Great Stocks 2012

The optimum time to plan your very best investment strategy and pick the right funds for 2012 has become, because last year’s investment strategy and finest funds could place you in poor people house by year finish 2012. There is a rocky road ahead for bonds and stocks, and you will need a new strategy and also the right funds and also hardwearing . investment portfolio balanced and from serious trouble.

 

For that average investor the very best investment strategy will still center around bond funds and stock funds in 2012, however the focus can change. The very best bond funds could be more defensive, and also the best stock funds could be more conservative and earnings oriented. The United States and far from the free world is facing heavy debt problems about the one hands and slow economic growth one another. Defense may be the title from the game moving forward. If you’re able to sidestep heavy deficits now and throughout 2012: you’ll be capable of step-up towards the plate once the dust finally forms –2012 Best Investment Strategy.

 

The very best bond fund investment technique is to keep SHORTER-TERM top quality CORPORATE bond funds – and never lengthy-term funds that invest mainly in government investments. If interest rates remove long-term bonds will fall substantially in value. A mutual fund holding problems that mature within five years is going to be hurt a smaller amount than one that holds long-term maturities of 2 decades. That isn’t a guess. That’s the way the bond market responds to rising interest rates. I would recommend choosing corporate versus. government bond funds for 2 reasons. First, corporate bond issues pay greater interest than U.S. Treasury notes and bonds. Second, corporate America is within excellent financial shape versus. the U.S. government.

Great Stocks 2012:VASCO Data Security International Inc. (VDSI)

 VASCO Data Security International, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, marketing, and support of hardware and software security systems that manage and secure access to information assets worldwide. The company offers hardware and software products in the areas of user authentication, electronic signatures, and digital signatures/public key infrastructure. It provides VACMAN Controller that supports multiple authentication technologies, including passwords, dynamic password technology, electronic signatures, digital signatures, and certificates and biometrics on one platform. The company also offers IDENTIKEY Server, a centralized authentication server that supports the deployment, use, and administration of DIGIPASS user authentication. In addition, it provides aXs GUARD Identifier, a standalone authentication solution, which offers two-factor authentication for remote access to a corporate network or to Web-based in-house business applications; and aXs GUARD Gatekeeper that integrates DIGIPASS to provide secure two factor user authentication. Further, the company offers DIGIPASS product line exists as a family of software and hardware client authentication products and services for authenticating users to any network, including the Internet. Its DIGIPASS solution calculates dynamic signatures and passwords to authenticate users on a computer network and for various other applications. The DIGIPASS technology is also designed to operate on desktop personal computers or laptops, personal digital assistants, mobile phones, and smart cards. VASCO sells its security solutions through its direct sales force, as well as through distributors, resellers, and systems integrators. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois.

Great Stocks 2012:Harvard Bioscience Inc. (HBIO)

 Harvard Bioscience, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets apparatus and scientific instruments used in life science research in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities, and government laboratories in the United States and internationally. The company?s products target ADMET testing, and molecular biology and liquid handling application areas. Its ADMET testing products comprise absorption diffusion chambers that measure the absorption of a drug into the bloodstream; well equilibrium dialysis plates for serum protein binding assays; organ testing systems; infusion pumps for infusing liquids; behavioral products used in neuroscience, cardiology, psychological, and respiratory studies to evaluate the effects of situational stimuli, drugs, and nutritional infusions on motor and sensory, activity, and learning and test behavior; cell injection systems; ventilators; and electroporation products. The company also distributes various devices, instruments, and consumable items used in experiments involving cells, tissues, organs, and animals in the fields of proteomics, physiology, pharmacology, neuroscience, cell biology, molecular biology, and toxicology. It sells its ADMET testing products under the Harvard Apparatus, BTX, KD Scientific, Hugo Sachs Elektronik, Panlab, and Warner Instruments brands names. Its molecular biology and liquid handling products include molecular biology spectrophotometers, DNA/RNA/protein calculators, multi-well plate readers, amino acid analysis systems, liquid dispensers, gel electrophoresis systems, and consumables primarily consisting of pipettes, pipette tips, autoradiography films, gloves, thermal cycler accessories, and reagents. The company sells its products to researchers through catalogs, its Website, and distributors, as well as directly in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, and Canada. Harvard Bioscience, Inc. was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Holliston, Massachusetts.

Great Stocks 2012:Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ANTH)

 Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a development stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapeutics to treat diseases associated with inflammation, including cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases. Its primary product candidates include varespladib methyl (A-002), which has completed its Phase 2 clinical studies for the treatment of acute coronary syndrome; varespladib sodium (A-001) that is in a Phase 2 clinical study for the prevention of acute chest syndrome associated with sickle cell disease; and A-623, which has completed Phase 1 clinical studies for the treatment of B-cell mediated autoimmune diseases. The company has license agreements with Eli Lilly and Company, and Shionogi & Co., Ltd. to develop and commercialize secretory phospholipase A2 or sPLA2 inhibitors for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and other diseases; and Amgen Inc., to develop and commercialize A-623. Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Hayward, California.

Great Stocks 2012:NGP Capital Resources Company (NGPC)

 NGP Capital Resources Company is a business development company specializing in investments in small and mid size and middle market companies. The firm typically invests in acquisitions, buyouts, growth and development, revitalization, restructuring, recapitalizations, and special situations. It invests in energy companies with a focus on oil and gas exploitation, development, and production business; upstream businesses that acquire, develop, and produce oil, natural gas, and coal; midstream businesses that gather, process, store, and transport oil and natural gas; power generation and distribution; oil field services and other energy services; and alternative energy and other similar energy related businesses. The firm primarily invests between $10 million and $100 million in its portfolio companies. It invests in the form of secured, senior, and subordinate debt; convertible debt; preferred equity; project equity; production payments, net profits interests, and similar investments; and mezzanine loans and may receive equity investments in portfolio companies in connection with such investments. The firm makes asset and project based investments in private companies and can also invest in public companies. NGP Capital Resources Company was founded in 2004 and is based at Houston, Texas. It is a subsidiary of NGP Energy Capital Management.

Great Stocks 2012:Edison International (EIX)

 Edison International, through its subsidiaries, engages in the supply of electric energy in central, coastal, and southern California. It involves in developing, acquiring, owning or leasing, operating, and selling energy and capacity from independent power production facilities, as well as conducts hedging and energy trading activities in power markets. The company also invests in energy and infrastructure projects, including power generation, electric transmission and distribution, transportation, and telecommunications, as well as has investments in housing projects in the United States. Edison International offers its services to commercial, residential, agricultural, and industrial customers, as well as to public authorities. As of December 31, 2009, the company served approximately 400 cities and communities, and a population of approximately 13 million people. The company was founded in 1886 and is based in Rosemead, California.

Great Stocks 2012:Polaris Industries Inc. (PII)

 Polaris Industries Inc. designs, engineers, and manufactures off-road vehicles. It offers all terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles for recreational and utility use; snowmobiles; and on-road vehicles, including motorcycles and low emission vehicles. The company also provides replacement parts and accessories, including winches, bumper/brushguards, plows, racks, mowers, tires, pull-behinds, cabs, cargo box accessories, tracks, and oil for off-road vehicles; covers, traction products, reverse kits, electric starters, tracks, bags, windshields, oil, and lubricants for snowmobiles; and saddle bags, handlebars, backrests, exhaust, windshields, seats, oil, and various chrome accessories for motorcycles. Polaris Industries sells its products through dealers and distributors primarily under the RANGER, RANGER RZR, RANGER Crew, Victory Vision, Victory Cross Roads, Polaris RUSH, and Cross Country trade marks. In addition, it markets helmets, jackets, bibs and pants, leathers, and hats through dealers and distributors, as well as online under the Polaris brand name. The company principally operates in the United States and Canada. Polaris Industries Inc. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Medina, Minnesota.

Great Stocks 2012:REX American Resources Corporation (REX)

 REX American Resources Corporation engages in the production and sale of ethanol and distillers grains. It also leases real estate properties. The company was formerly known as REX Stores Corporation and changed its name to REX American Resources Corporation on June 10, 2010. REX American Resources Corporation was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio.

Great Stocks 2012:Taubman Centers Inc. (TCO)

 Taubman Centers, Inc. operates as a real estate investment trust. As of June 30, 2005, the company owned a 63% managing general partner?s interest in The Taubman Realty Group Limited Partnership (the operating partnership). The operating partnership is a subsidiary that engages in the ownership, management, leasing, acquisition, development, and expansion of regional retail shopping centers and interests therein. As of August 23, 2007, it owned and/or managed 23 urban and suburban shopping centers in 11 states the United States. These centers are located in metropolitan areas, including New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Detroit, Phoenix, Miami, Dallas, Tampa, Orlando, and Washington, D.C. The operating partnership also owns certain regional retail shopping center development projects, as well as approximately 99% of The Taubman Company LLC, which manages the shopping centers and provides other services to the operating partnership and to the company. Taubman Centers qualifies as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code. As a REIT, the company would not be subjected to federal income tax to the extent it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders. Taubman Centers was founded in 1950 by A. Alfred Taubman and is headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

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Financial Products – Quick Comparisons

Stocks and Shares. Property. Fixed Deposits. Unit Trusts. Gold. Foreign Currency.

Few Singaporeans have not invested in one or more of these assets, and fewer still have not heard of them. Whether it’s for making our money work for us, receiving passive income (income we’d receive if we stopped working) or simply trying to achieve higher returns, investing – narrowly understood as enhancing our wealth – is a popular and fairly-well-understood activity in Singapore.

But: conditions change. Markets fluctuate. Nothing – property valuations, the stock market, gold prices – goes up for ever. We think it’s time to poke deeper into investment matters on our journey to understand how the different financial products and instruments available today can help us in our goal of consistently achieving higher returns while managing our risk.

Let’s define a few terms before making a detailed comparison.

The first distinction we’ll encounter often is between Investing and Trading. The fundamental difference between the two is that investing has a long-term perspective, typically at least a few years, while trading has a short-term perspective, typically less than a year (and sometimes a few months, weeks, days or even hours). Investors, therefore, are interested in the long-term appreciation of their assets while traders are interested in short-term price fluctuations.

Secondly, financial professionals generally classify investments into 4 classes (’Asset Classes’):

Cash and its equivalents – eg, Bank Deposits and Spot Forex
Stocks(Shares, Equities) and other assets based on stocks such as CFDs, and some Unit Trusts, ETFs and Options
Property and other tangible assets such as Commodities (eg, gold, oil, silver), art (eg, paintings, pottery, sculpture) and fine wine.
Bonds and other Fixed-Income assets (explain! ed below ).

Thirdly, all financial products and instruments belong to only two families:

Exchange-Traded
Over-The-Counter (OTC)

Exchange-traded (public) financial products and instruments are listed by a national exchange, meet strict legal and listing criteria, and are usually considered highly-liquid investments. Examples include ETFs, most stocks and shares, most government bonds, most commodities and some unit trusts. They are traded on stock, commodity, futures or options exchanges such as the Singapore Exchange (SGX), the Malaysia Exchange (MYX, formerly known as the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange or KLSE), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE Euronext) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE).

OTC (private) financial products and instruments are issued by investment companies and banks. They are essentially private (bilateral) agreements between 2 parties, ie must be bought and sold with the same party, are far less regulated than exchange-traded products, and may not always be liquid investments. Examples include CFDs, Forex (Spot Forex), most unit trusts, preferred stock, state and municipal bonds and some commodities.

An important reason for distinguishing between exchange-traded and OTC products is product pricing. Prices quoted on exchanges are transparent – meaning available for everyone to see – so exchange-traded products are considered more fairly priced (though they do involve paying broker commissions). OTC products are priced by investment companies, banks or brokers at their discretion, so prices tend to be higher for retail purchases and more favourable for the big boys with their higher-volume purchases.

Finally, the term ‘financial products’ is often used interchangeably with ‘financial instruments’, ‘assets’, ‘investments’ and ‘investment products’; at this stage we’ll use ‘financial products’ as a catch-all and won’t split hairs except to point out that ! we don&# 8217;t consider our residential property as an investment.

Disclaimer: There can be wide differences within a financial product (notably ETFs). Distinctions between products are also blurring: for example, some unit trusts are now exchange-traded. For these reasons, the comparison above is indicative only.

Notes:

1 Capital Requirement refers to the amount we typically need to invest or trade in the financial product. For example, stock is purchased in lots of 1,000 shares, so an investment in a $4 stock will cost us about $4,000. On the other hand, investing / trading in Singapore Government bonds, CFDs, forex and options can be done with $2,000.

2 Diversification Potential refers to the potential of a financial product to provide risk diversification, ie to ‘put our eggs in different baskets’, assuming minimum account sizes. For example, many unit trusts and ETFs invest in a basket of stocks from different sectors of the economy, thus providing some degree of diversification. With many of the other financial products mentioned here, however, diversification can be achieved only with much higher account sizes.

3 Leverage refers to the use of credit (borrowed money) from a broker or bank. The leverage available varies widely from product to product. Leverage is a double-edge sword: it can magnify both our gains and our losses.

4 Income Potential refers to the potential of a financial product to generate income while we hold the investment; this income can come in the form of interest (for bank deposits and bonds), dividends (for stocks, some Unit Trusts and ETFs), rental (for property) or simply the sales proceeds (options).

5 Public or Private refers to whether the financial product is public (traded on an Exchange) or private (traded Over-The-Counter). For example, Spot Forex trading is popular in Singapore, but traders don’t always realise that it is a private financial product: there are no exchanges for forex, and prices are set by market ma! kers.

6 Liquidity here refers to the number of working days required for a financial product to be converted into cash, without a substantial price discount. For example, the shares we find on stock exchanges are traded in the millions and are highly liquid; proceeds from their sale are realised within 5 working days. Property, clearly, is very illiquid – it typically takes several months to see the proceeds.

7 Charges refers to the amount of fees or charges – commissions, management fees, sales charges, entry fees, stamp duties, etc – that are levied on entering into, maintaining or exiting that investment. Taxes are excluded. For example, management fees are typically 1-3% for unit trusts and 0.3-0.6% for ETFs; total transaction costs (agent commission, stamp duty, legal fees, etc) for investing in private residential property in Singapore come to about 5% (assuming you sell the property only after 5 years).

8 Bank Deposits here refers only to Singapore dollar deposits, the norm for most of us.

9 An Investment-Linked Product (ILP) is an insurance plan that combines protection and investment. The advantage of ILPs is that they offer life insurance.

10 A Unit Trust is a pool of money professionally managed according to a specific, long-term management objective (eg, a unit trust may invest in well-known companies all over the world to try to provide a balance between high returns and risk diversification). The idea here is to gain from the experience and active decision-making of an investment professional.

11 An ETF or Exchange-Traded Fund comes in many different forms: for example, there are equity ETFs that hold, or track the performance of, a basket of stocks (eg Singapore, emerging economies); commodity ETFs that hold, or track the price of, a single commodity or basket of commodities (eg Silver, metals); and currency ETFs that track a major currency (eg Euro). ETFs trade like shares (on stock exchanges such as the SGX), and typically come with very low ! manageme nt fees.

The main difference between ETFs and Unit Trusts is that ETFs are publicly-traded financial products while Unit Trusts are privately-traded financial products, meaning that we can buy and sell ETFs ourselves anytime during market hours.

12 Bonds are a type of product called Fixed-Income that involves lending out money to a government or company; in return we get regular fixed interest payments and eventual repayment of the entire amount lent. The main attraction of government bonds is their safety. However, because there is so little risk, the returns are also much smaller than with other financial products.

13 Forex (Spot Forex or FX) trading refers to the world-wide, decentralised, OTC markets for the trading of currencies. Forex trading has exploded in recent years: average global daily turnover in forex markets in 2010 crossed the $5 trillion mark (that’s $5,000,000,000,000). The main reasons for this are the IT/Internet revolution, allowing trading from home; the 5-day, 24-hour operation of the markets; the huge leverages (credit) typically available; and the relative simplicity of forex trading.

14 Contracts For Difference (CFDs) are essentially contracts (agreements) between a buyer and a seller stating that the seller will pay the buyer the difference between the purchase price and the price at the end of the contract, of an underlying asset (if the difference is negative, the buyer will pay the seller). CFDs currently exist for stocks and market indexes in Singapore. They mirror the movement of their underlying and require less capital than trading stocks directly (because of the leverage provided).

Because the value of a CFD is derived from something else (the underlying stock or index), CFDs are classified as financial derivatives.

15 ‘Options’, like futures, are contracts that give the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset at a fixed price on or before a specified future date. The underlying a! sset is usually stock but can also be an ETF, a market index, a currency (forex) or a commodity futures contract. Options trading has 2 unique features: we know our maximum risk, ie the maximum amount of money we can lose, from the start of the trade; and options are the only instrument that allows us to make money in all market conditions (rising prices, falling prices and sideways-moving prices).

Options, like CFDs, are financial derivatives.

16 Commodities used to refer to physical goods such as coffee, corn, soya beans and wheat. Today the term has expanded enormously to include metals (eg, copper, gold, silver); energy (eg, crude oil, natural gas); currencies (eg, the British Pound, the Euro, the Japanese Yen, the US Dollar); and financial constructs such as stock-market indexes and interest rates (eg, the S&P 500 Index, 30-Year US-Government Bonds).

Commodity Futures are contracts to buy or sell a certain quantity of a commodity of standardised quality at a fixed price at a specified future date. Futures markets started as a way for producers and consumers to hedge their risk (from unexpected future price falls or rises), but today the markets are dominated by traders who try to make money from price movements.

Commodity futures are another type of financial derivative since they are based on a physical or financial underlying commodity.

Conclusion

This article has tried to provide a glimpse of the great variety of markets and financial products and instruments available, whether for investing or trading.

Many of these markets have become arenas of feverish speculative activity. Several of these products and instruments have been the vehicles of huge fortunes made – and lost. Some have been charged as the culprits behind modern market crashes.

None of these is any reason to shoot the messenger. Our perennial philosophy of risk management and diversification is best practised by understanding how these financial products and instruments work, then us! ing them to grow our wealth in good times, create our wealth in uncertain times and protect our wealth in bad times.

Thomas Saw is the founder of the Traders Round Table ( http://www.tradersroundtable.com.sg ), a community of committed traders and investors. TRT’s mission is to help people be more successful in Creating, Protecting and Enhancing their wealth in the financial markets. We help fellow traders and investors by providing holistic, broad-based financial trading and investment education, mentorship and psychology. Vinay Kumar Rai is a freelance writer and a member of the TRT.

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1 Super Cheap Cash Machine

The following video is part of our "Motley Fool Conversations" series, in which Chief Investment Officer Andy Cross and analyst Michael Olsen discuss topics across the investing world.

In today's conversation, Andy talks to senior analyst Mike about an unknown, underappreciated, and misunderstood insurance broker that is not only a cash flow machine but a super cheap stock. Join us to learn more about Aon and why it deserves a spot in your portfolio.

Every now and again, we come across a stock that has us so excited we can hardly contain our investing enthusiasm. We've uncovered one such pick with so much promise that we've dubbed it "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2012." We've created a special free report for investors to uncover this soon-to-be rock star. The report highlights a company that is revolutionizing commerce in Latin America, and you can get instant access to the name of this company by clicking here to download it now.

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Best Wall St. Stocks Today: AA,BHP,BID,WEBX,TKR,ERTS,SNE,MSFT,HD,CEN,SOV,CAG,NSM,PRU,BAX,AMGN,DNA,GM,TEVA,GOOG,YHOO,ABTL,LGBT,AQNT,UVN,PFG

According to Barron’s, Alcoa (AA) could fetch $40 billion. BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio TInto are both possible bidders.

Share in Sotheby’s (BID) are still hot. The number of people with large fortunes is growing increasing the pool of worldwide collectors.

Webex (WEBX) may still have room to run. The company believes that web collaboration is the "killer app" over the internet.

When companies end giving guidance, investors’ worries often increases and share prices can go down according to several studies.

Timken (TKR), the ball bearing maker, is restructuring. Investors may want to see the fruits of the plan. The sotck, at $29, may go to the mid-$30s, but its could drop first as investor "wait and see".

Electronic (ERTS) could benefit tremendously for new game platforms and cellphone games. Its earnings could more than triple of the next two years as Sony’s (SNE) PS3 sales grow along with Microsoft (MSFT) Xbox and Nintendo Wii. Some analysts think shares could jump from $51 to $65 over the next year.

Shareholder advocate helped push out the CEO of Home Depot (HD). His firm, Relational, has $6 billion of assets. His next targer appears to be Ceridian (CEN). His firm also has investments in Soverign Bank (SOV) ConAgra Foods (CAG), National Semi (NSM), Prudential Finacial (PRU) and Baxter International (BAX).

Brown Forman (BF/B) has turned Jack Daniel’s into a major global brand. Some analysts think this could push the stock from its current $65 to $80.

Generic competition may be getting closer for Amgen (AMGN) and Genentech (DNA) as Congress and several large companies try to know down healthcare cost. Some of the companies backing an effort to lower these costs are General Motors (GM), Teva (TEVA) and Aetna.

Digital TV is finally beginning to see the light of day. And, video advertising could become the fastest growing ad segment on the internet. This could help online portals like Google (GOOG) and ! Yahoo! ( YHOO) but also other online sites like car destination Autobytel (ABTL), gay portal PlanetOut (LGBT) and certain ad agencies like aQuantive (AQNT).

Univision (UVN) LBO will give the broadcaster $10 billion in debt. That could be very bad news for shareholders.

Principal Financial (PFG) may have a lot of upside as it moves from insurance into funds and retirement services.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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Best Wall St. Stocks Today: AIG

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) is spooking the financial markets over what is once again another point of the markets not being able to price anything in.  AIG in an SEC Filing this morning disclosed that it should clarify and expand upon its prior disclosures relating to its methodology and data inputs used to determine the fair values of the super senior credit default swap portfolio in respect of multi-sector collateralized debt obligations.  247WallSt.com’s translation: "We are expanding valuation to include a ‘mark to concept’ because there is no real market for CDO’s."

AIG also provided a table showing the net value write-downs from September 30 to November 30.  In September these write-downs were $352 million, and in November these write-downs were listed as $5.964 Billion.  AIG similarly noted that it has not yet determined the amount of declines in fair value of AIGFP�s super senior credit default swap portfolio to be included in its December 31, 2007 financial statements.  PricewaterhouseCoopers is its independent auditor and it has concluded that AIG "had a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting and oversight relating to the fair value valuation of the AIGFP super senior credit default swap portfolio."

AIG shares are down some 10% at $45.20 and has traded as low as $44.75 earlier today.  With a 52-week trading range of $49.40 to $72.97 before today, that makes for a new 52-week low. 

The beatings will continue until disclosure improves.  These negative headlines are nowhere from being over in the financial sector.  At some point these will be factored into prices, but as of this morning that isn’t the case.

Jon C. Ogg
February 11, 2008

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Guess shares drop after hours following outlook

MARKETWATCH FRONT PAGE

The clothing and accessories retailer�s stock is hit following a soft financial forecast. See full story.

This market is headed higher

This is one of those markets where price is the only indicator you need: as long as the S&P 500 continues to rise and hold at important areas of support, you can ignore the other indicators. See full story.

This market is headed higher

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Dow logs sixth session win; S&P 500 ends lower

U.S. blue-chip stocks finish higher Wednesday, with the Dow extending its winning streak to a sixth session. Stress tests for the nation�s biggest banks showed largely positive results, but some analysts say the equities market is overbought. See full story.

Treasury yields jump most since October

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Ok, it's not a lock- but if it doesn't happen, Apple is in deep trouble

It�s official, iPhone fans � you will get your shot at a shiny, new iPhone 5 from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by the end of September.

OK, well it�s not official official. Apple and Steve Jobs plays his cards notoriously close to his vest on product launches, and the iPhone 5� hasn�t got a formal date yet. But after a host of similar rumors swirling around tech blogs, this latest report of a September launch comes from a highly respected source � The Wall Street Journal.

For starters, the Wall Street Journal report cites sources close to Apple�s component manufacturers who describe to a much sleeker iPhone 5. The next generation of the Apple smartphone should be significantly thinner and lighter than previous generations of the gadget.

Upgrades include an 8 megapixel camera, on par with lower end point-and-shoots. That�s a big improvement above the 5 megapixel camera in the current iPhone. Previous reports of iPhone 5 features had hinted at a camera upgrade, as well as improved iPhone screen resolution to showcase the sharper pictures, but the WSJ nails it down.

Another WSJ source boasted of a big upgrade to processing speed for the iPhone 5, too. The insider said the smartphone will operate on Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) wireless chips that are a step up from previous Infineon Technologies processors produced by an Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) subsidiary.That could make the smartphone almost as fast as the iPad.

While the technical specs of these upgrades are fun to note, the most important detail gleaned by the Wall Street Journal was that collectively, orders of these components point to a launch by the end of September based on anonymous sources and suppl! ier comm ents.

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A spokeswoman at Apple, of course, declined to confirm anything.That�s because something couldt still delay the iPhone 5 further. Separate sources warned the next iPhone could be delayed further if manufacturers in Taiwan can�t step up production rates to meet Apple�s aggressive goals.

But there seems far too much riding on the iPhone 5 launch for Apple to kick the can any further down the road at Apple. iPhone sales accounted for about half of the Apple�s nearly $25 billion in revenue last quarter, and over 100 million of the gadgets have been sold since its first incarnation in 2007. As a result, Apple stock is up over 540% in the last five years. The iPhone is a huge cash cow.

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Apple typically launches its new iPhone models in the summer, so the company is already a few months behind schedule � causing some Wall Street analysts to dampen expectations for the stock. The delayed launch naturally means delayed profits, since Apple sold a stunning 3 million iPhone 4s in the first three weeks after the smartphone�s debut.

In short, all signs point to a September launch for the newest version of the iPhone. And if Apple doesn�t hit that date, both investors and gadget geeks alike are going to have serious gripes with the tech giant.

Jeff Reeves is the editor of InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, he did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter via @JeffReevesIP and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook.

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CF, ALB, ESI, MON, IOC - NYSE Downtrend in Review

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. NYSE:CF opened at $148.47 and with a fall of 6.21% closed at $140.17. Company’s fifty days average price is $126.50 whereas it has a market capitalization $9.97 billion.
The total of 3.42 million shares was transacted over last trading day.

Albemarle Corporation, NYSE:ALB opened at $58.83 and with a fall of 5.62% closed at $57.25. Company’s fifty days average price is $54.65 whereas it has a market capitalization $5.24 billion.
The total of 1.92 million shares was transacted over last trading day.

ITT Educational Services, Inc. NYSE:ESI opened at $66.66 and with a fall of 5.00% closed at $62.74. Company’s fifty days average price is $61.65 whereas it has a market capitalization $2.00 billion.
The total of 1.17 million shares was transacted over last trading day.

Monsanto Company, NYSE:MON opened at $74.38 and with a fall of 4.61% closed at $71.19. Company’s fifty days average price is $64.18 whereas it has a market capitalization $38.21 billion.
The total of 6.97 million shares was transacted over last trading day.

InterOil Corporation (USA), NYSE:IOC opened at $76.50 and with a fall of 4.26% closed at $73.19. Company’s fifty days average price is $76.34 whereas it has a market capitalization $3.23 billion.
The total of 1.83 million shares was transacted over last trading day.

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Charity Does an About-Face

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Signs held aloft after a news conference by Sen. Patty Murray at a Planned Parenthood clinic Friday in Seattle.

The breast-cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure, faced with harsh criticism from some supporters, has backtracked on a policy that would have cut off future funding to most Planned Parenthood affiliates. But the effects of the public spat, which has divided women's-health supporters, will continue to be felt for a long time.

The two iconic organizations have been on the opposite ends of a social-media and political firestorm that erupted after Komen's original decision became public Tuesday. Planned Parenthood blamed the move on pressure from antiabortion groups that have long targeted it as a prominent provider of the procedure. Swiftly, opponents in the abortion debate seized on the split—slamming Komen's decision and funneling donations to Planned Parenthood, or lauding the move and pledging new support to the breast-cancer charity.

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Nancy Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, in a 2009 file photo

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Komen struggled to quell a rebellion among some of its own affiliates—some of which had applied for an exemption to the policy that cut off funding—as well as boycotts targeting the corporate donors who have helped make its pink ribbon and road races ubiquitous.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America said it has almost $3 million in new donations, far more than the amount that Komen had been giving to its affiliates, which amounted to about $680,000 last year, mostly for breast exams and education programs. Planned Parenthood, with 79 local affiliates, operates clinics that offer reproductive and some other health services.

Komen has contended that the public debate was distorting! its pol icy, which banned funding for organizations that were under government investigation. That category included Planned Parenthood, because of a probe by a Republican congressman involving management of federal funds.

On Friday, Komen said that in the future, organizations would be disqualified only if they are the subjects of "criminal and conclusive" investigations, not "political" ones.

More

• Social Media Flex Muscles Again, Amplifying Protests

• Earlier: Nonprofits' Backers Mobilize 2/3/12

The charity denied that it had made its original policy change for political reasons or to target Planned Parenthood. It said the reversal ensured that Planned Parenthood would be eligible to apply for future funding.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America's president, Cecile Richards, said she would "take them at their word." The new donations generated by the first Komen decision—which included a $250,000 matching grant from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg—will enable Planned Parenthood to "expand our breast-care work beyond our wildest dreams," she said. The group has had more than 10,000 people contribute in recent days, she said. A spokeswoman said it has also gained almost 20,000 new Facebook supporters.

The reversal generated praise from Planned Parenthood supporters, but also doubts.

"I'm concerned that there's no guarantee that they will continue funding in the future.…Until I see them actually sending money to Planned Parenthood, I'm going to be skeptical," said Susan Messina, a professional fund-raiser and childbirth educator in Washington, D.C., who said she had previous! ly spons ored participants in Komen's Race for the Cure. "I think the true colors of the organization have been revealed in some disturbing ways."

Planned Parenthood critics, many of whom had pledged new support for Komen in the wake of the promised cuts, expressed disappointment.

Breast-cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure on Friday reversed its decision to stop funding grants to Planned Parenthood, following four days of controversy. Louise Radnofsky has details on Lunch Break.

The president of Americans United for Life, a group opposed to abortion rights that helped trigger the congressional investigation, said that she was taking a "wait and see" attitude on Komen's new stance.

"I'd like to have a little more clarification about what their move forward is," said Charmaine Yoest. "I understand them wanting to get out from the pressure of this Mafia-style shakedown."

Ms. Yoest said that she had signed up to run in the Komen race this year for the first time in a decade after learning of Komen's initial decision. She said that she had already received calls from women who had signed up to run with her who now said that they wanted to get a refund.

The often-strident rhetoric on both sides of the issue, which spread rapidly through social-media channels, raised the question of whether Komen, a private charity, was caving in to political pressure in both its initial decision and when it backed off. The organization is made up of a Dallas-based headquarters and 122 local affiliates throughout the U.S., each with an independent leadership.

Komen affiliates in Connecticut and California had publicly aired their concerns about the initial decision. The Aspen, Colo., Komen affiliate asked for an exemption from the policy and was denied, and then advertised in loc! al paper s that it would defy the rule. "After a 17-year relationship with Planned Parenthood, we intended to continue that relationship," said Marcia Goshorn, president of the Aspen affiliate. "We felt it was important that our voice is heard."

Friday, in a call with affiliates, Komen's national leadership aimed to soothe the unrest, apologizing, promising greater openness and saying it was responding to concerns from major stakeholders, affiliate leaders said. They said the board had "been up all night…contemplating what's the right thing to do," said Laura Farmer Sherman, executive director of the San Diego Komen affiliate, who was on the call.

Unlike corporations, which must respond primarily to shareholders, nonprofits face a challenge in honoring the wishes of a board, fulfilling the intent of a donor's charitable gift and fulfilling the public mission of the organization.

"Once an organization exists in the public trust, they are answerable to many stakeholders," said Marian Z. Stern, a philanthropy consultant and adjunct professor at New York University's Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising.

Ms. Stern said that "donor intent" is among the highest priorities. Organizations are required legally, but also "morally and ethically," to follow a donor's wishes, she said. In the case of Komen, Ms. Stern believes that many donors, including small donors, felt that was an "issue of transparency" with the organization. When the organization "changed practice in a way that seemed oblique or inconsistent, donors were angry," she said.

At the San Diego affiliate, Ms. Sherman said her group has already lost about $50,000 of around $300,000 in corporate pledges for this year from the initial decision, and another $150,000 is still under review, she said. She has gotten 683 emails on the Planned Parenthood issue, only four positive, she said.

A spokeswoman for the national Komen organization said Friday that it had no numbers on the effect of the recent events on donat! ions.

On Thursday, the group said that it had seen a jump. The spokeswoman said it "recognized the importance of removing the perception that politics were involved in the changes we made in our grant making policy" and is "working with our affiliates from around the country to determine how to move forward."

Write to Louise Radnofsky at louise.radnofsky@wsj.com, Anna Wilde Mathews at anna.mathews@wsj.com and Melanie Grayce West at melanie.west@wsj.com

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Apple: Illinois Inst. Of Technology To Give All Freshmen iPads

The Illinois Institute of Technology announced today that it will provide all incoming first-year undergraduates an Apple (AAPL) iPad “as part of an initiative to integrate new technologies into the classroom and foster educational innovation among faculty and students. Not a huge deal; IT has “more than 7,700 students,” and not some of them are grad students. But it is a sign that the iPad could be a big deal in the higher education market.

Back in 1983, when my sister was a freshman at Drexel University, all incoming students were required to buy a 128K Mac, complete with a big Drexel D on the side. Wonder what happened to it….

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NIKE, Inc posted a Year Record Price - NYSE:NKE

NIKE, Inc (NYSE:NKE) achieved its new 52 week high price of $97.68 where it was opened at $95.76 down -0.40 points or -0.41% by closing at $96.35. NKE transacted shares during the day were over 3.05 million shares however it has an average volume of 3.40 million shares.

NKE has a market capitalization $44.67 billion and an enterprise value at $41.68 billion. Trailing twelve months price to sales ratio of the stock was 2.06 while price to book ratio in most recent quarter was 4.53. In profitability ratios, net profit margin in past twelve months appeared at 10.19% whereas operating profit margin for the same period at 13.43%.

The company made a return on asset of 12.67% in past twelve months and return on equity of 22.69% for similar period. In the period of trailing 12 months it generated revenue amounted to $21.77 billion gaining $46.13 revenue per share. Its year over year, quarterly growth of revenue was 17.50% holding 15.40% quarterly earnings growth.

According to preceding quarter balance sheet results, the company had $3.70 billion cash in hand making cash per share at 7.98. The total of $518.00 million debt was there putting a total debt to equity ratio 5.23. Moreover its current ratio according to same quarter results was 2.94 and book value per share was 21.35.

Looking at the trading information, the stock price history displayed that its S&P500 52 Week Change illustrated 5.82% where the stock current price exhibited up beat from its 50 day moving average price $89.98 and remained above from its 200 Day Moving Average price $86.04.

NKE holds 463.67 million outstanding shares with 372.50 million floating shares where insider possessed 0.21% and institutions kept 72.20%.

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Work of Medical Assistant

An occupation to be a medical assistant offers you a job that’s not likely to be impacted by fluctuations for the overall design. That’s because healthcare is one thing that will continually be needed. Being a medical assistant, you’ll help your doctor to care for their own patients. As role, it’s likely you’ll perform routine treatments, do medical tests and assist with maintain the office records.

The specific duties you may perform like a medical assistant vary by family and divorce laws. In some states medical assistants with specialized training may draw blood or take x-rays. Generally in most states, the assistant is anticipated to take a patient’s health background, record their own weight, the heart beat rate, and blood pressure level. They are entrusted with trying to explain to patients exactly what the doctor is going to do, and answering inquiries the patient could have about the examination.

Through the exam, assistants hand your physician any medical instruments or medications. They could also collect lab specimens, and instruct patients concerning how to take their medicine and ways to stay on special diets. Following the exam, the assistant tidies inside the room, getting rid of used materials, arranging equipment and sterilizing any instruments which are used.

In many jobs, assistants also can have clerical responsibilities, like answering the phones, greeting patients, taking these phones the exam room and updating their medical records. Many assistants prepare insurance forms and schedule appointments, plan for hospital admissions and lab services.

Some assistants are triggered board to address billing and bookkeeping for your doctor. But it will really depend upon the size of the doctor’s office you are working for. If it’s a large office, the medical assistant in most cases spend a small amount of time on clerical duties, which can not be true inside a smaller office of let’s pretend three people. Medic! al assis tants are invariably supervised by doctors, other health workers, or office managers.

A number of the titles you will likely have include Clinical Medical Assistant, an Administrative Medical Assistant, a Medical Receptionist, a Health care insurance Biller, a Medical Bookkeeper or maybe a Laboratory Assistant. You could possibly work in Physicians’ Offices, Offices of Doctors or Outpatient Care Centers.

Want to find out more about Phlebotomy Courses, then visit Kelvin Romaniello’s site on how to choose the best Phlebotomy Certification for your needs.

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Best Wall St. Stocks Today: ABK

Ambac Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: ABK) is likely soon to be the latest of the financial implosion stocks unless some magical event occurs outside of the company.� After the financial guaranty company’s earnings report this week, Ambac again made the warning that bankruptcy is likely.� That trump card is becoming only too common by the company.� This begs a question: Can Ambac survive through the end of summer?

The troubled former financial giant signaled that it is in discussions over a pre-packaged bankruptcy deal.� The company also said that it may decide to cease making interest payments on its debt prior to any move.� By stopping interest payments, Ambac falls into default of its debt.� Creditors can then sue to force a bankruptcy or the company can declare bankruptcy protection to renegotiate terms with creditors.

Ambac’s management said in one of its SEC filings that it likely has enough cash and liquidity to continue operations for another year.� The caveat, there are no assurances that Ambac won’t run out of cash.� The most recent balance sheet for JUne 30, 2010 showed roughly $56.7 million in cash and equivalents.� With a net loss of $57.6 million this last quarter, that cash will be eroded rapidly even if it is a fraction of the loss from the same quarter a year earlier.� Ambac also faced lower investment income, and the ‘net income’ may mean more than ‘operating income’ and ‘pro forma income’ due to the state the business is in.� When you are up againstthe ropes, even the charges, write-offs, one-time items, and exceptions matter when it comes to creditors.

The company is still looking to raise new capital.� It is also trying to restructure its existing debt, which would most likely come via a pre-packaged bankruptcy agreement.� Ambac would not be the first to enter into pre-packaged bankruptcy package, but these deals generally involve agreements with creditors up front so that the bankruptcy process lasts for weeks ra! ther tha n years.

Ambac warned, or telegraphed, that it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection if it does not reach an agreement with creditors.� Whether a deal is reached with creditors up-front or not, take a wild guess what the value of that common stock under the “ABK” ticker will be under bankruptcy.� Most likely, ZERO.

The company also warned of bankruptcy when Wisconsin’s insurance commissioner ordered its Ambac Assurance unit to set up a separate policy assurance account over its pool of structured finance positions.� Ambac has been warning since late in 2009 that it may have to seek bankruptcy protection.� That was one determination we had when we listed it as a brand that will disappear.� The operations, the limited resources under the company, the hold by senior creditors, and even the NYSE delisting notices played the rest.

It almost seems inevitable that Ambac will fall into bankruptcy.� New financiers will only come in if they are already creditors to secures them a higher spot in the line of creditors.� New financiers are unlikely to want to get behind existing creditors, and existing creditors are unlikely to want to let any new creditors in front of their position.

The notion that Ambac was once a $100 stock matters not.� The stock has been under the penny-stock classification since the recession and is currently under $1.00.� It is also under a delisting warnings from the NYSE due to its share price.

Shares fell from $0.90 before earnings to $0.70 the following day.� Mid-day Friday has shares down around $0.67 and the 52-week trading range is $0.51 to $3.39, although that $3.39 was only one days and there have really only been a few days where Ambac even traded above $2.00 per share.

If you are an Ambac shareholders that wants to just ride this to zero and hope for the best, you might want to call the registrar and ask for physical delivery of your share certificates in individual lots of 100 shares.� At least that way you will have w! allpaper for your next home remodel when times get better.

If a white knight exists out there that wants to save Ambac, he or she has kept it an incredible secret.� Does Ambac have days that its stock still trades?� Likely.� Does Ambac have weeks?� Probably, maybe.� Does Ambac have months?� Maybe a few.

Anything is possible.� The problem is that hoping and praying are not good business and investing strategies alone.� There needs to be meat or promise present before hope and prayer will save a company like Ambac.

JON C. OGG

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Advantages of Virtual Office for Business Owners

With the great advancement in technology and the development of the internet, the idea of a virtual office has become very popular. You have to know that virtual office is an affordable alternative for an office space that would involve different types of overheads like meetings, office rent and other infrastructure expenditure. Modern technology allows people to use fax, email, instant messaging, teleconferencing and telephone in connecting group of people at different parts of the globe to give them an opportunity to work for one business owner.

With the internet offering great facilities, you can build a great virtual network of employees. Both the employer and employees could function independently, but still in fusion. This is a great way to save time and money. In fact, working anytime and anywhere is the most beneficial feature of the virtual office. As well, that way you will not have any restrictions that you can deal with in a traditional office.

Setting up virtual office you may avoid insurance, health care and some other similar expenses.

In fact, the virtual office is the best option to choose if you:

- work from home, but still need business identity,

- are conscious of your budget and do not want to invest more than needed into your business,

- work from home, however still require business identity,

- do not want to spend time on commuting,

- are on the move and therefore you do not want to spend on the office space,

- are just developing your business.

You should know that virtual business owners face some difficulties when they run their home based businesses. Time management may become hard as working from home may cause distractions such as children. But using the art of managing your time well and becoming disciplined in your work, then you could become successful virtual business owner.

Want to run business in Hong Kong? Consider make use of company registration Hong Kong. You can even save some money starting wi! th virtu al office Hong Kong for some time.

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Jobs may have been an unlikely protector of the e-book

This is what one might describe as a contradiction in terms.

Despite the ongoing Justice Department antitrust probe, Apple‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL) myriad syndication partnerships may have actually helped maintain the competitiveness of online publishing. The Justice Department investigation hinges on whether Apple developed an e-book syndication model that was indifferent to, if not outright stacked against, major competitor Amazon�(NASDAQ:AMNZ). However, this may have been exactly what the sector needed to keep from going stale.

It is widely held that Amazon.com single-handedly tolled the death knell for�independent�bookstores, with its combination of universal accessibility and bargain prices causing a pandemic of small stores folding across America. Bloomberg contributor Scott Turow maintains that Amazon may quickly develop a competitive chokehold on the e-book market as well without competing against Apple’s Amazon-unfavorable syndication model — an arrangement that is making room for new players to enter the market.

Apple itself is wading through the downsides of limited competition — with the duopoly�Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and AT&T (NYSE:T) hold on wireless LTE services causing unique difficulties for owners of Apple’s New iPad. Even though Amazon has been accused of unscrupulous practices, Apple under Jobs’ reign wasn’t free of suspicions around dodgy business ethics either. However, Apple’s aggressiveness in establishing syndication partnerships may have staved off Amazon from developing an iron monopoly on the e-book sector.

Irrespective of his brilliance, Steve Jobs was frequently described in eup! hemisms� like ‘assertive’ and ‘prickly’. However, one of his final decisions as an executive may have actually left room for e-book competitors to breathe. Not only is Amazon in less of a position to put its�overabundant�assets towards buying the allegiance of publishing houses or particularly successful authors, but newcomers like Google‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google Books may have the chance to emerge.

In fact, according to figures compiled by Bloomberg, Amazon’s share of the e-book market has fallen from 90% to roughly 60% in the last two years. E-books sales are only climbing, as the iPad and Kindle are both capable of holding a small library of titles. Even Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS) managed to re-light its fading star by introducing the bargain price Nook right as books are in flight from pages to the screen.

Ultimately, a Justice Department trustbusting suit would be carried out with the intent of prying the competitive gates open, but might have the impact of only allowing Amazon to lock them outright.

Adam Patterson is an Assistant Editor of InvestorPlace. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned�securities.�You can follow him on Twitter�@ToweringBabble.

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Issues In Investment Diversification And It Necessity

During the last decade of the twentieth century and beyond, many have achieved insurmountable success with reduction of risk in their investment through diversification. Financial diversification means reducing risk by investing in a variety of assets. If the asset values do not move up and down in perfect synchrony, a diversified portfolio will have less risk of its constituent assets.

Investment is the commitment of money or capital to purchase financial instrument or other assets to gain profitable returns in the form of interest income or appreciation of the value of the instrument in future. The simplest of example is provided by the proverb “don’t put your egg in one basket”. Dropping the basket will break all the eggs. Placing each egg in a different basket is more diversified. There is more risk of losing one egg, but less of risk of losing all of them at a time. Historically, diversification has it origin in many scriptural books in particular, the Bible, from Ecclesiastes which reads that “but divided your investment among many places, for you do not know what risk might lie” There is a disturbing reluctance in our time to talk seriously about matters if investment diversification.

Why? Perhaps it has to do with modern sensibility’s profound discomfort with the practices and ethos of investment behavior along with our bad habits, we’ve gotten used to not talking about the things that matter most. One will often hear that investment diversification is a private matter that does not belong in the public discussion arena because it all comes down to investors decision to decide its risk level while choosing investment commitment. But that analysis doesn’t hold water-at least on some important points. Whatever your financial investment or even if you have none at all, it’s a fact that when million of people stop believing in the indices that mo! ves an i nvestment enormous consequences follow and it becomes even greater when it is accompanied by major players aversion. How could it be otherwise? In modernity, nothing has been more consequential- or more public consequence than large segment of investors towing the same line of investment opportunity make a killing from it when there are no high competitions and make it saturated thereafter.

The risk reduction from diversification does not mean anyone else has to take more risk. If for example investor A owns $5000 of one stock and investor B owns $5000 of another, both A and B will reduce their risk if they exchange if they exchange $2500 for the two stocks, so each now has a more diversified portfolio.

If your expectations of return on all assets in the investment portfolio are identical, the expected return on a diversified portfolio will be identical to that of undiversified portfolio. Though, some assets will perform better than others, but since one does not know in advance which asset will perform better, this fact can not be exploited in advance. The diversified portfolio’s return will always be higher than that of the worst-performing investment. So by diversifying one loses the chance of having invested solely in the asset that comes out worst. That is the role of diversification. It narrows the range of possible outcomes.
Risk averse investors may find it beneficial to diversify into assets with lower expected returns, thereby lowering the expected return on the portfolio, when the risk-reduction benefit of doing so exceeds the cost in terms of diminished expected returns and since forex trading involves high risk, this will be highly reduced or eliminated with my system when you ride with today.

From, http://www.passiveearners.blogspot.com

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HRIDs Azul Instant Receives Approval for Sale in Walgreens

Nouveau Life Pharmaceuticals (PINK: HRID) announced that its Azul Instant� has been approved for sale in Walgreens.�

Azul Instant has been developed by the scientific research and development team at Nouveau Life Pharmaceuticals. HRID developed the formula to offer a safe and natural alternative for erectile dysfunction. HRID�s goal is to create the healthiest and most effective all-natural male enhancer ever formulated, which unlike pharmaceuticals drugs such as Cialis, Viagra and Levitra carries no dangerous side effects.�

Nouveau Life Pharmaceuticals said that its CEO met with Walgreens representatives and received approval to sell Azul Instant. Initially, Azul Instant will be available only in the Florida market.�

Ramiro Cadena, CEO of Nouveau Life Pharmaceuticals, said that the company is excited by Walgreen�s decision and is confident in its ability to deliver to one of the nation�s largest drug store chains. Cadena said that after the launch in the Florida catalog with Walgreens, the company will aggressively penetrate the East Coast, followed by the West Coast and then the Midwest. Cadena added that the company is also targeting CVS and GNC in addition to Walgreens.�

HRID also announced this week that a Florida-based doctor with more than 20 years of medical experience recommends Azul Instant as an all natural solution for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.�

HRID said that Dr. William Nevius strongly recommends his patients to try Azul Instant before using prescription drugs.

Dr. Nevius says that as a licensed medical professional, he recommends Azul Instant to any of his male patients that are looking to improve their overall sexual health. Dr. Nevius sees Azul Instant as a revolutionary all-natural supplement that has proven to be a safe alternative to Viagra,Cialis, and Levitra.�

Despite these positive developm! ents HRI D shares are down sharply today. At last check, the stock was trading 14.88% lower at $0.0681 on above average volume of 5.06 million.

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JDSU: UBS Cuts to Hold; Stifel Ups Target to $19

Shares of JDS Uniphase (JDSU) are down 88 cents, or 7%, at $12.26 this morning despite the company last night beating Q2 estimates and offering an in-line view for Q3′s results.

The stock got one downgrade this morning, from UBS’s Nikos Theodosopoulos, who cut his rating on the shares to Neutral from Buy, though he raised his price target to $14.50 from $13.

An area of weakness was pricing on optical component orders, he notes, as expressed in the Q3 profit outlook:

Optical component contract negotiations were particularly intense for 3Q with a ~6% quarter-over-quarter ASP decline expected (avg~2-4%). 3Q operating margin was guided to 6-7.5% vs. our/ Street estimates of ~10%. Lower revs + higher opex in CommTest also weigh on outlook.

Theodosopoulos says he has a hard time giving the stock more than a 15 times multiple, which at 15 times the calendar 2013 estimate for 96 cents, is $14.50.

On the other hand, A different perspective is offered by Patrick Newton of Stifel Nicolaus, who reiterated a Buy rating this morning and raised his price target to $19 from $17.

Newton thinks the disappointing operating margin outlook this quarter is the result of things that are “transitory in nature.”

“Despite continued uncertainty driven by macroeconomic concerns in both Optical and CommTest end markets,” he writes, “JDSU recorded the highest total bookings in more than a year.”

“Our analysis indicates JDSU is likely to see continued new product momentum and leverage its IP and scale advantages.”

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Top 5 China Stocks 2012

If you’re looking for an economy growing with the fury of a fire-breathing dragon, then look no further than China. The country really is the economic hotspot on the globe.

A recent Goldman Sachs report estimated that China’s GDP growth will exceed its previous estimate of 8% this year. China also recently passed the U.S. as the world’s largest auto market for the first half of 2009.

In what I think is a very revealing statistic, I just read that the number of U.S. companies in Fortune‘s Top 500 companies in the world fell to only 140, which is the lowest ever, while China now has 37 companies, including 9 new entries.

I think it’s fair to say that China is the new land of opportunity when it comes to economic growth. But how can the individual investor hitch a saddle to this fire-breathing dragon?

Top 5 China Stocks 2012:China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd (CHU)

 China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited, an investment holding company, engages in the provision of GSM and WCDMA cellular, and related telecommunications services in the People's Republic of China.. The company offers cellular and fixed-line voice and related value-added services, broadband and other Internet-related services, information communications technology services, business and data communications services, and domestic and international long distance and related services. Its 3G services include mobile Internet, mobile music, mobile TV, video handsets, mobile newspapers, and 3G data cards. As of December 31, 2010, the company served approximately 153.366 million GSM subscribers, 47.224 million fixed-line broadband subscribers, and 96.635 million local access subscribers in 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in Mainland China. It also offers its services in the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited was founded in 2000. The company is based in Central, Hong Kong, and is considered a Red Chip company due to its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited is a subsidiary of China United Network Communications Group Company Limited.

Top 5 China Stocks 2012:Mindray Medical International Limited (MR)

 Mindray Medical International Limited, through its subsidiary, Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co., Ltd., develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices worldwide. It operates in three segments: Patient Monitoring and Life Support Products, In-Vitro Diagnostic Products, and Medical Imaging Systems. The Patient Monitoring and Life Support Products segment offers patient monitoring devices that track the physiological parameters of patients, such as heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, and temperature. This segment?s patient monitoring devices are suitable for adult, pediatric, and neonatal patients and are used principally in hospital intensive care units, operating rooms, and emergency rooms. This segment provides single and multiple-parameter monitors, mobile and portable multifunction monitors, central stations that could collect and display multiple patient data on a single screen, and an electro-cardiogram monitoring device; veterinary monitoring devices; and anesthesia machines, as well as defibrillators, surgical beds, and surgical lights. The In-Vitro Diagnostic Products segment offers data and analysis on blood, urine, and other bodily fluid samples for clinical diagnosis and treatment. This segment also provides semi-automated and fully-automated in-vitro diagnostic products for laboratories, clinics, and hospitals. In addition, this segment offers hematology analyzers and biochemistry analyzers, and reagents. The Medical Imaging Systems segment provides ultrasound systems, which are employed in medical fields consisting of urology, gynecology, obstetrics, and cardiology; digital radiography systems; and a magnetic resonance imaging system. The company serves distributors, original design manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers, and hospitals and government agencies. Mindray Medical International Limited was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Shenzhen, the People?s Republic of China.

Top 5 China Stocks 2012:General Steel Holdings Inc. (GSI)

 General Steel Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of steel products in the People's Republic of China. It offers hot-rolled carbon and silicon steel sheets primarily for use in the production of small agricultural vehicles and other specialty markets; spiral-weld pipes for the energy sector primarily to transport oil and steam; and high-speed wire and reinforced bar products for the construction industry. The company sells its products primarily to distributors. General Steel Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Top 5 China Stocks 2012:HSBC Holdings plc (HBC)

 HSBC Holdings plc provides various banking and financial products and services. Its Personal Financial Services group offers current and savings accounts, mortgages and personal loans, credit and debit cards, and payment services; wealth management services comprising insurance and investment products, and financial planning services; and consumer finance. The company?s Commercial Banking group provides overdrafts, receivables finance, term and syndicated loans, acquisition and project finance, and asset finance; payments and cash management services, including payments and collections, liquidity management, and account services; international trade products and services, such as export finance, guarantees, documentary collections, and forfeiting; and treasury services comprising foreign exchange, derivatives, and structured products. This group also offers capital markets and advisory services; commercial cards; insurance products; and online and telephone banking services. The company?s Global Banking and Markets group provides treasury and capital markets services comprising foreign exchange; currency, interest rate, bond, credit, equity, and other derivatives; government and non-government fixed income and money market instruments; precious metals and exchange-traded futures; equity services; capital markets instruments; and securities services, including custody and clearing services, and funds administration. This group also provides financing, advisory, and transaction services; and asset management services to government, corporate and institutional clients, and private investors. Its Global Private Banking group provides private banking, wealth management, and wealth solutions to high net worth individuals. HSBC operates through a network of approximately 7,500 offices in 87 countries and territories worldwide. The company was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Top 5 China Stocks 2012:Huaneng Power Intl (HNP)

 Huaneng Power International Inc., an independent power producer, engages in the generation and sale of electric power to the regional or provincial grid companies in the People's Republic of China. It involves in the investment, construction, operation, and management of power plants in China and Singapore. As of March 31, 2011, the company had controlling generating capacity of 54,402 megawatts, and a total generating capacity of 50,935 megawatts on an equity basis. Huaneng Power International Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

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Lawson Software Slides As Piper Downgrades On Valuation Basis

Lawson Software (LWSN) shares are trading lower this morning after Piper Jaffray analyst Mark Murphy lowered his rating on the stock to Neutral from Overweight on a valuation basis. He notes that the comapny has executed well, expanding operating margin from 6% in 2007 to 15% lately, propelling a 164% rally in the stock since November 2008.

Murphy says May quarter guidance still “embeds a healthy dose of conservatism,” and adds that “cyclical recovery has begun to benefit the business.” But he adds that he expects the stock from here to perform in line with its peers. Trading at 14x FY 2011 estimated free cash flow – a premium to ORCL at 12.7x – “the shares have become more fairly priced.”

LWSN is off 26 cents, or 3.5%, to $7.19.

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