoma), its equity investment, or other third-party processors. In addition, it owns the Foss Lake! natural gas gathering system and the Western Oklahoma natural gas processing complex, all located in Roger Mills, Beckham, Custer and Ellis Counties of western Oklahoma. The gathering portion consists of a pipeline system that is connected to natural gas wells and associated compression facilities. The Company also owns a gathering system in the Granite Wash formation in Wheeler County in the Texas panhandle that is connected to its Western Oklahoma processing complex. The Company completed the expansion of the Western Oklahoma natural gas processing plant in October 2011.

Approximately 70% of its Oklahoma volumes result from contracts with three producers in 2011. The Company sells substantially all of the NGLs produced in the Western Oklahoma processing complex to ONEOK Hydrocarbon L.P. (ONEOK) under a long-term contract. Such sales represent approximately 13.2% of its consolidated revenue in 2011. The Company owns a number of natural gas gathering systems located in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and New Mexico, including the Appleby gathering system in Nacogdoches County, Texas. It gathers a portion of the gas produced from fields adjacent to its gathering systems, including from wells targeting the Haynesville Shale. In addition, it owns four lateral pipelines in Texas and New Mexico.

Northeast Segment

The Company�� Northeast segment assets include the Kenova, Boldman, Cobb, Kermit and Langley natural gas processing plants, an NGL pipeline and the Siloam NGL fractionation plant. In addition, it has two caverns for storing propane at its Siloam facility and additional propane storage capacity under a long-term firm-capacity agreement with a third party. The Northeast segment operations include fractionation and marketing services on behalf of the Liberty segment. The Company owns and operates a crude oil pipeline in Michigan (Michigan Crude Pipeline) providing transportation service for three shippers.

Liberty Segment

The Company pr! ovides na! tural gas midstream services in southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia through MarkWest Liberty Midstream. It is a processor of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale, with gathering, processing, fractionation, storage and marketing operations.

Utica Segment

Effective January 1, 2012, the Company and The Energy and Minerals Group (EMG) formed MarkWest Utica EMG, a joint venture focused on the development of natural gas processing and NGL fractionation, transportation and marketing infrastructure to serve producers' drilling programs in the Utica shale in eastern Ohio. During 2011, the Utica Segment did not have any operations.

Gulf Coast Segment

The Company owns and operates the Javelina processing facility, a natural gas processing facility in Corpus Christi, Texas that treats and processes off-gas from six local refineries operated by three different refinery customers. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned a 40% interest in Centrahoma Processing LLC (Centrahoma), a joint venture with Cardinal Midstream, LLC (Cardinal). Centrahoma owns certain processing plants in the Arkoma Basin and Cardinal operates an additional processing plant that is not owned by Centrahoma but is located adjacent to and operates in conjunction with the Centrahoma plants.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Abbvie (ABBV)
  Ameren Corp. (AEE)
  Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG)
  E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. (DD)
  ENSCO (ESV)
  Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD)
  General Mills (GIS)
  H&R Block (HRB)
  Hancock Holding (HBHC)
  Kraft Foods Group (KRFT)
  Lorillard (LO)
  Magellan Midstream Partners LP (MMP)
  MarkWest Energy Partners L P (MWE)
  McDonald’s (MCD)
  Microchip Technology (MCHP)
  NextEra Energy (NEE)
  Regency Centers (REG)
  TELUS Corp. (TU)
  West Corp. (WSTC)
  Williams Companies (WMB)

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  MarkWest Energy� (NYSE: MWE  ) �has taken this as a challenge and will soon be the top infrastructure provider in the region. During the year it plans on bringing a 100,000 barrel per day fractionation facility on line with truck, rail, and pipeline access. This facility will also have access to fractionation facilities in the Marcellus Shale. This addition broadens a portfolio that already houses multiple facilities capable of refrigeration, cryogenic processing, and fractionation. As you can see from the following slide, the company has a number of projects under construction to meet the growing needs of producers in the region. �

5 Best Oil Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Devon Energy Corporation(DVN)

Devon Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of natural gas and oil in the United States and Canada. It also involves in transporting oil, gas, and natural gas liquids (NGL); and processing natural gas. The company owns oil and gas properties in the mid-continent area of the central and southern United States; the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico; the Rocky Mountains area of the United States; and the onshore areas of the Gulf Coast, principally in south Texas and south Louisiana. It also owns oil and gas properties in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, Canada. In addition, the company offers marketing and midstream services, including marketing of gas, crude oil, and NGL, as well as constructing and operating pipelines, storage and treating facilities, and natural gas processing plants. As of December 31, 2010, it had 2,042 million barrel of oil equivalent of proved developed reserves. The company sells its gas production to various customers, such as pipelines, utilities, gas marketing firms, industrial users, and local distribution companies; crude oil production to refiners, remarketers, and other companies; and NGL production to customers in petrochemical, refining, and heavy oil blending activities. Devon Energy Corporation was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  1. Risk for new projects is lower
  The ability to effectively tap shale resources is the culmination of two drilling techniques almost 100 years in the making, starting with the test of the first horizontally drilled well in Texas back in 1929. When horizontally drilled wells are combined with hydraulic fracturing -- a well completion technique pioneered by Mitchell Energy (now part of Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN  ) ) back in the mid '90s -- we are able to effectively drill into a tight gas formation, break the shale, and extract the gas. �

10 Best Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: Apache Corporation(APA)

Apache Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. The company has exploration and production interests in the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf Coast, east Texas, the Permian basin, the Anadarko basin, and the Western Sedimentary basin of Canada; and onshore Egypt, offshore Western Australia, offshore the United Kingdom in the North Sea, and onshore Argentina, as well as on the Chilean side of the island of Tierra del Fuego. Apache Corporation sells its natural gas to local distribution companies, utilities, end-users, integrated oil and gas companies, and marketers; and crude oil to integrated oil companies, marketing and transportation companies, and refiners. As of December 31, 2009, it had total estimated proved reserves of 1,067 million barrels of crude oil, condensate, and natural gas liquids, as well as 7.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The company was founded in 1954 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Other companies didn't do as well last year, but could see their fortunes change in the coming years. Apache (NYSE: APA  ) , yielding 1.1%, shed 19% over the past year, in part due to lower-than-hoped-for production levels. But that's due to the company investing capital in projects that won't immediately bump production much. Only 11% of Apache's revenue last year came from natural gas, and unlike some peers, it's cash-flow positive as well. It hiked its next dividend by a big 18%, and its plans to drill more wells are also promising. On various counts, the stock seems inexpensive. Meanwhile, a board member recently bought�some $740,000 worth of shares.

• [By Taylor Muckerman]

  Egypt and its recent troubles have been a Sword of Damocles hanging over Apache (NYSE: APA  ) since the Arab Spring erupted in December 2010. Since then, Egypt has been in a constant state of flux that has led to new leadership and economic struggles. Apache is currently one of the largest leaseholders and producers in the country, and investors' worries regarding the country-specific risks have left the stock trading well below its peer averages.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA) hits close to home for 24/7 Wall St. because we just identified it as a new entrant in stocks trading under book value. Canaccord Genuity said that it is a Buy with a very high and above-consensus price target of $106 based upon its drilling on overdrive and a restructuring can unlock its value. As a reminder, this one has tanked due to direct exposure to operations inside the troubled nation of Egypt. The $106 price target implies upside of 40% if Canaccord Genuity is correct in its assessment.

5 Best Oil Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Encana Corporation(ECA)

Encana Corporation and its subsidiaries engage in the exploration for, development, production, and marketing of natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids. The company owns interests in resource plays that primarily include the Greater Sierra, Cutbank Ridge, Bighorn, and Coalbed Methane resource plays located in British Columbia and Alberta, as well as the Deep Panuke natural gas project offshore Nova Scotia in Canada. It also holds interests in resource plays comprising the Jonah in southwest Wyoming, Piceance in northwest Colorado, Haynesville in Louisiana, and Texas resource play, including east Texas and north Texas. The company serves primarily local distribution companies, industrials, energy marketing companies, and other producers. Encana Corporation was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  But now, with gas prices above $4 per Mcf, some producers are either resuming or ramping up operations in gassier plays. For instance, Encana (NYSE: ECA  ) announced in February that it intends to increase its gas rig count in the Haynesville shale by three this year, citing the play's recently improved profitability.

• [By David Smith]

  Tending to a tiny town
  Fossil fuel companies and the EPA have hardly formed a mutual admiration society during the past four years. The Wall Street Journal maintained as much 18 months ago in an editorial precipitated by an interminable -- and still ongoing -- look into the possibility that fracking by Encana (NYSE: ECA  ) has fouled the water table�at minuscule (population 175) Pavillion, Wyo. As the paper observed: "The agency is dominated by anticarbon true believers, and the Obama Administration has waged a campaign to raise the price(s) and limit the production of fossil fuels."�

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  Encana (NYSE: ECA  ) , Canada's largest natural gas producer, yesterday announced its eagerly anticipated new strategy to help it become a leaner, more focused energy company.

• [By Jeremy van Loon]

  Encana Corp. (ECA), the natural gas producer selling assets after losing half its value since 2010, is being urged by investors to cut its dividend and focus on profitable projects in the U.S. and Canada.

5 Best Oil Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Statoil ASA (STO)

Statoil ASA (Statoil), incorporated on September 18, 1972, is an integrated energy company primarily engaged in oil and gas exploration and production activities. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had business operations in 41 countries and territories. Effective from January 1, 2011, the Company�� segments were Development and Production Norway; Development and Production International; Marketing, Processing and Renewable Energy; Fuel & Retail, Other. As of 31 December 2011, the Company had proved reserves of 2,276 million barrels (mmbbl) and 3,150 billion cubic meters (bcm) (equivalent to 17,681 trillion cubic feet (tcf)) of natural gas, corresponding to aggregate proved reserves of 5,426 mmboe. In December 2011, the Company acquired Brigham Exploration Company. On April 14, 2011, Statoil's formation of a joint venture and sale of 40% of the Peregrino field off the coast of Brazil to the Sinochem Group was closed. With effect from January 2011, Statoil formed a joint venture with PTTEP of Thailand in its oil sands business and, as part of that transaction, sold PTTEP a 40% interest in the leases in Alberta, Canada. Statoil retains 60% ownership and operatorship of the oil sands project. In June 2012, the Company divested its 54% interest in Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA to Alimentation Couche-Tard.

Development and Production Norway

Development and Production Norway (DPN) consists of the Company�� field development and operational activities on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). Development and Production Norway is the operator of 44 developed fields on the NCS. Statoil's equity and entitlement production on the NCS was 1.316 mmboe per day in 2011, which was about 71% of Statoil's total production. Acting as operator, DPN is responsible for approximately 72% of all oil and gas production on the NCS. In 2011, its average daily production of oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) on the NCS was 693 mboe, while its average daily gas production on the NCS was 99.1 mmcm (3.5 b! illion cubic feet (bcf)). The Company has an ownership interests in exploration acreage throughout the licensed parts of the NCS, both within and outside its production areas. It participates in 227 licenses on the NCS and is the operator for 171 of them. As of 31 December 2011, Statoil had a total of 1,369 mmbbl of proved oil reserves and 444 bcm (15.7 tcf) of proved natural gas reserves on the NCS. Total entitlement liquids and gas production in 2011 amounted to 1,316 mmboe per day.

Statoil's NCS portfolio consists of licenses in the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea. It has organized its production operations into four business clusters: Operations South, Operations North Sea West, Operations North Sea East and Operations North. The Operations South and Operations North Sea West and East clusters cover its licenses in the North Sea. Operations North covers the Company�� licenses in the Norwegian Sea and in the Barents Sea, while partner-operated fields cover the entire NCS and are included internally in the Operations South business cluster. During 2011, it two Statoil-operated oil discoveries: the Aldous discovery (PL265) in the North Sea and the Skrugard discovery (PL532) in the Barents Sea. The Aldous Major South discovery in PL265 on the Utsira Height in the Sleipner area is situated 140 kilometers west of Stavanger and 35 kilometers south of the Grane field. The Skrugard discovery is located about 250 kilometers off the coast from the Melkoya LNG plant in Hammerfest.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� fields under development included the Gudrun, Valemon, Visund South, Hyme, Stjerne, Vigdis North-East, Skuld, Vilje South, Skarv, and Marulk. In 2011, the Company�� total entitlement oil and NGL production in Norway was 252 mmbbl, and gas production was 36.2 bcm (1,287 bcf). The main producing fields in the Operations South area are Statfjord, Snorre, Tordis, Vigdis, Sleipner and partner-operated fields. Operations North Sea East is a gas area tha! t also co! ntains quantities of oil. The area includes the Troll, Fram, Vega, Oseberg and Tune fields. The Company�� producing fields in the Operations North area are Asgard, Mikkel, Yttergryta, Heidrun, Kristin, Tyrihans, Norne, Urd, Alve, Njord, Snohvit and Morvin.

Development and Production International

Development and Production International (DPI) is responsible for the development and production of oil and gas outside the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). In 2011, the segment was engaged in production in 12 countries: Canada, the United States, Brazil, Venezuela, Angola, Nigeria, Iran, Algeria, Libya, Azerbaijan, Russia and the United Kingdom. In 2011, DPI produced 28.9% of Statoil's total equity production of oil and gas. Statoil has exploration licenses in North America (Gulf of Mexico, Canada and Alaska), South America and sub-Saharan Africa (Brazil, Cuba, Suriname, Venezuela, Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania), Middle East and North Africa (Libya and Iran) and Europe and Asia (the Faeroes, Greenland, the United Kingdom, Azerbaijan and Indonesia). The main sanctioned development projects in which DPI is involved are in the United States, Angola and Canada. The Brigham Exploration Company acquisition added production of approximately 21 mboe per day (as of December) to Statoil's production and gave access to 1,500 square kilometers (375,000 acres) in the Bakken and Three Forks formations in the Williston Basin.

The Company has exploration licenses in North America (Gulf of Mexico, Canada and Alaska), South America and sub-Saharan Africa (Brazil, Cuba, Suriname, Venezuela, Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania), Middle East and North Africa (Libya and Iran), and Europe and Asia (the Faroes, Greenland, the United Kingdom, Azerbaijan and Indonesia). It completed 16 wells in 2011. Five were announced as discoveries: the Mukuvo and Lira discoveries in Angola, the Gavea and Peregrino South discovery in Brazil and the Logan discovery in Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Statoil acquired in! terests i! n six new licenses in Indonesia in 2011. Statoil has activities in the United States, with approximately 300 exploration leases in the GoM and 66 in Alaska. It is also an operator and partner in exploration licenses off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada. Statoil is operator and partner in exploration licenses off the coast of Newfoundland (11,138 square kilometers). It has exploration licenses in Brazil, Cuba, Suriname, Venezuela, Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania. The Company has licenses in Libya, Iran, Faroes, Greenland, the United Kingdom, Azerbaijan and Indonesia. In 2011, Statoil's petroleum production outside Norway amounted to an average of 334 mboe per day of entitlement production and 534 mboe per day of equity production.

The Company has activities in the United States Gulf of Mexico, the Appalachian region, south-west Texas, the Williston Basin, off the East Coast of Canada and in the oil sands of Alberta, Canada. It also has a representative office in Mexico City. Offshore, the Company has production interests in Hibernia and Terra Nova, and interests in two development projects. Its development and production activities in South America and sub-Saharan Africa comprise the Peregrino operatorship in Brazil, the Petrocedeno project in Venezuela, the Agbami offshore field in Nigeria and four Angolan offshore blocks. Statoil's development and production in the Middle East and North Africa in 2011, primarily encompassed Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Iran and Iraq. The Company�� Development and Production in Europe and Asia primarily comprises Azerbaijan, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland.

Marketing, Processing and Renewable Energy

Marketing, Processing and Renewable Energy (MPR) is responsible for the transportation, processing, manufacturing, marketing and trading of crude oil, natural gas, liquids and refined products, and for developing business opportunities in renewables. It runs two refineries, two gas processing plants, one methanol plant and three crude! oil term! inals. MPR is also responsible for marketing gas supplies originating from the Norwegian state's direct financial interest (SDFI). In total, it is responsible for marketing approximately 80% of all Norwegian gas exports. In 2011, Statoil sold 36.1 bcm (1.3 tcf) of natural gas from the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) on its own behalf, in addition to approximately 33.5 bcm (1.2 tcf) of NCS gas on behalf of the Norwegian state. Statoil's total European gas sales, including third-party gas, amounted to 79.8 bcm (2.9 tcf) in 2011, of which 39.5 bcm (1.4 tcf) was gas sold on behalf of the Norwegian state. The Natural Gas business cluster is responsible for Statoil's marketing and trading of natural gas worldwide, for power and emissions trading and for overall gas supply planning. In 2011, the Company sold 36.1 bcm (1.3 tcf) of natural gas from the NCS on its own behalf, in addition to approximately 33.5 bcm (1.2 tcf) of NCS gas on behalf of the Norwegian state. Statoil's total European gas sales, including third-party gas, amounted to 79.8 bcm (2.9 tcf) in 2011, of which 39.5 bcm (1.4 tcf) was gas sold on behalf of the Norwegian state. In addition, it sold 5.5 bcm (0.2 tcf) of gas originating from its international positions, mainly in Azerbaijan and the United States, of which 2.7 bcm (0.1 tcf) was entitlement gas. As technical service provider (TSP), Statoil is responsible for the operation, maintenance and further development of the Karsto gas processing plant on behalf of the operator Gassco.

Statoil is the seller of crude oil, operating from sales offices in Stavanger, Oslo, London, Singapore, Stamford and Calgary and selling and trading crude oil, condensate, NGL and refined products. Statoil holds the lease for the South Riding Point crude oil terminal in the Bahamas, which includes, oil storage as well as loading and unloading facilities. It also operates the Mongstad terminal and has shared ownership with Petoro. The Company is a majority owner (79%) and operator of the Mongstad ref! inery in ! Norway, which has a crude oil and condensate distillation capacity of 220,000 barrels per day. It is the sole owner and operator of the Kalundborg refinery in Denmark, which has a crude oil and condensate distillation capacity of 118,000 barrels per day. In addition, it has rights to 10% of production capacity at the Shell-operated refinery in Pernis in the Netherlands, which has a crude oil distillation capacity of 400,000 barrels per day. The Company�� methanol operations consist of an 81.7% interest in the gas-based methanol plant at Tjeldbergodden, Norway, which has a design capacity of 0.95 million tons per year. It also operates the Oseberg Transportation System (36.2% interest), including the Sture crude oil terminal.

Technology, Projects and Drilling

Technology, Projects and Drilling (TPD) is responsible, as a global service provider to Statoil, for delivering projects and wells and for providing support through global expertise, standards and procurement. TPD is also responsible developing and implementing new technological solutions. Statoil's research and development portfolio is organized in seven programs covering the upstream building blocks. The research and development organization operates and develops laboratories and test facilities and has an academia program that addresses cooperation with universities and research institutes.

Global Strategy and Business Development

Global Strategy and Business Development (GSB) was established in 2011, with its main office in London. GSB sets the direction for Statoil and identifies, develops and delivers opportunities for global growth.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sara Murphy]

  HSBC recently conducted an analysis that looked at European oil majors' at-risk carbon reserves. The study found Norway's�Statoil (NYSE: STO  ) �to be the worst affected, with approximately 17% of its market capitalization at risk. HSBC also calculated that 6% of�BP's� (NYSE: BP  ) reserves are at risk, along with 5% of�Total's (NYSE: TOT  ) and 2% of�Shell's� (NYSE: RDS-A  ) .�

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  Similarly, ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP  ) recently said it is suspending plans to drill in Alaskan waters in 2014 because of regulatory, permitting, and other uncertainties, while Statoil (NYSE: STO  ) announced last year that it will postpone drilling in the American Arctic until 2015. To be sure, these companies have good reasons to be hesitant in their Arctic ambitions.