How To Become A Multi-Millionaire Running A Single-Family Office, Part 1 of 3

A person can become quite wealthy earning millions of dollars annually running a single-family office. If he or she is really good and made the right deal with the wealthy family, then it's quite possible to earn tens of millions of dollars annually. Then again, there's the possibility of not earning very much – if anything – at all.

Basically, there are two types of compensation arrangements used by single-family offices. One can make a person very rich and the other is a nice income.

The more stable and less potentially profitable approach is referred to as the employee model. Here, key personnel are paid a salary and discretionary bonus. Compensation is largely determined by how the wealthy family "feels" about the performance of the people running their family office.

Under the employee model, total annual compensation tends to run a few hundred thousand dollars. It's very common for the salaries and bonuses not to exceed half a million dollars. This is in contrast to the other way key personnel are compensated – the participatory model. "With increasing emphasis by single-family offices to make sure high-caliber talent is in charge – especially when it comes to investing – there's solid and growing movement to compensation arrangements predicated on 'sharing success,' explains Miguel Forbes, vice chairman of the Forbes Family Trust.

With the participatory model, key personnel at the single-family office have a financial stake in the success of the family office itself or the performance of select investments or both. Participatory compensation arrangements can result in a strong alignment of interests between "employees" and the very wealthy family being served. "Compensation for key personnel with the participatory approach can range from zero to multiple tens of millions of dollars or more each year," explains Richard Flynn, principal of the family office group at Rothstein Kass, "It all depends on the characteristics of the arrangement and the results delivered by the professionals."

To make participatory compensation arrangements work well they have to be intelligently designed and implemented. "These kinds of payout models can be somewhat complex, especially with new securities laws effecting registration of a family office," notes Edward Renn, partner at Withers Bergman, "When the family is willing to share upside of investments, they also want to make sure there's excellent risk management in place and that they can claw back monies paid to key employees if performance is substandard."

Part of the participatory model can involve sophisticated deferred compensation arrangements. "Using private placement life insurance to create a deferred comp plan is being used by some family offices," notes Frank Seneco, president of Seneco & Associates, "What's necessary is to balance the ultimate payout on the deferred comp with the economic performance of the portfolio, whether it is publicly traded investments, private equity or real estate."

Hybrids of these two models are also possible and becoming more common. For example, the key personnel will be paid using the employee model but will be participating in select investments. Still, the trend is solidly with participatory compensation arrangements. From aligning of interests to obtaining high-quality talent, wealthy families recognize they have to pay well; and, the best way to do this is the participatory model. It's also the way for someone to become extremely rich in their own right.

Top Asian Companies For 2015

On Jul 9, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Cigna Corp. (CI) to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Why the Upgrade?

Cigna delivered positive earnings surprises in the last 4 quarters with an average beat of 13.8%.

Cigna is strongly poised to record earnings growth given a number of strategic investments undertaken. The long-term earnings growth for the company is presently pegged at 11.3%.

The company is focusing more on international expansion. Its global businesses have historically delivered double-digit revenue and earnings growth with very attractive margins and capital efficiency. Cigna is specifically eyeing the key Asian markets where the growing middle class demands better care.

Moreover, with the acquisition of HealthSpring, Cigna expanded in the Seniors and Medicare business. The acquisition of HealthSpring is likely to drive growth going forward and will be highly accretive on a cash basis.

Exiting its Run-off Reinsurance businesses is also a positive, as it was a significant liability on the Cigna.

Top Asian Companies For 2015: U.S. Global Investors Inc.(GROW)

U.S. Global Investors, Inc. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to investment companies. It also provides its services to pooled investment vehicles. The firm manages mutual funds for its clients. It invests in the public equity and fixed income markets across the globe. The firm invests in value stocks to make its equity investments. It employs a fundamental and technical analysis with bottom-up and top-down analysis to make its investments. The firm typically invests in companies specializing in gold and natural resources. U.S. Global Investors, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is based in San Antonio, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Morgan Myrmo]

  One business that is ripe for takeover is U.S. Global Investors (GROW), a micro-cap asset manager based in San Antonio, Texas. The company specializes in the management of gold, mineral, resource and high-growth emerging market mutual funds. U.S. Global fund values have been hammered over the last five years as the current economic recovery has yet to reach commodities and emerging markets.

Top Asian Companies For 2015: Full Metal Minerals Ltd. (FMM.V)

Full Metal Minerals Ltd., a junior exploration company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of resource properties primarily in Alaska. The company primarily explores for gold, copper, silver, lead, zinc, and molybdenum ores. Its principal properties include the Pyramid copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry property; and the Pebble South copper property comprising 2 contiguous blocks consisting of an area of 420 square kilometers located in Alaska. Full Metal Minerals Ltd. was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Hot Performing Companies To Own For 2015: PetroChina Company Limited(PTR)

PetroChina Company Limited produces and distributes oil and gas in the People?s Republic of China. It operates in four segments: Exploration and Production, Refining and Chemicals, Marketing, and Natural Gas and Pipeline. The Exploration and Production segment explores, develops, produces, and markets crude oil and natural gas, oilsands, and coalbed methane. As of December 31, 2010, it had 11,278 million barrels of proved reserves of crude oil; and 65,503 billion cubic feet of proved reserves of natural gas. The Refining and Chemicals segment engages in the refining of crude oil and petroleum products; and production and marketing of petrochemical products, derivative petrochemical products, and other chemical products. This segment?s product line comprises processed crude oil, gasoline, kerosene, diesel, ethylene, synthetic resins, synthetic fiber materials, polymers, synthetic rubber, and urea. The Marketing segment involves in the marketing of refined products and tradi ng businesses. It operated 17,996 service stations. The Natural Gas and Pipeline segment engages in the transmission of natural gas, crude oil, and refined products; and the sale of natural gas. It had a total length of 56,840 kilometers (km) of oil and gas pipelines, including 32,801 km of natural gas pipelines, 14,782 km of crude oil pipelines, and 9,257 km of refined product pipelines. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China. PetroChina Company Limited is a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By vaninaegea]

  I find the analysis and comparison between companies with base in different geographies an entertaining exercise that offers a singular perspective upon future prospects. In other words, business activities are approached from diverse angles according to social, political, and economical background. Hence, Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR) and PetroChina (PTR) do compete in the same segments, but results are separated by a gamut of particularities.

• [By Jim Jubak]

  The auction news isn't good for investors in Brazil's Petrobras (PBR), but it could well be a boon for China and Chinese oil companies such as PetroChina (PTR) and CNOOC (CEO).

Top Asian Companies For 2015: Mount Gibson Iron Ltd (MGX)

Mount Gibson Iron Limited (Mount Gibson) is engaged in mining of hematite deposits at Tallering Peak; mining of hematite deposits at Koolan Island; mining of hematite deposits at Extension Hill, and exploration and development of hematite deposits at Koolan Island and in the Mid-West region of Western Australia. The Koolan Island iron ore mine is located on Koolan Island located in the Buccaneer Archipelago of Yampi Sound in Western Australia. The Extension Hill hematite mine is located in the Mount Gibson Ranges, 85 kilometres east of Perenjori and 260 kilometres east south east of Geraldton. The Company�� subsidiaries include Mount Gibson Mining Limited, Geraldton Bulk Handling Pty Ltd, Aztec Resources Limited, Koolan Iron Ore Pty Ltd, Koolan Shipping Pty Ltd and Brockman Minerals Pty Ltd.

Top Asian Companies For 2015: Rovi Corporation(ROVI)

Rovi Corporation provides digital entertainment technology solutions for the discovery and management of entertainment content. It offers interactive program guides; embedded licensing technologies, such as recommendations and search capability; media recognition technologies; licensing of the company?s database of descriptive information about television, movie, music, books, and game content; and analog content protection technologies and services. The company?s interactive program guides technology is an interactive listing of television or video program information that enables viewers to navigate through, sort, select, and schedule video programming for viewing and recording. The company also provides video delivery solutions, such as compression-decompression technology (codec) to enable distribution of content across the Internet and through recordable media in physical or streamed forms; and media manager, a personal computer application enabling consumers to man age personal media files, including music, photos, and video files. In addition, it offers digital copy solution for consumer electronics devices and PC software applications; the Rovi Entertainment Store video delivery solutions; content authoring solutions; and advertising solutions. Rovi Corporation primarily serves companies in the consumer electronics, cable and satellite, entertainment, and online distribution markets. The company was formerly known as Macrovision Solutions Corporation and changed its name to Rovi Corporation in July 2009. Rovi Corporation was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alex Planes]

  What: Shares of Rovi (NASDAQ: ROVI  ) have lost nearly 12% today as a result of the company's disappointing earnings report. Both top and bottom lines missed estimates, and the company is now contemplating divestitures to keep itself afloat.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Rovi (Nasdaq: ROVI  ) is expected to report Q1 earnings on May 1. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Rovi's revenues will decrease -12.8% and EPS will wither -17.9%.

Top Asian Companies For 2015: Anglo Bomarc Mines Ltd NPL (ANB)

Anglo-Bomarc Mines Ltd. (N.P.L.) is an e exploration-stag company. The Company is in the business of exploring mineral properties, including the Hercules Silver Property in Idaho and Hughs Lake Property in Saskatchewan. The Company has a 50% working interest in the Silver Bell (21, 22, 45-48, 55), the New Point (2, 4, 6, 18), the Point Six (1-6), and the Hercules Lode 18 group of claims located in Washington County, Idaho, the United States. The Hercules Silver Property is located in South Central Idaho, with its joint venture partner First Idaho Resources Ltd. The Company owns a 10% interest in the Hughes Lake property in Saskatchewan. The Hughes Lake project is a uranium exploration joint venture among Cameco Corporation, Areva Resources Canada Ltd., and the Company. The Hughes Lake project consists of a single mineral lease ML 5459, totalling 2,226 hectares.

Top Asian Companies For 2015: Vulcan Minerals Inc(VUL.V)

Vulcan Minerals Inc. engages in the acquisition, evaluation, and exploration of mineral, petroleum, and natural gas properties in Newfoundland and Labrador. The company holds interests in 3 petroleum permits in the Bay St. George Basin, onshore Western Newfoundland, covering an area of approximately 236,000 acres; Parsons Pond permits located in western Newfoundland; exploration licenses in Labrador; and offshore parcels of western Newfoundland. It also has interest in the Tasisuak Lake Nickel-Copper-Platinum group element property in Labrador; and the mineral rights on approximately 100,000 acres over a portion of the northern Bay St. George Basin. The company is based in St. John's, Canada.

Top Asian Companies For 2015: Pimco New York Municipal Income Fund II(PNI)

PIMCO New York Municipal Income Fund II is a mutual fund launched and managed by Allianz Global Investors Fund Management LLC. The fund is co-managed by Pacific Investment Management Company LLC. It operates as a closed-end management investment company. The fund invests in municipal bonds. It also invests in New York variable rate notes, New York variable rate demand notes, and U.S. treasury bills. PIMCO New York Municipal Income Fund II was formed in 2002 and is domiciled in United States.

Top Asian Companies For 2015: PPL Corporation(PPL)

PPL Corporation, an energy and utility holding company, generates and sells electricity; and delivers natural gas to approximately 5.3 million utility customers primarily in the northeastern and northwestern U.S. The company operates in four segments: Kentucky Regulated, International Regulated, Pennsylvania Regulated, and Supply. The Kentucky Regulated segment engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity; and the distribution and sale of natural gas to approximately 1.3 million customers in Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. The International Regulated segment owns and operates electricity distribution businesses in the United Kingdom that deliver electricity to 7.7 million customers. The Pennsylvania Regulated segment delivers electricity to approximately 1.4 million customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania. The Supply segment owns and operates power plants to generate electricity using coal, uranium, natural gas, oil, and water res ources; markets and trades electricity and other purchased power to wholesale and retail markets; and acquires and develops domestic generation projects. It controls or owns a portfolio of generation assets of approximately 11,000 megawatts in Montana and Pennsylvania. As of December 31, 2010, the company?s distribution system included 649 substations with a capacity of 25 million kVA, 28,838 circuit miles of overhead lines, and 24,131 cable miles of underground conductors in the United Kingdom. It also operated 377 substations with a capacity of 31 million kVA, 33,122 circuit miles of overhead lines, and 7,368 cable miles of underground conductors in Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  PP&L
  PP&L (NYSE: PPL  ) reported earnings May 2, missing on sales expectations but managing to squeak past earnings estimates. Top lines have been tumbling across the sector, and PPL's bottom line took a major hit when trimmed hedged wholesale power prices pushed its unregulated earnings down more than 50%.

Top Asian Companies For 2015: Special Opportunities Fund Inc.(SPE)

Special Opportunities Fund, Inc. is a close-ended fund of funds launched and managed by Brooklyn Capital Management LLC. It invests in close-ended funds investing in public equity and fixed income markets. The fund employs a combination of value, opportunistic and special situations strategies to make its investments. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the S&P 500 Index. The fund was previously known as Insured Municipal Income Fund, Inc. Special Opportunities Fund, Inc. was formed on February 18, 1993 and is domiciled in the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Whopper Investments]

  For example, his Special Opportunity Fund (SPE) needed more capital to effectively implement its activist strategy after he took over. Unfortunately, most of the ways to raise capital are expensive and seriously dilute shareholder value. For example, a common stock offering, the most common way a closed end fund would raise capital, has to be priced at a discount and an investment bank needs to be paid to organize and sell it. Obviously, paying to issue shares at a discount is a disaster for long term shareholder value, so he instead pursued a rights offering for convertible preferred stock, which allowed the company to raise money without the expense of an investment bank while allowing shareholders the opportunity to increase their holdings in the fund without paying a commission. From the prospectus,

Top Asian Companies For 2015: Park-Ohio Holdings Corp.(PKOH)

Park-Ohio Holdings Corp., through its subsidiaries, engages in the industrial supply chain logistics and diversified manufacturing business in the United States, Asia, Canada, Mexico, and Europe. The company operates in three segments: Supply Technologies, Aluminum Products, and Manufactured Products. The Supply Technologies segment provides supply chain management services for specialty production components. It offers engineering and design support, part usage and cost analysis, supplier selection, quality assurance, bar coding, product packaging and tracking, electronic billing, and ongoing technical support services; and engineers and manufactures precision cold formed and cold extruded products, such as locknuts, SPAC nuts, and wheel hardware. This segment serves OEMs in the heavy-duty truck, automotive and vehicle parts, electrical distribution and controls, consumer electronics, power sports/fitness equipment, recreational vehicles, HVAC, agricultural and constructi on equipment, semiconductor equipment, aerospace and defense, and appliance industries. The Aluminum Products segment casts and machines aluminum engine, transmission, brake, suspension, and other components for automotive, agricultural and construction equipment, heavy-duty trucks, and marine equipment OEMs. It provides front engine covers, cooling modules, control arms, knuckles, pump housings, clutch retainers and pistons, master cylinders, pinion housings, oil pans, and flywheel spacers; and design engineering, machining, and part assembly services. The Manufactured Products segment offers engineered products, such as induction heating and melting systems, pipe threading systems, rubber products, and forged and machined products. This segment serves component manufacturers and OEMs in the ferrous and non-ferrous metals, silicon, coatings, forging, foundry, automotive, truck, construction equipment, and oil and gas industries. The company was founded in 1961 and is based in Cleveland, Ohio.

Top Asian Companies For 2015: NB&T FINANCIAL GROUP INC(NBTF)

NB&T Financial Group, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for The National Bank and Trust Company that provides commercial banking and financial services to individuals and corporate customers in southwestern Ohio. The company offers various deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, and term certificate accounts. Its loan portfolio includes commercial and industrial loans, such as loans to automobile dealers and loans guaranteed by the small business administration; loans secured by commercial real estate; real estate construction loans for constructing commercial and residential buildings; agricultural loans, including loans to finance farm operations, equipment purchases, and land acquisition; loans secured by one- to four-family residential real estate and multifamily real estate; and consumer installment loans, such as home equity loans, automobile loans, recreational vehicle loans, and overdraft protection. The company also offers credit card services; and trust services that consists of trust administration, investment purchase and management, estate planning and administration, tax and financial planning, and employee benefit plan administration. As of December 31, 2010, it operated a main office in Wilmington, as well as 23 full-service branch offices and 1 remote drive-through automated teller machine facility in Brown, Clermont, Clinton, Highland, Montgomery, Warren, and Cuyahoga counties in Ohio. The company was founded in 1859 and is based in Wilmington, Ohio.

Top Asian Companies For 2015: FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI)

FMC Technologies, Inc. provides technology solutions for the energy industry worldwide. Its Subsea Technologies segment designs and manufactures subsea systems used in the offshore production of crude oil and natural gas; and multiphase meters used in production and surface well testing, reservoir monitoring, remote operation, fiscal allocation, process monitoring and control, and artificial lift optimization, as well as provides installation and workover tools, installation assistance, and field support for commissioning, intervention, and maintenance of subsea systems. This segment also provides remotely operated vehicle systems and remote manipulator systems, as well as offers support services for subsea control systems and other high-technology equipment for subsea exploration and production. This segment markets its products primarily through its own technical sales organization. The company�s Surface Technologies segment offers surface wellheads for standard and cri tical service applications; fluid control products for use in well completion and stimulation activities; and fracturing flowback and wireline services for exploration companies in the oil and gas industry. Its Energy Infrastructure segment offers measurement systems for the custody transfer of crude oil, natural gas, and refined products; fluid loading and transfer systems to the oil and gas, petrochemical, and chemical industries; material handling solutions, such as bulk conveying systems to the power generation and mining industries; systems that separate production flows from wells into oil, gas, sand, and water; and direct drive systems for various energy-related applications. This segment also offers design, engineering, project management, maintenance, and aftermarket services for blending and transfer systems; and automation, control, and information technology for the oil and gas, and other industries. FMC Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Following up on its March order with Cameron International�for $600 million worth of subsea "trees" -- equipment affixed to an oil wellhead to regulate the flow of gas and fluids injected into a well to help force oil out -- Brazilian oil major Petroleo Brasileiro (NYSE: PBR  ) (NYSE: PBR-A  ) announced Wednesday that it is ordering another 49 subsea trees, tooling, and associated subsea controls from FMC Technologies (NYSE: FTI  ) in a contract worth $500 million.

• [By Marc Courtenay]

  Some other names to consider as takeover targets would include FMC Technologies, Inc. (FTI), which provides technology solutions for the energy industry worldwide and hit a 52-week high on April 11th. Another less conspicuous target is the diversified chemical company FMC Corp. (FMC), which has a market cap of only $8 billion plus a forward PE of less than 13.

The U.S. Navy Loves This Micro Cap

As a concept, tidal power seems straightforward enough:

The ocean moves continuously without incurring any problematic conditions like lack of wind or sun, as is the case in the best-known renewable energy sources. With a constant source of motion, all that's needed to generate power is a drive shaft connected to a dynamo.

But a concept - by itself - doesn't make any money... especially in the "renewable energy" space. You need an effective product to make an impact.

That's why the U.S. Navy loves this little company...

It's Always High Tide for These Buoys

Harnessing tidal power involves using coastal waters - and their wave and tidal currents - as a continuous source of energy. And several recent tidal pilot projects have indicated that there is considerable potential here for significant power generation.

Infrastructure development, of course, requires more than proof of concept. And you also need some significant investment. But this is where things are picking up...

To further this cause, the U.S. Department of Energy has entered the discussion by providing a new $16 million round of funding for tidal power. It includes 17 initiatives to improve efficiency, along with some necessary data accumulation and environmental impact studies.

There is no doubt the potential here is impressive...

Current DOE estimates put the possible annual power to be obtained at more than 1,400 terawatt hours of electricity. That would be enough electricity to power millions of homes.

As with most efforts to develop what remains a niche source, most of the attempts thus far have been by smaller companies with limited capital and a restrained ability to stay afloat (no pun intended) until the market expands.

But Ocean Power Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq GM: OPTT) - a firm I have followed for some time - is different.

The whole company is worth just $16 million at the moment. But it's having success now using stationary buoys to generate power.

Any move into the tidal wave sector remains a high-risk investment move, to be sure. Ocean Power Technologies, for example, has lost 67.5% of its value since I began tracking the stock in early April of 2011.

Hot Financial Stocks For 2015

However, there's still some merit here.

In addition to landing one of the new DOE grants, Ocean Power has one pretty important partner in its current projects.

It's the U.S. Navy.

In fact, through their Ocean Renewable Energy joint project, the two can lay claim to developing the first commercial grid connection for tidal power. The facility has been in operation since 2010 and is located at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii, in Oahu.

In addition, the Navy also recently announced an increase in activity at its related (and already operational) Hawaiian wave power test bed. The objective here, according to a report several months ago from the United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLFT), is to provide an up-to-date shared Research and Development (R&D) platform for private sector wave power developers.

As the sector leader, Ocean Power Technologies is likely to be the first company to benefit from this decision.

Yet, even the ability to estimate tidal and wave patterns with any accuracy - thereby enabling a realistic efficiency measurement - is several years away.

So any move at this point into companies like OPTT remains a speculative one at best. Still, in the more diversified energy balance emerging, the tides will have their place.

In that case, working with the U.S. Navy is certainly a big plus.

Syrian Crisis Update

Meanwhile, the move to punish Syria has been slower to develop than anticipated last week. As a result, after a major move up, NYMEX futures contract oil prices have subsided 2% over the two trading sessions leading up to Labor Day. No matter. Once the decision is made to attack, the angst will return with force.

Markets dislike uncertainty, and pending military actions present the greatest uncertainty of all. That means there will be volatility moving forward. Expect it will now take at least another week before the U.S. Congress reconvenes to consider the Obama Administration's request for authorization to proceed.

Thus far, among the "fair weather allies," only the French appear committed to move. The British Parliament voted down the PM's request, but has left the door open pending the report from the UN review team.

In the interim, Washington has turned up the heat with several high-level public conclusions, including those by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, that clear evidence exists for: (1) Assad government's use of chemical weapons against his own people, (2) nerve gas (sarin) residue from the attack outside Damascus, with (3) more than 1,400 deaths confirmed as a result of the chemical attack.

There will be more disclosures as the return date for Congress approaches in a concerted attempt to drum up sufficient political support. Absent a UN report showing no chemical weapons were used (virtual impossibility), that support will materialize.

In short, I will have much more to say about what all of this means for the energy sector in due course.

Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Tumble; McDonald's Posts Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded down 1.01 percent to 16,207.63 while the NASDAQ tumbled 0.96 percent to 4,202.31. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.89 percent to 1,828.43.

Top Headline
McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.

McDonald's quarterly earnings rose to $1.397 billion, or $1.40 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $1.396 billion, or $1.38 per share.

Its revenue gained 2% to $7.09 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $1.39 per share on revenue of $7.1 billion. McDonald's global sales fell 0.1% at established locations.

Equities Trading UP
Logitech International SA (NASDAQ: LOGI) shot up 16.94 percent to $15.46 after the company reported strong FQ3 results and lifted its full-rear guidance.

Shares of Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) got a boost, shooting up 13.16 percent to $377.65 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.

F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) was also up, gaining 8.47 percent to $105.74 after the company reported upbeat FQ1 results and issued strong FQ2 outlook. Janney Capital upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy and lifted the price target from $83.00 to $122.00.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Hercules Offshore (NASDAQ: HERO) were down 10.96 percent to $5.12. Global Hunter downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral and cut the price target from $12.00 to $6.00.

Briggs & Stratton (NYSE: BGG) shares tumbled 7.70 percent to $20.98 after the company reported downbeat Q2 results and lowered its FY14 earnings forecast.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) was down, falling 8.18 percent to $13.14 after the company reported that its CEO Robert Hanson is leaving the company. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.54 percent to $97.25, while gold traded up 1.35 percent to $1,255.30.

Silver traded up 1.72 percent Thursday to $20.18, while copper fell 0.40 percent to $3.32.

Eurozone
European shares were mostly lower today. The Spanish Ibex Index gained 0.25 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.37 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 0.57 percent and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.30 percent while U.K. shares declined 0.33 percent.

Economics
U.S. initial jobless claims rose by 1,000 to 326,000 in the week ended January 18. However, economists were estimating claims to total 330,000 in the week.

U.S. Chicago Fed National Activity Index fell to 0.16 in December. However, economists were expecting a reading of 0.90.

Home prices rose 0.1% in November, and gained 7.6% y/y in the month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The flash reading of the U.S. manufacturing PMI declined to 53.7 in January, versus December's reading of 55. However, economists were expecting a reading of 55.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index came in at -31.00 for the week ended January 19, versus a prior reading of -31.00.

Sales of existing U.S. homes climbed 1% to an annual rate of 4.87 million in December. However, economists were estimating a rate of 4.9 million in the month.

The Conference Board's index of leading indicators rose 0.10% in December, versus economists' expectations for a 0.20% growth.

The Treasury is set to auction 3-and 6-month bills. The Treasury will also auction 2-year, 5-year and 7-year notes.

Data on money supply will be released at 4:30 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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Tuesday Closing Bell: Stocks Open Higher, Hold Onto Gains

September 3, 2013: U.S. markets opened higher on Tuesday morning following Monday's Labor Day holiday with an upbeat reaction to European and Asian PMI reports. ISM data for the U.S. rose unexpectedly and July new construction spending also rose more than expected. House Speaker John Boehner's statement of support for President Obama's call to action in Syria cut into early gains, but did not wipe them out.

European markets closed mixed today, while Asian markets closed higher and Latin American markets closed lower.

Wednesday's calendar includes reports from automakers on August sales, speeches by Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota and San Francisco Fed President John Williams, and the following data releases and events (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications 8:300 a.m. – International trade 10:00 a.m. – Quarterly services survey 11:30 a.m. – 4-week bill auction 2:00 p.m. – Beige Book

Top Tech Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Here are the closing bell levels for Tuesday:

S&P500 1,639.75 (+6.78; +0.42%) DJIA 14,833.73 (+23.65; +0.16%) NASDAQ 3,612.61 (+22.74; +0.63%) 10YR TNOTE 2.858% (-0.5625) Gold $1,412.00 (+15.90; +1.1%) Euro/Dollar: 1.3176 (-0.0016; -0.12%)

Stocks on the move: Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is up 31.5% at $5.13 on the announcement that Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) will acquire the Finnish firm's mobile phone business for $7.2 billion. Chinese solar energy stocks are getting a boost again today, with Hanwha SolarOne Co. (NASDAQ: HSOL) up more than 15.9% and ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) up 14.9%.

Big Deals: Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) will pay $130 billion for the 45% stake in Verizon Wireless by Vodafone Group plc (NASDAQ: VOD) in one of the three largest acquisitions ever. Vodafone was involved in two of them.

In all, 49 stocks put up new 52-week highs today, while 55 stocks posted new lows.

5 Best Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now

In a published report Tuesday, Bank or America analyst Justin Post downgraded LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) from Buy to Neutral. The price target has been decreased to $240 from the prior $270.

Post comments on the downgrade, "While we are not early with our call, based on slowing job postings and usage growth in 4Q we think 14/15 estimates may be aggressive."

The report noted, "While we continue to believe in LinkedIn's long-term enterprise opportunities (recruiting, HR, sales) and are positive on lack of competitive platforms, we think recent data suggest more caution on tough 2014 comps against a slew of successful products released in late 2012, potential investment in products like Sales Navigator (LinkedIn added a lot of headcount in 3Q and 51% headcount growth was close to revenue growth) that could lead to below-Street profit guidance, and the company's ability to consistently deliver meaningful revenue upside."

Risks of the downgrade were also highlighted in the report; including Sales Navigator enterprise fast sales, mobile ad pricing growth, new social products, and improving economy, all of which could lead to an optimistic outlook on 2015 revenues.

5 Best Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now: Premier Financial Bancorp Inc (PFBI.W)

Premier Financial Bancorp, Inc. (Premier), incorporated in 1991, is a multi-bank holding company. As March 15, 2012, the Company operated eight banking offices in Kentucky, five banking offices in Ohio, 14 banking offices in West Virginia, five banking offices in Washington, DC, one banking office in Maryland and two banking offices in Virginia. At December 31, 2011, Premier had total consolidated assets of $1,124.1 million and total consolidated deposits of $925.1 million. The banking subsidiaries (the Banks) consist of Citizens Deposit Bank & Trust, Vanceburg, Kentucky; Farmers Deposit Bank, Eminence, Kentucky; Ohio River Bank, Ironton, Ohio, and Premier Bank, Inc., Huntington, West Virginia. On April 9, 2011, Premier merged five of its subsidiary banks, Adams National Bank (Adams National), Consolidated Bank and Trust Company (CB&T), First Central Bank and Traders Bank, Inc., to form Premier Bank, Inc. On May 16, 2011, Abigail Adams National Bancorp, Inc. (AANBI) was merged into Premier. During the year ended December 31, 3011, Farmers Deposit Bank sold its drive through branch in Eminence, Kentucky.

Lending Activities

The Banks residential mortgage lending activities consist primarily of loans for purchasing personal residences or loans for commercial or consumer purposes secured by residential mortgages. The Banks also originate residential mortgage loans that are sold in the secondary mortgage market. Consumer lending activities consist of financing for automobile and personal loans, including unsecured lines of credit. Commercial lending activities include loans to small businesses located primarily in the communities, in which the Banks are located and surrounding areas. Commercial loans are secured by business assets, including real estate, equipment, inventory, and accounts receivable. Some commercial loans are unsecured.

Investment Activities

The Company classifies its securities portfolio as either securities available for sale or securi! ties held to maturity. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� available-for-sale securities included mortgage-backed securities of government-sponsored agencies, the United States Treasury securities, the United States government-sponsored agency securities, obligations of states and political subdivisions, and other securities.

Sources of Funds

The Banks' range of deposit services includes checking accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, club accounts, individual retirement accounts, certificates of deposit and overdraft protection. Customers can access their accounts via traditional bank branch locations, as well as automated teller machines (ATMs) and the Internet. The Banks also offer bill payment and telephone banking services. Other funding sources for Premier include short and long-term borrowings. Premier's short-term borrowings primarily consist of securities sold under agreements to repurchase with commercial, public entity and tax exempt organization customers. Also included in short-term borrowings are federal funds purchased from other banks and overnight borrowings from the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) or the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) discount window. Long-term borrowings consist of FHLB borrowings by Premier�� Banks and other borrowings by the parent holding company.

5 Best Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now: New York Community Bancorp Inc (NYCB.N)

New York Community Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company and a producer of multi-family mortgage loans in New York City, with an emphasis on apartment buildings that feature below-market rents. It has two bank subsidiaries: New York Community Bank (the Community Bank),New York Commercial Bank (the Commercial Bank. The Community Bank has 241 branches and operates through seven divisional banks. The Commercial Bank has 34 branches in Manhattan and operates 17 of its branches under the divisional name Atlantic Bank.

During the year ended December 31, 2011, all of the one-to-four family loans the Company originated was sold to government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). In New York, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through Roslyn Savings Bank, with 55 branches on Long Island; Queens County Savings Bank, with 34 branches in the New York City borough of Queens; Richmond County Savings Bank, with 22 branches in the borough of Staten Island, and Roose velt Savings Bank, with eight branches in the borough of Brooklyn. As of December 31, 2011, in the Bronx and neighboring Westchester County, the Company had four branches that operated directly under the name New York Community Bank.

In New Jersey, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through 51 branches that operate under the name Garden State Community Bank. In Florida and Arizona, where it has 25 and 14 branches, respectively, the Company serves its customers through the AmTrust Bank (AmTrust) division of the Community Bank. In Ohio, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through 28 branches of Ohio Savings Bank. Customers of the Community Bank and the Commercial Bank have access to their accounts through 261 of its 285 automatic teller machines (ATMs) locations in five states. The Company also serves its customers through three Websites, which include www.myNYCB.com, www.NewYorkCommercialBank.com and www.NYCBfamily.com.

Lendi ng Activities

The Company�� principal asset i! s loans. Its loan portfolio consists of three components: covered loans, non-covered loans held for sale and non-covered loans held for investment. As of December 31, 2011, the balance of covered loans was $3.8 billion, of which $3.4 billion were one-to-four family loans. Non-covered loans held for sale consists of the one-to-four family loans that are originated for sale, primarily to GSEs. At December 31, 2011, the held-for-sale loan portfolio totaled $1.0 billion

As of December 31, 2011, loans held for investment consisted of loans that it originates for its own portfolio, and totaled $ 25.5 billion.

In addition to multi-family loans, loans held for investment include commercial real estate loans (CRE); acquisition, development and construction (ADC) loans; commercial and industrial loans (C&I), and one-to-four family loans. As of December 31, 2011, its multi-family loans represented $17.4 billion, or 68.3%, of total loans held for investment, and repr esented $5.8 billion, or 64.1%, of the total loans that it originated for investment. The multi-family loans it originates are typically secured by non-luxury apartment buildings in New York City. It also makes multi-family loans to property owners who are seeking to expand their real estate holdings by purchasing additional properties.

As of December 31, 2011, CRE loans represented $6.9 billion, or 26.9%, of total held for investment; ADC loans represented $445.7 million, or 1.7%, of total loans held for investment. Its ADC loan portfolio consists of loans that were originated for land acquisition, development, and construction of multi-family and residential tract projects in New York City and Long Island.

C&I loans represented $600.0 million, or 2.4%, of total held for investment. It also offers a range of loans to small and mid-size businesses for working capital (including in! ventory a! nd receivables), business expansion, and the purchase of equipment a nd machinery. Non-covered one-to-four family loans totaled $! 127.4 mil! lion at December 31, 2011.

Investment Activities

The Company�� securities portfolio primarily consists of mortgage-related securities, and debt and equity (other) securities. Its investments include GSE certificates, GSE collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and GSE debentures. The Community Bank and the Commercial Bank are members of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLB-NY), one of 12 regional Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs) consisting of the FHLB system. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� securities represented $4.5 billion, or 10.8%, of total assets. As of December 31, 2011, 93.7% of its securities portfolio consisted of GSE obligations; held-to-maturity securities represented $3.8 billion, or 84.0%, of total securities, and its investment in bank-owned life insurance (BOLI) was $769.0 million.

Source of Funds

The Company has four primary funding sources. These include the deposits that it added thr ough its acquisitions or gathered through its branch network, and brokered deposits; wholesale borrowings, primarily in the form of FHLB advances and repurchase agreements with the FHLB and various brokerage firms; cash flows produced by the repayment and sale of loans, and cash flows produced by securities repayments and sales. As of December 31, 2011, deposits totaled $ 22.3 billion, which included certificates of deposit (CDs) of $7.4 billion; negotiable order withdrawal (NOW) and money market accounts of $8.8 billion; savings accounts of $ 4.0 billion, and non-interest-bearing accounts of $2.2 billion. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� borrowed funds totaled $14.0 billion, loan repayments and sales generated cash flows of $15.0 billion, and securities sales and repayments generated cash flows of $4.2 billion.

Subsidiary Activities

As of December 31, 2011, C! ommunity ! Bank had 34 subsidiary corporations. Of these, 22 are direct subsidiaries of the Community Bank and 12 are subsidiaries of Community B! ank-owned! entities. The 22 direct subsidiaries of the Community Bank include DHB Real Estate, LLC, Mt. Sinai Ventures, LLC, NYCB Community Development Corp., NYCB Mortgage Company, LLC, Eagle Rock Investment Corp., Pacific Urban Renewal, Inc., Somerset Manor Holding Corp., Synergy Capital Investments, Inc., 1400 Corp., BSR 1400 Corp., Bellingham Corp., Blizzard Realty Corp., CFS Investments, Inc., Main Omni Realty Corp., NYB Realty Holding Company, LLC, O.B. Ventures, LLC, RCBK Mortgage Corp., RCSB Corporation, RSB Agency, Inc., Richmond Enterprises, Inc. and Roslyn National Mortgage Corporation.

The 12 subsidiaries of Community Bank-owned entities include Bronx Realty Funding Company, LLC, Columbia Preferred Capital Corporation, Ferry Development Holding Company, Peter B. Cannell & Co., Inc., Roslyn Real Estate Asset Corp., Walnut Realty Funding Company, LLC, Woodhaven Investments Inc, Your New REO, LLC, Ironbound Investment Company, Inc.,The Hamlet at Olde Oyster Bay, LLC, The Hamlet at Willow Creek, LLC and Richmond County Capital Corporation.

The two direct subsidiaries of the Commercial Bank include Beta Investments, Inc., and Gramercy Leasing Services, Inc. The two subsidiaries of Commercial Bank-owned entities include Omega Commercial Mortgage Corp. and Long Island Commercial Capital Corp.

5 Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2014: Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(The)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides investment banking, securities, and investment management services to corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. Its Investment Banking segment offers financial advisory, including advisory assignments with respect to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense, risk management, restructurings, and spin-offs; and underwriting securities, loans and other financial instruments, and derivative transactions. The company?s Institutional Client Services segment provides client execution activities, such as fixed income, currency, and commodities client execution related to making markets in interest rate products, credit products, mortgages, currencies, and commodities; and equities related to making markets in equity products, as well as commissions and fees from executing and clearing institutional client transactions on stock, options, and fu tures exchanges. This segment also engages in the securities services business providing financing, securities lending, and other prime brokerage services to institutional clients, including hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds, and foundations. Its Investing and Lending segment invests in debt securities, loans, public and private equity securities, real estate, consolidated investment entities, and power generation facilities. This segment also involves in the origination of loans to provide financing to clients. The company?s Investment Management segment provides investment management services and investment products to institutional and individual clients. This segment also offers wealth advisory services, including portfolio management and financial counseling, and brokerage and other transaction services to high-net-worth individuals and families. In addition, it provides global investment research services. The company was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

5 Best Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now: Credicorp Ltd (BAP)

Credicorp Ltd. (Credicorp), incorporated on October 20, 1995, is a financial services holding company. The Company is organized in four operating segments: Banking, Insurance, Pension funds and Brokerage and other. Credicorp is engaged principally in banking (including commercial and investment banking), insurance (including commercial property, transportation and marine hull, automobile, life, health and underwriting insurance), pension funds (including private pension fund management services), and brokerage and other (including the structuring and placement of primary market securities issues and the execution and trading of secondary market transactions.). Its four operating subsidiaries are : Banco de Credito del Peru (BCP), Atlantic Security Bank (ASB), El Pacifico-Peruano Suiza Compania de Seguros y Reaseguros, and Prima AFP.

Banking segment

Banking includes handling loans, credit facilities, deposits and current accounts, and providing investment banking services, including corporate finance, both for corporate and institutional customers. Banking also includes handling deposits consumer loans and credit cards facilities for individual customers. The Company conducts banking activities in Bolivia through BCP Bolivia, a service commercial bank. Its banking business is organized into wholesale banking activities, which are carried out by BCP�� wholesale banking group (which includes the corporate banking operations of ASB), and retail banking activities, which are carried out by BCP's retail banking group. Its deposit-taking operations are managed by BCP'�� retail banking group and and ASB's private banking group.

Insurance

Credicorp�� insurance segment includes commercial property, transportation and marine hull, automobile, life, health and pension fund underwriting insurance. Private hospital services are also included under this operating segment. The Company conducts its insurance operations Grupo Pacifico and its subsidiaries, whic! h provide a broad range of insurance products. Grupo Pacifico property and casualty insurance through Pacifico Seguros, life and pension insurance through Pacifico Vida, and health care insurance through Pacificosalud EPS.. Grupo Pacifico sells its products both directly and through independent brokers and agents.

Pension funds

Credicorp�� pension funds segment provides private pension fund management services to customers. Credicorp conducts all of its pension fund activities through its private pension fund administrator Prima AFP. Credicorp through its subsidiary Prima AFP, focuses mainly on obtaining new affiliates, by providing permanent information and diverse channels of communication.

Brokerage and other

The Company�� brokerage and others segment includes the structuring and placement of primary market issues and the execution and trading of secondary market transactions. This segment also includes offers of local securitization structuring to corporate entities, management of mutual funds and other services. The majority of its trading and brokerage activities are conducted through BCP, ASB and Credicorp Securities Inc. Its asset management business is carried out by BCP in Peru, through its subsidiary Credifondo, and by ASB. It offers Brokerage and other services through BCP and ASB. BCP offers clients a range of such products and services, such as brokerage, mutual funds and custody services through its branch network in Lima and throughout the rest of Peru. In addition, ASB also offers brokerage and other services.

The Company competes with BCP, BBVA Banco Continental, Scotiabank Peru, Interbank and Banco Interamericano de Finanzas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chuck Carnevale]

  Credit Corp. Limited (BAP)

  My first featured aggressive financial candidate is Credit Corp. Limited, a Bermuda-based financial services holding company, and the largest financial holding company in Peru. Although the company is headquartered in Bermuda and operates in Peru, its long-term track record is exceptional. Once again, I will let the F.A.S.T. Graphs��speak for themselves, other than to say in addition to a great track record, this ADR is expected to offer above-average growth and appears to be very attractively valued at today�� levels.

5 Best Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now: M&T Bank Corporation (MTB)

M&T Bank Corporation operates as the holding company for M&T Bank and M&T Bank, National Association that provide commercial and retail banking services to individuals, corporations and other businesses, and institutions. It offers business loans and leases; business credit cards; deposit products, such as demand, savings, and time accounts; and financial services, including cash management, payroll and direct deposit, merchant credit card, and letters of credit. The company also provides residential real estate loans; multifamily commercial real estate loans; commercial real estate loans; one-to-four family residential mortgage loans; investment and trading securities; short-term and long-term borrowed funds; brokered certificates of deposit and interest rate swap agreements related thereto; and branch deposits. In addition, it offers foreign exchange, as well as asset management services. Further, the company provides consumer loans, and commercial loans and leases; cred it life, and accident and health reinsurance; and securities brokerage, investment advisory, and insurance agency services. As of December 31, 2009, it had 738 banking offices in New York State, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia; a commercial banking office in Ontario, Canada; and an office in George Town, Cayman Islands. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Buffalo, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Hanson]

  After dominating the mortgage business throughout 2012, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC  ) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) both reported lower mortgage banking revenue for the first quarter of 2013. While these megabanks lost ground, smaller rival M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB  ) posted a 66% increase in mortgage banking revenue. Is this a sign of the largest banks losing their competitive advantage?

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  M&T Bank Corp.(MTB) and Hudson City Bancorp Inc.(HCBK) said they expect additional delays in completing their merger deal, and any action isn’t expected to occur until the latter half of 2014. “While all parties are disappointed that the transaction is delayed further, we are gratified that M&T continues to see the value in the Hudson City franchise,” said Hudson City CEO Ronald E. Hermance Jr.

• [By Matt Koppenheffer]

  At�Berkshire Hathaway� (NYSE: BRK-A  ) (NYSE: BRK-B  ) Buffett has a portfolio that's top-heavy with financial-industry exposure, and he's particularly overweight in large-cap banks.�Wells Fargo� (NYSE: WFC  ) is the conglomerate's single largest common-stock holding at close to $20 billion. The company also holds a $2 billion-plus position in�U.S. Bancorp� (NYSE: USB  ) . Combined positions in�Bank of New York Mellon� (NYSE: BK  ) and�M&T Bank� (NYSE: MTB  ) come out to more than $1 billion. Berkshire will also have a large common-stock position in�Goldman Sachs� (NYSE: GS  ) when the companies settle up Berkshire's warrants later this year. Based on today's share price for Goldman, that stake would likely be over $2 billion. Finally, the company has a $5 billion preferred-stock investment in�Bank of America� (NYSE: BAC  ) .

• [By Matt Koppenheffer]

  I feel very good about our investment in Wells Fargo� (NYSE: WFC  ) , I feel very good about our investment in US Bancorp� (NYSE: USB  ) , I feel very good about our investment in M&T Bank� (NYSE: MTB  ) .