America is awash with Irish whiskey

If Irish eyes are smiling at the approach of St. Patrick's Day, the widest grins this year may come from the Emerald Isle's distillers as their signature product continues on an increasingly prosperous path.

Irish whiskey is far and away the fastest growing spirit in the U.S., expanding beyond an annual ritual shot to become year round tipple. According to data compiled by the Distilled Spirits Council, an industry trade group, volume has jumped from just over 400,000 cases in 2002 to more than 2.5 million last year. While that total still lags behind bourbon, scotch and Canadian, the trajectory shows no signs of slowing down.

"It is still gaining momentum," said Tom Pirko, president of industry consultancy Bevmark. "We are right at the beginning of it."

Pirko believes that one of the reasons for the boom is that "people are turning back to things that are authentic, products that have more flavor that than vodka. And Irish has the potability without the bourbon burn or the peaty quality of scotch. It is kind of like Canadian, but with quality."

While the Irish claim to have invented whiskey – something many Scots are apt to vigorously dispute – ownership of the major producers has long since passed into foreign hands. Jameson, the runaway No. 1 brand with a roughly three-quarters share of the market, is controlled by France's Pernod Ricard.

Runner-up Bushmills is part of the portfolio of British beverage giant Diageo, which also owns Guinness. Other players include the U.K.'s William Grant and Beam, the American spirits firm that is about to be swallowed up by Japan's Suntory.

Most have turned modest investments, often made many years ago, into potstills of gold.

Jameson recently poured about $130 million into expanding their distillery, a move that their Irish whiskey marketing chief Paul DeVito said was a statement of confidence in the category's future.

"While it is true that Irish is taking consumers from bourbon and Scotch, it is also true that t! hose categories are growing too," he noted. "But Irish is also benefiting from the rising tide of new whiskey drinkers [and from] consumers' increasing interest in brown spirits overall."

The company has been rapidly expanding its product line, most recently with the introduction of Jameson Black Barrel, a higher-priced, higher-margin expression of their day-to-day hooch.

Beam entered the ring late with its 2012 acquisition of Cooley Distilleries, something that Kevin George, the company's chief marketing officer, said "was a natural play considering the whiskey boom around the world. It is a mixable, drinkable whiskey [that is] lighter and sits somewhere between scotch and bourbon."

George, who oversees brands including Kilbeggan, Connemara and the recently-acquired 2 Gingers, noted that Irish whiskies are currently growing by 18% in dollars and 16% in volume each year "and we definitely think that will continue."

David McIntyre is the senior vice president of food and beverage at MGM Resorts, a Las Vegas-based gambling chain that garners about $1.5 billion annually from its myriad restaurants and bars. It is among the largest purveyors of booze in the country. While vodka remains their biggest seller, Irish whiskey is coming on strong.

"It is a really good introductory spirit," he said. "Sweet and light and easy to mix."

McIntyre said that the properties he manages are tracking along with national trends. And while he does not see any signs of a slowdown, he does think it will overtake bourbon or scotch anytime soon.

"The irony, of course, is that John Jameson was a Scotsman," McIntyre said.

Overtime pay for advisers?

President Barack Obama's reported proposal to require more businesses to pay their employees overtime has highlighted the grey area around what positions in the advice business should be for paid hours worked outside the traditional work week.

Although his plan, which was reported on Wednesday by The New York Times, hasn't been fully unveiled, many said that any effort to expand overtime could add to confusion in an industry that has struggled with how to classify certain workers, such as trainees, client associates and even financial advisers themselves.

“If there's a problem where people should be getting overtime pay and they're not, then maybe we should be looking closer at the rules that are already in place,” said Debra Girvin, president of Lochlyn Company, a human resources consulting firm. “We need to bring that in order, and then if we still think something's wrong, then change the rules to broaden the scope.”

News of the president's proposal arrives as a number of large firms, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, continue to face class actions and multimillion-dollar settlements in cases where they were accused of misclassifying stockbrokers and advisers.

Most stockbrokers and advisers are presumed to be exempt under the administrative exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to Mary Dunlap, founder of an eponymous consulting fir

Producer Prices Fall, Offer Little Sign of Inflation Pressure

J Pat Carter/AP WASHINGTON -- U.S. producer prices fell in February, reinforcing the view that minimal inflation pressures could keep the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates for quite some time. The Labor Department said Friday its seasonally adjusted producer price index for final demand dropped 0.1 percent last month. The data gives little reason for Fed officials to worry their easy money policies are stoking inflation, and could make policymakers feel more comfortable holding interest rates near zero for many more months. "There is nothing in this report that raises any concerns about inflation," said John Canally, economist and investment strategist at LPL Financial in Boston. "The economy is running too far below capacity for that to happen. U.S. inflation has held at a very low level in recent years because of a persistently high unemployment rate. The value of the U.S. dollar slipped against the yen following the data's publication, suggesting investors felt the report buttressed the view that the Fed would hold interest rates extremely low into next year. Prices for U.S. government debt and U.S. stock index futures were little changed following the publication of the report. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a slight increase in prices received last month by businesses such as factories, retailers and wholesalers. The price index had risen 0.2 percent in January. The renamed index was recently expanded to include services and construction. It was previously known as PPI for finished goods. PPI now covers about 72 percent of services, which along with other factors will see it likely tracking closely the consumer price index with the passage of time, according to economists. Final demand for goods rose 0.4 percent in February. Final demand for services dropped 0.3 percent. The Labor Department said about 80 percent of the decline in its services index was due to lower margins for retailers of apparel, footwear and accessories. In the 12 months through February, producer prices increased 0.9 percent, the smallest one-year gain since May 2013. Producer prices excluding volatile food and energy costs fell 0.2 percent. Another gauge of core producer prices -- final demand less foods, energy, and trade services -- nudged up 0.1 percent.

Top 5 Defense Companies To Watch In Right Now

Married same-sex couples can amend their tax returns and claim refunds for the past three years.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Married same-sex couples who paid extra tax because the federal government didn't recognize their marriage are now eligible to get some of that money back.

The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, defined marriage as between a man and a woman, which meant married same-sex couples had to file their taxes individually. But the Supreme Court's summer ruling overturned that law. Now these couples are not only able to file as married going forward, but they have the option of amending their tax returns for the past three years if it would benefit them.

For some couples, doing this will reduce their overall tax liability and result in big refunds, which is typically the case when there is a large disparity in incomes (for example, when one spouse doesn't work).They can also claim any tax paid on health insurance benefits extended from one spouse to another through an employer-sponsored plan.

Top 5 Defense Companies To Watch In Right Now: Erickson Air-Crane Inc (EAC)

Erickson Air-Crane Incorporated (Erickson) is engaged in the operation and manufacture of the Erickson S-64 Aircrane (Aircrane), a heavy-lift helicopter. The Company operates in two segments: Aerial Services and Manufacturing / MRO. Aerial Services offers a range of heavy-lift helicopter services through the Company's worldwide fleet, including firefighting, timber harvesting, infrastructure construction, and crewing services. Manufacturing / MRO manufactures Aircranes from existing airframes, manufactures new components on a contract basis, and provides customers with Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency certified maintenance, and MRO services in the Company's AS9100 certified facility. In October 2012, the Company purchased the Sun Bird Aircraft and associated spare parts inventory and accessories from San Diego Gas & Electric Company. In May 2013, Erickson Air-Crane Inc acquired the entire share capital of Evergreen Helicopters Inc. In September 2013, Erickson Air-Crane Incorporated announced the completion of its acquisition of Air Amazonia Servicos Aeronauticos Ltda and certain related assets from HRT Participacoes em Petroleo S.A.

In February 2012, its Malaysian subsidiary, Erickson Aircrane Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., entered into an amendment to its existing logging contract with Syarikat Samling Timber Sdn. Bhd. (Samling Global) to extend the contract term to January 31, 2013. Pursuant to the amended contract, it began providing aerial timber harvesting services in Malaysia on February 1, 2012 to Samling Global. In January 2012, its Canadian subsidiary, Canadian Air-Crane Limited, amended its existing agreement with Western Forest Products Inc. (Western Forest Products), a Canadian forest products and timberlands management company, to establish the terms for one year of aviation services.

The Company offers a full spectrum of heavy-lift helicopter solutions, including the design, engineering, development, manufacturing, and testing of the Airc! rane, as well as Aerial Services and MRO services. It has production, maintenance, and logistics facilities in Central Point, Oregon. It maintains a year-round international presence with operations in Canada, Italy, Malaysia, and Peru, and an operating presence in Australia and Greece.

It owns the Type and Production Certificates for the Aircrane, granting us exclusive design, manufacturing, and related rights for the aircraft and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) components. It has made more than 350 design improvements to the Aircrane since acquiring the Type Certificate and it has developed Aircrane accessories that enhance its aerial operations, such as its firefighting tank system and snorkel, timber heli harvester, and anti-rotation device and hoist.

Aerial Services

The Aircrane has a lift capacity of up to 25,000 pounds and is a commercial aircraft built specifically as a flying crane without a fuselage for internal loads. The Aircrane is also a commercial heavy-lift helicopter with a rear load-facing cockpit, combining an unobstructed view and complete aircraft control for precision lift and load placement capabilities. It owns and operates a fleet of 17 Aircranes, which it uses to support a variety of government and commercial customers worldwide across a range of aerial services, including firefighting, timber harvesting, infrastructure construction, and crewing. The Aircrane is capable of providing heavy-lift solutions to a wide variety of industries, including firefighting, timber harvesting, infrastructure construction, oil and gas and energy related construction, disaster recovery, and emergency response. It leases its aircraft to customers for specific missions, with customers generally paying for the aircraft, maintenance, and crewing services, as well as fuel expense. In addition, it provides crewing for aircraft it has sold. Its Aircrane accessories include Fire Tank and Pond Snorkel, Fire Tank and Sea Snorkel, Foam Cannon, Hydromulch Loading Manifo! ld, Heli ! Harvester, Hydraulic Grapple, Long-Line Shock and Pendant, Anti-Rotation Device and Hoist and Material Transport Bucket.

The Aircrane Helitanker has provided firefighting services in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Italy, Greece, France, Turkey, and Australia. Its firefighting customers include federal, state, local, and international government agencies who hire the Company to be available as needed. Under its firefighting contracts, aircraft are deployed to locations prone to seasonal fires and remain on standby throughout the fire season. For these contracts, which it refers to as exclusive-use contracts, it typically charge on a per-day basis for availability and on a per-hour basis for actual aircraft use.

Aircrane is engaged in timber operations in a number of regions, including the United States, Canada, and the tropical forests in Malaysia. Its customers uses its harvesting solutions primarily for timber, such as tropical hardwoods and for remote area harvesting in locations that would otherwise require road construction or prohibit ground-based harvesting. Timber is vertically lifted and transported with its hydraulic grapple.

The Aircrane's rear load-facing pilot seat makes the aircraft particularly for infrastructure projects that require extreme precision in load delivery, such as electricity transmission and broadcasting towers, oil and gas pipelines, wind turbines, mining conveying systems, industrial equipment, emergency shelters, and ski-lift equipment. The Aircrane can be configured to transport heavy machinery and equipment, such as heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) units, automotive equipment, and other cargo items.

Aircraft Manufacturing and Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (Manufacturing/MRO)

The Company manufactures Aircranes and related components for sale to government and commercial customers and provide aftermarket support and maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for the Aircrane and oth! er aircra! ft. It also offers cost per hour (CPH) contracts pursuant to which it provides components and expendable supplies for a customer's aircraft at a fixed cost per flight hour. Through its Manufacturing / MRO segment it manufactures Aircranes from existing airframes, manufacture components on a contract basis, and provide customers with FAA- and European Aviation Safety Agency-certified MRO services

The Company has manufactured a total of 33 Aircranes for its own use and for sale to customers, and has sold one for domestic construction operations and eight for international firefighting operations. It also builds and manufactures Aircranes for its own use and owns, operates, and maintains 17 Aircranes. As the owner of the S-64 Type and Production Certificates, it also has the authority and ability to manufacture an Aircrane entirely from new parts. It manufactures aluminum main and tail rotor blades and have partnered with OEMs to design and manufacture composite main rotor blades. While it provides MRO services to its own Aircranes, it continues to provide parts and maintenance and overhaul services to every Aircrane it has sold. It also performs similar operations on engines and other components for owners of other aircraft platforms. Its FAA-certificated repair station offers an array of services from small repairs to extensive heavy airframe maintenance.

The Company competes with Columbia Helicopters, Helicopter Transport Services and Siller Brothers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Blake Bos]

  In the following video, Motley Fool industrials analyst Blake Bos takes a question from a Fool reader on Facebook, who asks, "What's your Foolish take on Erickson Air-Crane Incorporated (NASDAQ: EAC  ) ?"

Top 5 Defense Companies To Watch In Right Now: Poly Shield Technologies Inc (SHPR)

Poly Shield Technologies Inc. (Poly Shield), incorporated on March 2, 2000, is a research, development and marketing company providing environmental, energy saving and durability solutions. The Company's are designed and manufactured under the advanced bio-scrubber technology and includes a line of protective fluoropolymer coatings. Poly Shield�� fluoropolymer products are manufactured at a production facility in Florida. Poly Shield�� manufactured fluoropolymer coatings are used in a number of different industries including marine, aerospace, oilfield, industrial, commercial, and residential applications. In addition, Poly Shield offers a line of antimicrobial coatings for use in hospital or food industries. In December 2013, Poly Shield Technologies Inc sold New World Technologies Group, Inc. to Viveros.

The Company's products include bio-scrubber, supershield, superiorshield and microshield. Its products are used in aerospace, cruise ship lines, marine, military, oil, and energy production industries. The Company's bio-scrubber is designed to remove alkali metals from fuel in an effort to protect gas turbines from high temperature corrosion. The technology has been installed on active ships within the cruise line industry.

SuperShield is a fluoropolymer coating that is formulated to work with a variety of residential, commercial, industrial and marine applications. It is a fluoroplymer resin that offers weathering ability and the choice of temperature curing. Its flagship product, SuperShield 100, containing fluoropolymer resins provides up to a 50 year service life on a steel and metal surfaces. Its SuperShield S is superhydrophobic and superoleophobic, with characteristic complex micro and nanoscopic surface, which minimizes adhesion. SuperShield S100 is also superhydrophobic and superoleophobic. SuperShield S100 is provides 50 year service life. The ultimate anti-fouling coating for ship hulls, oilfield rigs, heavy equipment, airplanes, bridges, etc.

! SuperiorShield is protective and energy saving roof coatings. Its superiorShield coating reduces heat transfer through infrared radiation, conduction and convection. SuperiorShield has the capability to reflect 90% of the suns ultraviolet (UV) rays.

MicroShield is a anti-microbial coating. MicroShield is an active antibacterial destroying the cell membrane and inducing oxidative deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and protein damage of microbes. It also acts as a bacteriostat, virostat and fungistat, inhibiting bacterial, viral and fungal growth.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Soul and Vibe Interactive Inc (OTCBB: SOUL), Globalstar, Inc (OTCMKTS: GSAT) and Poly Shield Technologies Inc (OTCBB: SHPR) have been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters or investor alerts with at least two of these stocks being the subject of some sort of paid stock promotional or investor relations type of activities. With that in mind, just how hot are these three small cap stocks for investors or traders? Here is a quick reality check:

Best Consumer Service Companies To Own In Right Now: Bulova Technologies Group Inc (BTGI)

Bulova Technologies Group, Inc. (BLVT), incorporated in 1979, operates as a Government contractor in the United States. BLVT�� operating facilities are located in Mayo, Florida. As of September 30, 2011, the Company is focused on Department of Defense contracting. As of September 30, 2011, BLVT operated corporate and administrative offices in two leased facilities, one in Clearwater, Florida, approximating 2,400 square feet, and the other in Brandon, Florida, approximating 5,000 square feet. The Company�� Government contracting business is located on 261 acres owned by the Company in Mayo, Florida, where it operates a load, assembly, and pack facility specializing in fuzes, safe and arming devices and explosive simulators. There are more than 38 buildings on the property consisting of warehouses, storage, and manufacturing facilities. In March 31, 2011, the Company disposed of its subsidiary BT Manufacturing Company LLC. In October 2012, the Company sold Bulova Technologies Ordnance Systems LLC.

Bulova Technologies Ordnance Systems LLC is a load, assembly, and pack facility specializing in fuzes, safe and arming devices and explosive simulators. Bulova Technologies Ordnance Systems LLC produces a range of pyrotechnic devices, ammunition and other energetic materials for the United States Government and other allied Governments worldwide. Bulova Technologies (Europe) LLC is developing a mortar exchange program to facilitate the needs of NATO member countries.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  A quick look at Hybrid Coating Technologies��financials reveals revenues of $48k (most recent reported quarter), $5k, $3k and $53k for the past four reported quarters along with net losses of $821k (most recent reported quarter), $1,571k, $774k and $510. At the end of September, Hybrid Coating Technologies had no cash to cover $4,037k in current liabilities and $1,279k in long term debt. So while the global industrial and specialty coatings market might be worth $35 billion, Hybrid Coating Technologies has yet to grab enough of it.

  Bulova Technologies Group, Inc (OTCMKTS: BTGI) Recently Did a Reverse Split

  Small cap Bulova Technologies Group has an extensive history of large scale Defense Contracts for munitions, weapons systems and combat systems. On Friday, Bulova Technologies Group fell 13.04% to $0.0300 for a market cap of $663,789 plus BTGI is up 29,900% over the past year and down 66.7% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

Top 5 Defense Companies To Watch In Right Now: Hexcel Corp (HXL)

Hexcel Corporation (Hexcel), incorporated in 1948, is a composites company. The Company develops, manufactures and markets composites, including carbon fibers, reinforcements, prepregs, honeycomb, matrix systems, adhesives and composite structures, for use in Commercial Aerospace, Space and Defense, and Industrial Applications. Its products are used in a variety of end applications, such as commercial and military aircraft, space launch vehicles and satellites, wind turbine blades, automotive, bikes, skis and a variety of other industrial applications. Hexcel has two segments: Composite Materials and Engineered Products. The Composite Materials consists of carbon fiber, reinforcements for composites, honeycomb core and matrix product lines. The Engineered Products consists of composite structures and specially machined honeycomb product lines.

Composite Materials

The Composite Materials segment manufactures and markets carbon fibers, fabrics and specialty reinforcements, prepregs, structural adhesives, honeycomb, composite panels, molding compounds, polyurethane systems and laminates that are incorporated into many applications, including military and commercial aircraft, wind turbine blades, recreational products and other industrial applications. HexTow carbon fibers are manufactured for sale to third-party customers, as well as for its own use in manufacturing certain reinforcements and composite materials. Carbon fibers are woven into carbon fabrics, used as reinforcement in conjunction with a resin matrix to produce pre-impregnated composite materials. Carbon fibers is also used in filament winding, hand layup, automatic tape layup and advanced fiber placement to produce finished composite components. Its carbon fibers��product applications include structural components for commercial and military aircraft, space launch vehicles, and certain other applications, such as recreational and industrial equipment.

Industrial fabrics and specialty reinforcements are ma! de from a variety of fibers, including carbon, aramid and other polymers, several types of fiberglass, quartz, ceramic and other specialty fibers. These reinforcements are used in the production of prepregs and other matrix materials used in primary and secondary structural aerospace applications, such as wing components, horizontal and vertical stabilizer components, fairings, radomes and engine nacelles, as well as overhead storage bins and other interior components. Hexcel�� reinforcements are also used in the manufacture of a variety of industrial and recreational products, such as wind energy blades, automotive components, boats, surfboards, skis and other sporting goods equipment.

HexPly prepregs are manufactured for sale to third-party customers and for internal use by its engineered products segment in manufacturing composite laminates and monolithic structures, including finished components for aircraft structures and interiors. Prepregs are manufactured by combining reinforcement fabrics or unidirectional fibers with a resin matrix to form a composite material with structural properties not present in either of the constituent materials. Reinforcement fabrics used in the manufacture of prepregs include glass, carbon, aramid, quartz, ceramic and other specialty reinforcements. Resin matrices include bismaleimide, cyanate ester, epoxy, phenolic, polyester, polyimide and other specialty resins.

Other fiber reinforced matrix developments include HexMC, a form of quasi-isotropic carbon fiber prepreg that enables small to medium sized composite components to be mass produced. HexTOOL is a specialized form of HexMC for use in the construction of high temperature composite tooling. HexFIT film infusion material is a product that combines resin films and dry fiber reinforcements in production and enables the manufacture of contoured composite structures, such as wind turbine blades.

Polymer matrix materials are sold in bulk and film form for use in direct pro! cess manu! facturing of composite parts. Resins can be combined with fiber reinforcements in manufacturing processes, such as resin transfer molding (RTM), resin film infusion (RFI) or vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) to produce composite components for both aerospace and industrial applications. Hexcel manufactures and markets a range of Redux film and paste adhesives. These structural adhesives, which bond metal to metal and composites and honeycomb structures, are used in the aerospace industry and for many industrial applications.

HexWeb honeycomb is a cellular structure consisting of nested hexagonal cells. The product is similar in appearance to a cross-sectional slice of a beehive. It can also be manufactured in asymmetric cell configurations for more specialized applications. Honeycomb is primarily used as a lightweight core material and acts as an energy absorber. When sandwiched between composite or metallic facing skins, honeycomb increases the stiffness of the structure, while adding very little weight. The Company produces honeycomb from a number of metallic and non-metallic materials. Its metallic honeycomb is made from aluminum and is available in a selection of alloys, cell sizes and dimensions. Non-metallic materials used in the manufacture of honeycomb include fiberglass, carbon fiber, thermoplastics, non-flammable aramid papers, aramid fiber and other specialty materials. During the year ended December 31, 2011, revenues for the Composite Materials segment to third-party customers represented approximately 77% of its total revenues.

Engineered Products

The Engineered Products segment manufactures and markets composite structures and precision machined honeycomb parts for use in the aerospace industry. Composite structures are manufactured from a variety of composite and other materials, including prepregs, honeycomb, structural adhesives and advanced molding materials, using such manufacturing processes, as autoclave processing, multi-axis nu! merically! controlled machining, heat forming, compression molding and other composite manufacturing techniques. During 2011, revenues for the Engineered Products segment to third-party customers represented approximately 23% of its total revenues. The Engineered Products business unit has a 50% ownership interest in a Malaysian joint venture, Asian Composites Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [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 a pair of aerospace upgrades for European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (NASDAQOTH: EADSY  ) and Hexcel (NYSE: HXL  ) . But it's not all good news, so let's start off by finding out why.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Hexcel (NYSE: HXL  ) reported earnings on July 22. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Hexcel met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Top 5 Defense Companies To Watch In Right Now: Spirit Aerosystems Holdings Inc.(SPR)

Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures commercial aerostructures worldwide. It operates in three segments: Fuselage Systems, Propulsion Systems, and Wing Systems. The Fuselage Systems segment develops, produces, and markets forward, mid, and rear fuselage sections and systems primarily to aircraft original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), as well as offers related spares, and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services. This segment also offers rotorcraft comprising forward cockpit and cabin for military aircrafts. The Propulsion Systems segment engages in the development, production, and marketing of struts/pylons; nacelles, including thrust reversers; and related engine structural components primarily to aircraft or engine OEMs, as well as provides related spares and MRO services. The Wing Systems segment develops, produces, and markets wings and wing components comprising flight control surfaces and other miscellaneous structural parts primarily to aircraft OEMs, as well as offers related spares and MRO services. This segment is also involved in designing, engineering, and manufacturing structural components for military aircrafts, including low observables that are radar absorbent and translucent materials; and radome new builds and refurbishment. It also provides other military services, such as fabrication, bonding, assembly, testing, tooling, processing, engineering analysis, and training. Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. serves large commercial airplanes, business and regional jets, and military/helicopter sectors of the aerostructures industry. The company was formerly known as Mid-Western Aircraft Systems Holdings, Inc. Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Wichita, Kansas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Cintolo]

  Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) is a dominant supplier of aerostructures (fuselages, wing systems, etc.) to both Boeing and Airbus��n fact, it makes 70% of the airframe content for the Boeing 737, and is the largest aerostructure provider to Boeing's newer 787.

• [By Michael J. Carr]

  Einhorn added RAD to his portfolio in the second quarter of 2013, the last quarter we have a full report of his activity for. During that time, he was also buying Spirit AeroSystems Holdings (NYSE: SPR).

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Axel Springer AG (SPR) declined 1.5 percent to 43.43 euros. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its rating on Europe�� biggest newspaper publisher to sell from neutral, saying its valuation is the highest of the publishers it covers. Shares trade at 18.6 times earnings compared with 16.3 times for the DAX.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Textron have gained 1.2% to $36.63 at 1:09 p.m., while Embraer (ERJ) has risen 0.5% to $32.30, Triumph Group (TGI) has advanced 0.2% to $75.73 and Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) is off 0.8% at $33.90.

Charter Communications, Inc. (CHTR); Worth Watching or Buying

Investors should view Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) differently, according to Northland Capital Markets. Analyst, Tom Eagan upgraded the cable TV service provider to "Outperform" from "Market Perform" with a $146 price-target – potential upside of 15% to target.

The analyst's target isn't too courageous considering CHTR's 52-week high is $144.02.

Charter Communications provides entertainment, information, and communications solutions to residential and commercial customers in the United States. The company offers cable video programming, internet, and telephone services.

[Related -Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC): What Should Be The Optimal Price For TWC?]

As of December 31, 2013, it served approximately 4.2 million residential video customers; approximately 4.4 million residential Internet customers; approximately 2.3 million residential voice service customers; and approximately 567,000 commercial primary service units, primarily small-and medium-sized commercial customers.

Shares are mildly higher on Eagan's upgrade as he says, "The resurrection of CHTR has been exciting to watch. Just four years after bankruptcy, the company is likely to grow both its customer base and OCF (operating cash flow) materially faster than its peers. We, therefore, see the recent pullback as an opportunity to invest in an operator positioned for tremendous FCF (free cash flow) gains in 2015-2016. Moreover, as cable investors ponder the prospects for the approval of the CMCSA/TWC merger, we expect rotation into CHTR."

[Related -Harmonic Inc (HLIT): Profit From The Rise Of Mobile Video With This Stock]

Let's take a look at what it would take for Charter to make its way to $146 or maybe even beyond. We think the price-to-sales (P/S) is the fairest way to evaluate CHTR as EPS would require a P/E well beyond the industry's average.

For example, $146 would require a P/E on 2015's consensus estimate of $3.44; whereas, the average peer trades at 12.76 times profits per share. Meanwhile, Charter's P/S ratio of 1.6 is more in-line with competitors at 1.69.

For 2014, analysts forecast sales of $9.01 billion and $9.64 billion for 2015. At the industry average P/S ratio of 1.69, CHTR's stock would price out at $143.46 and $153.49 based on 2014 and 2015's consensus sales forecasts, respectively. Both aren't that too far off from Eagan's target, perhaps he rounded up to a P/S ratio of 1.72?

Now, shares would be unattractive at current levels if Wall Street valued the communications and entertainment company at its average P/S since emerging from bankruptcy. The average P/S ratio since 2011 is 1.13, which translates to $95.92 and $102.63 using 2014 and 2015 revenue estimates.

Overall: Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) should hit Tom Eagan's target sometime before the end of 2015 based on the industry average P/S ratio. However, upside could be limited as hitting Northland Capital Markets'$146 requires CHTR to trade well above its typical price-to-sales valuation. 

Gross trips in legacy test as El-Erian exit becomes distraction

Bloomberg News

Bill Gross, musing on his legacy in an April investment outlook, contended that the real test of his greatness as investor would be his ability to adapt to a new era of shrinking bond market returns.

Almost a year later, the bond king is stumbling.

Mr. Gross's largest fund, the $236 billion Pimco Total Return, has trailed peers for two of the past three calendar years. Clients pulled money from the world's largest bond fund for a 10th straight month in February even as investors tiptoed back into bonds. In the midst of this, the 69-year-old has been entangled in an ugly split from his former heir apparent Mohamed El-Erian, with allegations of phone surveillance and public humiliations, that has painted a picture of Mr. Gross as an autocratic leader struggling to maintain his composure.

The departure of Mr. El-Erian and other top executives in the past year has become a distraction at a critical time for Pacific Investment Management Co., the Newport Beach, Calif., firm he co-founded in 1971 and built into the world's largest fixed-income manager amid a three-decade rally in bonds. As rising interest rates worldwide have prompted investors to flee bond strategies over the past year, Mr. Gross's ability to improve returns is crucial for Pimco to reverse client redemptions.

“This clearly has the potential for being distracting,” said Michael Rosen, CIO at Angeles Investment Advisors LLC, a Santa Monica, Calif., consultant to institutions. “We prefer our portfolio managers to simply manage portfolios and not spend time thinking about what's being said in the media.”

EXAMINING LEGACY

Mr. Gross's Pimco Total Return Fund has declined 0.5% in the past year, trailing 76% of rivals and underperforming the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. This year, the fund has advanced 1.8%, ahead of 56% of peers.

Mr. Gross in April wrote an investment outlook where he examined his legacy as an investor, and said his returns and those of investors such as Warren Buffett, Dan Fuss and George Soros were helped by investing in an era of expanding credit that started in the early 1970s, when gold was de-linked from the dollar.

“Perhaps, however, it was the epoch that made the man as opposed to the man that made the epoch,” he wrote.

The billionaire's introspection came just as bond markets entered a period of turmoil after former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled in May that the central bank would start unwinding its unprecedented asset purchases. Investors responded by pulling a record $9.6 billion from Pimco Total Return in June, according to data from

Fingerprint scanners on smartphones are SO last…

SAN FRANCISCO — With apologies to local start-ups Jawbone and Fitbit and Silicon Valley's Pebble watch, some of the coolest wearable computers to be shown off in Texas this week will be coming by way of Canada.

Arguably the biggest mobile-device breakthrough at this year's South by Southwest Interactive confab in Austin will be a unique bracelet, made by one of several Toronto-based wearable start-ups at the show, that could soon make even cutting-edge technologies like fingerprint sensors a thing of the past.

The Nymi device from Bionym contains a security advancement that, if widely adopted, could make passwords, security keys and all other methods of digital identification obsolete.

Straight out of the future, the wristband turns the wearer's own heartbeat into a secure biometric identifier that can be used to access a home, car, office, computer, mobile device — anything that requires an authenticated ID.

The company's sensor technology is just one of many mobile computing advances that soon will help create customized real-world experiences for consumers – or at least for those who don't mind giving up a large degree of their digital privacy.

These experiences will not only be personal but also predictive — offering us help before we have to ask for it — thanks to the wealth of data these wearable devices now collect on their owners.

Or, as Bionym says in a research paper describing its product: "Our devices will start to know us better than the people who are closest to us... They will know what we want before we do because they are tracking our activity patterns, and they are always looking out to see what environmental conditions could put us off schedule."

While that may make privacy advocates cringe, Bionym's product — like those coming from other Toronto startups such as Kiwi Wearables Technology and PUSH — offer consumers the chance to use detailed data about their own activities to improve their lives.

Kiwi Wearables' forthcoming! wristband, called the Move, uses an array of sensors to capture and analyze data on even the most subtle gestures.

The result can be a better golf swing or throwing motion for athletes, or tighter collaboration among musicians.

The PUSH Strength, meanwhile, is an armband that helps produce more of what its name implies. Its sensor technology measures the force of human muscle movements, providing feedback to boost the effectiveness of weightlifting and other strength conditioning.

The companies are part of a cluster of wearable-computing start-ups centered around the Creative Destruction Lab, a tech incubator at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. http://www.creativedestructionlab.com/

This simmering cauldron of wireless engineering creativity is stirred up by events such as Wearable Wednesdays -- a regular Toronto meetup -- and ambitious-sounding efforts such as the Ontario Cross-Border Technology Innovation Ecosystem and the MaRS Discovery District in that city. http://www.marsdd.com/

The wireless technologies that will enable a wide array of new consumer applications are already in use today, and well beyond Canada.

From the motion-capture software in video-gaming devices like the Wii and Kinect to the customer-aware sensors at the entrance to most retail stories to the short-range Bluetooth chips now built into most high-end smartphones, the future is here now.

For example, let's say you walk into a meeting or a party with a co-worker or friend and suddenly spy someone or something that you know they would wish to avoid.

Imagine if a tap on your own shoulder or swipe of your sleeve could send them a secret warning without the aid of human speech or any handheld device.

At OCAD University's Social Body Lab, also in Toronto, artists and fashion designers are working alongside engineers and interface designers to create clothing that can conduct this type of advanced communication. http://research.ocadu.ca/socialbody/home

Meanwhil! e, this week in Austin, Bionym and Kiwi Wearables will be competing as South by Southwest Accelerator finalists in the wearable tech category, while PUSH is a finalist in the Digital Innovation Challenge, another competition hosted at the show by Dutch electronics giant Philips.

All three Toronto wearable companies are now testing beta versions of their products and plan to ship consumer versions in the next few months.

John Shinal has covered tech and financial markets for 15 years at Bloomberg, BusinessWeek, the San Francisco Chronicle, Dow Jones MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal Digital Network and others. Follow him on Twitter: @johnshinal.

Switzerland: A Safe Haven

What makes a good hedge and safe haven? A strong, stable currency with ample liquidity, financial and political stability, and a market-based, rules-driven, open economy. Switzerland fits the bill nicely, suggests Carl Delfeld, editor of The Value Bounce.

Despite a population of only 7.2 million, Switzerland packs a punch and is a financial and multinational powerhouse. Switzerland has the highest per capita income in the world.

The Swiss franc is backed by ample gold reserves, fiscal discipline, a trade surplus, and very little foreign debt. Outward looking, Switzerland has 40% of its gross domestic product attributed to exports.

Switzerland represents the third-largest financial center in the world, after New York and London. It is also home to world-beating pharmaceutical, engineering, and food companies.

Switzerland enjoys a stable government, vibrant democracy, and a reputation as an asset haven in times of stress. The Swiss have had a functioning democracy for 500 years and, actually, have a fairly weak central government, with a legislature that meets for only two weeks, four times a year (good idea for US Congress?).

Meanwhile, the Swiss stock market is trading at a discount to the S&P 500. Now how should Switzerland become part of your portfolio?

Large, blue-chip global companies are almost always in favor due to attractive price-to-value valuations, entrenched brand names, and dominant market shares, proven management teams, solid free cash flows, and double-digit growth potential.

The iShares Switzerland (EWL) is a wonderful way to gain exposure to a basket of Switzerland's leading multinationals and has an expense ratio of only 0.59%. In addition, while a rising Swiss franc puts pricing pressure on Swiss exporters, a strong Swiss franc supercharges returns for investors in EWL.

My favorite stock pick is Nestlé (NSRGY). This consumer giant has a share-buyback program, a focus on growth in emerging consumer markets, and a rising dividend.

In addition, ABB (ABB) is terrific infrastructure play and has been on a tear, winning power and automation-technology contacts all over the world.

Subscribe to The Value Bounce here…

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SEC Gets 26% Funding Boost Under Obama’s 2015 Budget

The Securities and Exchange Commission would receive $1.7 billion under President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2015 budget plan, released Thursday, a 26% increase over the 2014 enacted level of $1.35 billion.

The extra funds would be used to add 639 additional staffers; 316 would be added to the agency’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, with 240 of those examiners devoted solely to overseeing advisors.

The 316 added staffers would boost the total number of SEC examiners to 1,283.

In 2014, the SEC asked for funds to add 325 additional examiners, of which 250 would cover the advisory industry. While the 250 examiners were requested for FY 2014, the SEC lacked the funding to add them.

The enforcement division would get 126 new staff members, while 75 new staff members would be spread across the divisions of Corporation Finance, Investment Management and Trading and Markets.

The Division of Economic Risk and Analysis would get 14 new staff members.

Additional funds provided in the budget would also be used to boost investments in technology and enhance the agency’s tips, complaints and referrals system.

The agency would also gauge whether to add new staff members to its new Office of Investor Advocate, which currently has five employees.

SEC Chairwoman Mary Jo White said in a Tuesday statement that she was “pleased that the President's FY 2015 Request recognizes the SEC's need for significant additional resources. The $1.7 billion requested will be critical for the SEC to fulfill its mission to investors and our markets. It is also important to remember that this funding comes from industry transaction fees and does not take money away from other priorities or contribute to the federal deficit."

The Obama administration requested $1.67 billion for the SEC in 2014, but Congress set the SEC’s budget for the current fiscal year, which ends in September, at $1.35 billion.

However, Congress isn’t likely to take action on any 2015 spending bills until after the midterm elections in November. This fact makes the president’s budget “even more irrelevant than in most other years,” says David Tittsworth, executive director of the Investment Adviser Association in Washington.

“Nonetheless, the president’s budget reflects the administration’s continuing support for Mary Jo White’s priorities, which include hiring a lot of additional SEC examiners to inspect investment advisory firms,” Tittsworth says.

The SEC announced in late February that it had started an exam sweep of about 4,000 never-examined advisors registered with the SEC for three or more years.

---

Check out Obama's 2015 Budget Riles Up Retirement Industry on ThinkAdvisor.

The long-term impact of student-loan debt

Only in post-recession America could the indebted masses become a constituency — and a potential market. Call them Generation Overleveraged.

A whopping 40 million Americans owe an even more whopping $1.2 trillion in student-loan debt. The amount surpasses every other type of household debt except mortgage debt.

While the federal government has enacted laws that will ease future graduates' debt burdens, plenty of 20- and 30-somethings are still in the lurch. And at last these red-ink-stained wretches are garnering some attention from policymakers, politicians and bankers. Eyeing voters, politicians on the left and right have highlighted the issue, while banks are beginning to broaden their reach to refinancing student loans. It's not clear whether true relief or reform is on the way, but there's no denying that momentum has built along with the debt.

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The main reason for rising student debt is this: In the halcyon years before the Great Recession, millions of young Americans took out loans to get through university, only to graduate into an economy that didn't need them as badly anymore. They're finding it harder to pay off their loans than they likely anticipated.

That's not to say there hasn't been profiting at their expense. Federal loan interest rates remain high relative to other types of government-backed lending, and private loan rates tend to be even higher. Beneficiaries include for-profit secondary institutions, private lenders and good ol' Uncle Sam.

THE DEBT VOTE

Their rising numbers have turned student-loan holders into a fledgling constituency. Student debt has become a marquee issue for both Republicans, like Sen. Marco Rubio, and Democrats, like Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand. There's even the hint of bipartisan consensus on the issue. Organizations that face off on other issues, like the conservative Ame! rican Enterprise Institute and the liberal Center for American Progress, are finding common ground on policy solutions like income-based repayment and refinancing.

To be sure, Rubio has long considered student debt an important issue — the 42-year-old paid off his own loans only last year, with some publicity. And Warren has devoted most of her career to debt.

But the sheer numbers have garnered new attention. Over the past 10 years, the amount of student loan debt has nearly tripled, while defaults are at a two-decade high, with nearly 15 percent of borrowers defaulting within three years. As an illustration, some 600,000 borrowers who started paying federal student loans in 2010 had defaulted two years later. Defaults on private loans, which are less subject to regulation than government loans, are likely worse.

IT'S STILL THE ECONOMY…

Headlines are prone to describe student debt as the next coming bubble, but economists say defaults probably won't trigger a financial collapse. Student loans were never securitized to the extent that mortgage debt was.

Student-loan debt also has warped the economy, contributing to a shortage of primary-care doctors and stymieing entrepreneurship.

That doesn't mean student loans aren't a drag on the economy as a whole. Analysts say that student loan debt has had widespread economic repercussions. In a report published last year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said student debt is one reason that 20- and 30-somethings seem to be living a prolonged adolescence, including living with their parents, failing to contribute to retirement accounts and postponing big consumer purchases such as cars.

"Rising student debt burdens may prove to be one of the more painful aftershocks of the Great Recession, especially if left unaddressed," said the bureau's student-loan ombudsman, Rohit Chopra, in a speech in November.

Student-loan debt also has warped the economy, contributing to a shortage of primary-care doctors — hig! hly indeb! ted med-school graduates are more likely to specialize in big-bucks sectors like dermatology and radiology — and has stymied entrepreneurship. The National Association of Realtors reported in July that nearly half of Americans describe student loan burdens as a huge obstacle to homeownership: "It proves to be a real detriment across the board."

BUDDY, CAN YOU SPARE A RE-FI?

What solutions exist? Historically, it's been much harder to refinance student loan debt than to refinance, say, mortgage debt. But that is starting to change. Over the past couple of years, several big banks have gotten into the student-loan refinance game, including RBS Citizens and SunTrust.

"It's common to hear about refinancing your mortgage, but this is a relatively new practice for educational debt," says Dan Macklin, co-founder and vice president of SoFi, a startup that has refinanced about $400 million in student loans since 2011. Lack of awareness is the biggest challenge in reaching the refinancing market, he says. And it's a huge market, in SoFi's estimation: Some $350 billion could be addressed, Macklin says.

But not everyone in student-debt distress is eligible for refinancing. Generally, you need to be in a better economic position, with a better credit score, than you were when you took out the loan. Lack of awareness about federal loan deferral and forgiveness is also a problem.

THE WAY FORWARD

One area of emerging consensus is that lenders should stop making loans without consideration of borrowers' ability to repay. Clearly, it's difficult to measure a 17-year-old's earning potential, but, analysts say, that doesn't preclude responsible lending. The debate lies in how to do it.

Some would put the onus on the student. They should write and amend loan repayment plans, argued one analyst, which would make them reassess their earning potential and career path periodically. Or they should be prequalified based on their academic record, others argue.

In contrast, a propos! ed rule b! y the Department of Education would put the onus on universities and colleges, making them show that a degree from them will provide gainful employment. (Its first attempt to put the rule through was scuttled when the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities sued.)

With competing interests and a still-evolving economy, the future of student lending and debt relief remains uncertain. But the issue has gained traction, and that should be a relief to us all, debt-burdened or not.

Ozy.comis a USA TODAY content partner providing general news, commentary and coverage from around the Web. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Markets Take a Sharp Dip to the Downside, as Traders Take Month-End Profits

Related BZSUM Benzinga Weekly Preview: ECB Back In The Spotlight Market Wrap For February 28: Markets Unable To Hold On To Gains

Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.04 percent to 16,278.76 while the NASDAQ dropped 0.48 percent to 4,298.01. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.07 percent to 1,856.06.

Leading and Lagging Sectors
Early in trading on Friday, industrials shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.71 percent. Leading the sector was strength from Maxwell Technologies (NASDAQ: MXWL) and The Standard Register Company (NYSE: SR).

Telecommunications services sector gained 0.12 percent in the US market today. Among the sector stocks,Iridium Communications (NASDAQ: IRDM) was down more than 4.5 percent, while America Movil S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: AMX) tumbled around 2.3 percent.

Top Headline
Pepco Holdings (NYSE: POM) reported a 35% rise in its fourth-quarter profit. For the year, Pepco projects earnings of $1.12 to $1.27 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $1.22 per share. Pepco's quarterly earnings surged to $58 million, or $0.23 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $43 million, or $0.18 per share. Excluding one –time items, its earnings from continuing operations came in at $0.24 per share. Its total operating revenue climbed 3.3% to $1.09 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.21 per share on revenue of $1.11 billion.

Equities Trading UP
Central European Media Enterprises (NASDAQ: CETV) shot up 73.07 percent to $4.69 after the company reported Q4 results.

Shares of OmniVision Technologies (NASDAQ: OVTI) got a boost, shooting up 7.22 percent to $17.38 after the company posted better-than-expected Q3 results.

Dril-Quip (NYSE: DRQ) was also on the rise, gaining 12.27 percent to $107.68 after the company's fourth quarter report impressed the street.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Endologix (NASDAQ: ELGX) were down 24.85 percent to $13.43 on lowered guidance, analyst downgrades. Oppenheimer downgraded the stock from Outperform to Market Perform and cut the price target from $20.00 to $16.00.

Deckers Outdoor (NASDAQ: DECK) shares tumbled 13.30 percent to $73.65 after the company expected a Q1 loss of $0.16 per share. Analysts at Jefferies downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold and lowered the price target from $100 to $75.

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HALO) was also down, falling 13.11 percent to $13.91 after the company's wider than expected loss disappointed the street Friday morning.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.15 percent to $102.55, while gold traded down 0.35 percent to $1,327.20.

Silver traded down 0.23 percent Friday to $21.23, while copper fell 0.81 percent to $3.19 .

Eurozone
European shares were mostly higher today.

The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.49 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index surged 0.60 percent.

Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 1.08 percent and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.27 percent while U.K. shares declined 0.01 percent.

Economics
The US economy grew at an annual pace of 2.4% in the fourth quarter, versus a prior reading of 3.2%. However, economists were expecting a growth of 2.5%.

The Chicago PMI rose to 59.80 in February, versus a prior reading of 59.60. However, economists were expecting a reading of 56.40.

The final reading of the Reuter's/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 81.60 in February, versus a prior reading of 81.20. However, economists were expecting a reading of 81.20.

The pending home sales index rose 0.1% in January, versus economists' expectations for a 1.8% gain.

Data on farm prices will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET. 

Posted-In: Earnings News Guidance Eurozone Futures Forex Global Econ #s Economics Intraday Update Markets Movers Tech

(c) 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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