Get your spouse onboard with relocating

Before you decide to relocate, find out if your new employer will pay for moving expenses.

(Money Magazine) Getting the job was hard enough; convincing your spouse that it's worth moving for can be even tougher. While employee relocations have been on the rise since 2011 thanks to the thawing real estate and job markets, 61% of people who have declined a far-flung job cited family issues as a reason, according to surveys by moving company Atlas Van Lines.

"Relocating goes way beyond what job you want to do," explains psychologist Peter Pearson, co-founder of the Couples Institute in Menlo Park, Calif. "It requires a huge leap of faith from your spouse." Use this talk to help you decide whether this move is the right one for both of you.

The Ground Rules

Ask about help. "Know all the details about what support package the company has to help your family transition before you talk," says Anne Copeland, founder of the Interchange Institute, which works with families moving abroad.

Buy time. Hiring managers usually understand that out-of-town candidates can't evaluate an offer overnight. So don't be afraid to ask for a few weeks or more, says Brenda Harrington, president of Adaptive Leadership Strategies. "You can't rush this. It isn't a purchase you can return."

When You're Face to Face

1. Open the floor: "They offered me that job in Texas. What do you think? Should we do it?"

Why it works: Acknowledging that this is a joint decision lets your mate know that his or her opinion carries equal weight. "Spouses often feel voiceless because they're not included in the initial exchanges with the company," says Copeland.

  How I talk to my spouse about retirement

2. Show empathy: "I know this would be a big change and would mean moving away from your sisters and leaving your job."

Why it works: You're letting your spouse know that you understand how much he or she will have to sacrifice. "It seems counterintuitive," says Copeland, "but articulating the downsides keeps the other person from having to go to an extremely negative point of view to balance you out."

3. Lay out the stakes: "Taking this job puts me on the path to senior management, and the town's burgeoning tech scene could offer you a chance to move up."

Why it works: You're spelling out not just why the job matters to you, but also how the move could benefit your spouse and family. Showing that you're thinking through a mate's concerns can make him or her more receptive, says t! herapist Lois Bushong.

4. Run the numbers: "Let's do the math to make sure this move will be a net gain for us."

Why it works: Distilling the discussion to hard numbers can sway a reluctant spouse. Use a cost-of-living comparison tool, to help make sure your raise won't be eaten up by higher taxes or home prices, suggests Fairhope, Ala., financial planner Scott McLeod.

5. Suggest a trip: "Why don't we go there this weekend to see if we like it?"

Why it works: Ultimately, this decision is too important to resolve with a conversation. Visit your potential hometown before deciding, says Bushong. Meeting with a real estate agent, investigating the job market, checking out schools, and getting a sense of what life is like in the new place can put your spouse's fears at ease -- and can set you up for a smoother move.

GM truck discounts whip up an overdone fuss

General Motors put big discounts on a few V-6 trucks and stirred the industry and Wall Street investors into a froth.

GM put a $7,092 total discount on crew-cab and extended-cab models with so-called All-Star equipment to boost sales of the new-design V-6, which currently is only 10% of total Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra sales.

But incorrect reports Monday said GM had bumped up the discount that much across all its trucks. Investors bailed, leaving the stock price down 3.4% on a day the S&P, which includes GM, was up 1.2%.

And analysts wondered if new CEO Mary Barra already had broken her Feb. 6 promise to them in a conference call that "we will still maintain our pricing discipline."

Overall, GM "is raising incentives less than seasonally expected," according to Ryan Brinkman, industry analyst at JP Morgan. "The market got it wrong again," he declared in a note to clients early Tuesday, suggesting the previous day's decline created buying opportunities Tuesday.

GM's discounting "isn't troubling right now but is something to watch in the coming months," cautions Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst at Edmunds.com.

10 Best Media Stocks To Own Right Now

But the dust-up has spotlighted some issues that could signal bigger discounts for buyers, which translate to lower profits for automakers.

• The GM "Presidents Day" discounts were announced Feb. 4 and run through Feb. 28.

"Historically we've seen Presidents Day sales run for two or three weeks, not the entire month," says Alec Gutierrez, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com.

• Inventories of unsold new vehicles — not just at GM — are at their highest level since August 2009, says ALG, a unit of TrueCar.com.

Though that's largely because bad weather in January kept shoppers home, it's also a cautionary sign that another spate of bad weather, or car-buyer ennui, could flood dealer ! lots.

"There are signs that February could be slow, too," Gutierrez says.

ALG translates that into "a short-term spike in incentives," said Eric Lyman, a vice president at ALG.

But there's a chance it "could be the beginning of an escalating arms race for market share," he said, rather than a simple spike.

• An Edmunds.com study shows that falling used-car prices could drop another 2% this year, as more are traded in on new-car deals, or turned in when leases expire.

Lower trade-in values mean higher monthly payments to buy or lease new cars. That, in turn, steers shoppers toward used cars.

Automakers then need growing discounts to keep selling new cars.

Aside from pricing, the latest numbers snafu, third in less than a week, makes GM seemed jinxed.

When the car company reported it made $913 million the fourth quarter, or 67 cents a share excluding one-time items, shareholders fled. Analysts had primed them to expect 88 cents. A combination of explanations and mea culpas the next day restored some order, and value to the stock.

Then this week, GM, in an extraordinary move, had to disclose well in advance how the automaker plans to compensate Barra. Shareholders must vote on a significant portion of the package in June, so GM didn't want to outline that part until closer to the stockholders meeting.

But to deflect criticism that it was underpaying Barra because of her gender, GM outlined her full compensation package, showing she's getting about 58% more than her male predecessor, Dan Anderson, who retired in January, assuming shareholders approve of the formula for her long-term compensation.

Top 10 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now

A special place among our recommendations belongs to Templeton Emerging Market Income Fund (TEI). First, this is the only closed-end fund we currently recommend. Second, it focuses on a unique area��merging market bonds.

We note with satisfaction that the fund, whose performance has always been excellent compared to its peers (TEI is in the top 1st percentile of its peers for both 5-year and 10-year periods), has lately also continued to perform strongly.

Sporting four stars from Morningstar, TEI has continued to overachieve in its fund category, gaining more than 7 percentage points in the latest 12 months in relative terms (and returning more than 20 percent on a 12-month basis. It is in the top 12th percentile.

The fund has also done well for the three-year period, outperforming three quarters of its peers.

Top 10 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now: Kallisto Energy Corp (KEC.V)

Kallisto Energy Corp., together with its subsidiary, Dublin Resources Inc., engages in the acquisition, exploration, exploitation, development, and production of oil and natural gas reserves primarily in Canada. The company principal properties in Alberta include 3 sections located in Pembina area; 4.5 sections in the Valhalla area; and approximately 123 gross sections located in the Crossfield area of Alberta, as well as a oil pipeline in the Dawson area. It also owns one section in the Chambery area of Saskatchewan. The company was formerly known as Arrow Energy Ltd. and changed its name to Kallisto Energy Corp. in November 2009. The company is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. Kallisto Energy Corp. is a subsidiary of Tirmoil Energy Ltd.

Top 10 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now: Vishay Precision Group Inc.(VPG)

Vishay Precision Group, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets components based on resistive foil technology, sensors, and sensor-based systems in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company?s products include precision foil resistors, foil strain gages, transducers and load cells, modules, instruments, weighing and control systems, and PhotoStress coatings and instruments; and sensors that convert mechanical inputs into an electronic signal for display, processing, interpretation, or control by the company?s instrumentation and systems products. Its products are used in waste management, bulk hauling, logging, scales manufacturing, engineering systems, pharmaceutical, oil, chemical, steel, paper, and food industries, as well as in military/aerospace, medical, agriculture, and construction markets. The company sells its products through original equipment manufacturers, electronic manufacturing services companies, and independent distributors, as well as directly t o end-use customers. Vishay Precision Group, Inc. was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Vishay Precision Group (NYSE: VPG  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Vishay Precision Group (NYSE: VPG  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top Energy Companies To Own For 2014: Alhambra Resources Ltd. (ALH.V)

Alhambra Resources Ltd., through its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration for, and development of mineral properties, primarily gold. It holds a 100% working interest in the 2.4 million acre Uzboy Project located in north central Kazakhstan. The company is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Top 10 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now: Electronic Arts Inc (EA.O)

Electronic Arts Inc., incorporated in 1982, develops, markets, publishes and distributes game software content and services that can be played by consumers on a variety of video game machines and electronic devices (platforms). Its offers products, such as video game consoles, such as the Sony PLAYSTATION 3, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii; personal computers, including the Apple Macintosh (the Company refers to personal computers and the Macintosh together as PCs); mobile devices, such as the Apple iPhone and Google Android compatible phones; tablets and electronic readers, such as the Apple iPad and the Amazon Kindle, and Internet, including social networking sites, such as Facebook. In August 2011, it acquired PopCap Games Inc. (PopCap), a developer of casual games for mobile devices, tablets, PCs, and social networking sites.

The Company has created, licensed and acquired a portfolio of brands, which span a diverse range of categories, including act ion-adventure, casual, family, fantasy, first-person shooter, horror, science fiction, role-playing, racing, simulation, social, sports, and strategy. The Company�� portfolio of brands includes wholly owned brands, such as Battlefield, Mass Effect, Need for Speed, The Sims, Bejeweled, and Plants v. Zombies. Its portfolio also includes sports-based brands, such as Madden NFL and FIFA, and titles-based on other brands, such as Star Wars: The Old Republic. It provides a variety of online-delivered products and services, including through its Origin platform. Its packaged goods products are also available through direct online download through the Internet. The Company also offers online-delivered content and services that are add-ons or related to its packaged goods products, such as additional game content or enhancements of multiplayer services. It provides other games, content and services that are available only via electronic delivery, such as Internet-only games and gam e services, and games for mobile devices.

The! C! ompany operates development studios (which develop products and perform other related functions) in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. It also engages third parties to assist with the development of its games at their own development and production studios. Internationally, the Company conducts business through its international headquarters in Switzerland and has wholly owned subsidiaries worldwide, including offices in Europe, Australia, Asia and Latin America. The Company�� studios and development teams are organized around its Label structure. Each Label operates globally with dedicated game development and marketing teams. These Labels are supported by the Company�� Global Publishing Organization that is responsible for the distribution, sales, and marketing of its products, including planning, operations, and manufacturing functions.

EA Games

EA Games is home to a number of the Company�� studios and development teams, which toge ther create a portfolio of games and related content and services marketed under the EA brand in categories, such as action-adventure, role playing, racing and first-person shooter games. The EA Games portfolio includes a number of franchises, such as Battlefield, Dead Space, Medal of Honor and Need for Speed. EA Games titles are developed primarily at the following EA studios, Criterion, DICE, EA Los Angeles, Visceral, and EA Montreal. EA Games also contracts with external game developers, to provide these developers with a variety of services, including development assistance, publishing, and distribution of their games.

EA SPORTS

EA SPORTS develops a collection of sports-based video games and related content and services marketed under the EA SPORTS brand. EA SPORTS games range from simulated sports titles with realistic graphics based on real-world sports leagues, players, events and venues to more casual games with arcade-style gameplay and g raphics. The Company�� EA SPORTS franchises include ! FIFA, ! F! ight Nig! ht, Madden NFL, NCAA Football, NHL Hockey, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour. EA SPORTS games are developed primarily at the Company�� EA Canada studio in Burnaby, British Columbia, and its EA Tiburon studio located in Orlando, Florida.

BioWare

BioWare develops role-playing games, focused on stories, characters and worlds to discover. BioWare�� portfolio includes the MMO role-playing game Star Wars: The Old Republic and the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises. BioWare operates in Texas, California, Canada and Ireland.

Maxis

Maxis (formerly EA Play) are focused on creating games and related content and services for a mass audience. Maxis products include wholly owned franchises, such as The Sims, SimCity, MySims, and Spore. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012 (fiscal 2012), the Company released titles in The Sims 3 franchise, and together with Playfish, The Sims Social game on Facebook. Maxis oversees internal studi os and development teams located in California, Utah, Beijing, China and Guildford, England, and works with third-party developers.

PopCap

PopCap develops easy-to-learn games. PopCap games, including Bejeweled, Plants vs. Zombies, Zuma, Peggle, and Bookworm are gameplays. PopCap games are developed primarily in Seattle, Washington.

Social/Mobile Studios

The Company�� Social/Mobile studios is focused on developing interactive games for play on mobile devices and Internet platforms, including social networking sites, such as Facebook. Through EA Mobile, the Company is a global publisher of games for mobile devices. Its customers purchase and download the Company�� games through a mobile carrier�� e-commerce service and mobile application storefronts accessed directly from their mobile devices. EA Mobile develops games for mobile devices at studios located in the United States, Canada, Romania, Australia, India and K orea. Through Playfish, it offers free-to-play s! ocial gam! es,! includin! g The Sims Social, Pet Society, EA Sports FIFA Superstars and Madden NFL Superstars that can be played on platforms, such as Facebook, Google, iPhone and Android. Playfish generates revenue through sales of digital content and Internet-based advertising.

The Company, through its Pogo online service, offers games, such as card, puzzle and word games on www.pogo.com, as well as on Facebook and other platforms. In addition to paid subscriptions, Pogo also generates revenue through Internet-based advertising and sales of digital content. In addition, it has a licensing agreement with Hasbro, which provides the Company with the rights to create digital games for all platforms based on most of Hasbro�� toy and game intellectual properties, including MONOPOLY, SCRABBLE (for United States and Canada), YAHTZEE (excluding the Nordic countries), NERF, and LITTLEST PET SHOP. Hasbro games are developed by its EA Mobile, Pogo and Social studios.

The Company c ompetes with Activision Blizzard, Take-Two Interactive, THQ, Ubisoft, Disney, Capcom Mobile, DeNA, Gameloft, Glu Mobile, Gree, Rovio, Zynga, Big Fish, Nexon, Tencent and Facebook.

Top 10 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now: NCI Inc.(NCIT)

NCI, Inc. provides information technology (IT) and professional services and solutions to the United States Federal Government defense, intelligence, and civilian agencies. It offers enterprise systems management services, including infrastructure operations and management; outsourcing and managed; infrastructure consolidation and modernization; public/private cloud computing; planning and disaster recovery; virtual desktop infrastructure; application and network management; network design, implementation, and migration; network monitoring and performance evaluation; multi-site environments; and data center modernization and consolidation. The company also provides network engineering services comprising architecture development and design; protocol and topology optimization; disaster response planning and recovery; installation, test, and evaluation; network configuration and compliance audit; network security evaluation; protocol and topology optimization; reliability an d contingency assessment; requirements analysis; redundant routing/switching solutions; and enterprise vulnerability management. In addition, it offers cybersecurity and information assurance services consisting of intrusion detection/prevention system development; public key infrastructure implementation; certification and accreditation; computer forensics and ediscovery; policy and procedures development; threat assessment and mitigation; products evaluation and integration; security test and evaluation; cybersecurity fusion centers; and risk management and continuous monitoring. Further, the company provides software development and systems engineering services; program management and lifecycle support services; professional engineering, logistics, and support services; health IT and informatics services; and modeling, simulation, and training services. NCI, Inc. is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  NCI, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCIT) will issue its third quarter 2012 financial results after the market closes on Wednesday, October 31, 2012. Management will then discuss the results, as well as operating trends and future performance expectations, on a conference call beginning at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Top 10 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now: Dril-Quip Inc. (DRQ)

Dril-Quip, Inc. designs, manufactures, sells, and services engineered offshore drilling and production equipment for use in deepwater, harsh environment, and severe service applications worldwide. It operates in three segments: Western Hemisphere, Eastern Hemisphere, and Asia-Pacific. The company’s principal products consist of subsea and surface wellheads, subsea and surface production trees, subsea control systems and manifolds, mudline hanger systems, specialty connectors and associated pipe, drilling and production riser systems, liner hangers, wellhead connectors, and diverters. Its products are used for drilling and production of oil and gas wells on offshore platforms; tension leg platforms, which are floating production platforms connected to the ocean floor via vertical mooring tethers; Spars, a floating cylindrical structure; and floating production, storage, and offloading monohull moored vessels, as well as to explore for oil and gas from offshore drillin g rigs, such as floating rigs and jack-up rigs. The company also provides services, including technical advisory services, rework and reconditioning services, and rental of running tools for use in the installation and retrieval of its products. It primarily serves integrated, independent, and foreign national oil and gas companies, as well as offshore drilling contractors, and engineering and construction companies. Dril-Quip, Inc. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  It takes an awful lot of muscle and technological know-how to frack and drill unconventional wells. So the oil service industry is poised to continue churning out hefty profits in years to come. That fact has benefited mid-cap maker of drill-bits, pipes and other rig equipment Dril-Quip (DRQ).

Top 10 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now: Inter-Rock Minerals Inc.(IRO.V)

Inter-Rock Minerals Inc. engages in the production and marketing of specialty dolomite minerals for the beef, cattle, and dairy cow feed industries in the United States. The company also involves in the exploration of gold and copper mineral properties. Its property portfolio includes the Sentinel Peak, a gold property comprising 22 claims that covers 440 acres, as well as Cove Copper project consisting of 12 unpatented claims in Humbolt County, Nevada. The company also holds claims in a gold mining district of northwest Nevada. Inter-Rock Minerals Inc. is based in Toronto, Canada.

Top 10 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now: TICC Capital Corp.(TICC)

TICC Capital Corp., a business development company, operates as a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company. The firm invests in both public and private companies. It invests in secured and unsecured senior debt, subordinated debt, junior subordinated debt, preferred stock, and common stock. The firm primarily invests in debt and/or equity securities of technology-related companies that operate in the computer software, Internet, information technology infrastructure and services, media, telecommunications and telecommunications equipment, semiconductors, hardware, technology-enabled services, semiconductor capital equipment, medical device technology, diversified technology, and networking systems sectors. It concentrates its investments in companies having annual revenues of less than $200 million and a market capitalization or enterprise value of less than $300 million. The firm invests between $5 million and $30 million per transaction. It seeks to exit its investments within 7 years. It serves as the investment adviser to TICC. The company was formerly known as Technology Investment Capital Corp. and changed its name to TICC Capital Corp. in December 2007. TICC Capital Corp. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, closed-end asset manager TICC Capital Corp. (NASDAQ: TICC  ) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

Top 10 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now: Cowen Group Inc.(COWN)

Cowen Group, Inc. is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides alternative investment management, investment banking, research, and sales and trading services for its clients. It manages separate client focused portfolio through its subsidiaries. Through its subsidiaries, the firm invests in equity and fixed income markets. It also invests in alternative investments markets through its subsidiaries. Cowen Group, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is based in New York, New York with additional offices in Boston, Massachusetts, Chicago, Illinois, Cleveland, Ohio, Dallas, Texas, and San Francisco, California.

Top 10 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now: Stella Jones Inc Com Npv (SJ.TO)

Stella-Jones Inc. produces and markets industrial treated wood products in Canada and the United States. Its products include railway ties and timbers, and wood poles used by electrical utilities and telecommunications companies. The company also offers wood preservative creosote and other coal tar based products; used tie pickup and disposal services; switching, locomotive, and railcar maintenance services; and processes ties into woodchips used as tie-derived boiler fuel to the railroad industry. In addition, it provides treated residential lumber products and customized services to lumber retailers and wholesalers for outdoor applications; and marine and foundation pilings, construction timbers, highway guardrail posts, and treated wood for bridges, as well as panelized railway crossings. The company offers its treated wood products through a network of sales representatives. Stella-Jones Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Saint-Laurent, Canada.

Top 10 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now: Sonus Networks Inc.(SONS)

Sonus Networks, Inc. provides voice and multimedia infrastructure solutions. The company offers session border control (SBC), voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), and access and VoIP media gateway solutions that allow the delivery of voice and multimedia sessions over IP networks. Its products include GSX9000 Open Services Switch that enables voice traffic to be transported over packet networks; GSX4000 Open Services Switch; NBS9000 Network Border Switch that permits service providers to transform their time division multiplexing networks to IP; PSX Policy & Routing Server, which translates business policies into actual call control, routing, and service selection decisions; NBS5200 Network Border Switch that provides SBC functionality; and ASX Call Feature Server that provides local area calling and regulatory features for residential and enterprise markets. The company also offers Network Analytics Suite of performance management products, including NetScore network perf ormance analysis tool, NetAssure voice quality monitoring tool, and NetEng network audit and visualization engine that are used for the collection, monitoring, reporting, and notification of performance metrics. In addition, it provides professional consulting and services to support its IP communication solutions; and program management, network deployment design, softswitch and subscriber database design, network verification and audit, custom application and adaptor development, OSS and API integration, migration and upgrade, and managed services. The company serves long-distance and local exchange carriers, Internet service providers, wireless operators, cable operators, financial institutions, retailers, state and local governments, and multinational corporations. It sells its products primarily through a direct sales force in the United States, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. Sonus Networks, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Westford, Mass achusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  One networking player that's starting to move within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Sonus Networks (SONS), which provides networked solutions for communications service providers and enterprises in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. This stock has been red hot so far in 2013, with shares up 104%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Sonus Networks, you'll notice that this stock has been trending sideways for the past month, with shares moving between $3.25 on the downside and $3.72 on the upside. Shares of SONS have been finding support over the last month each time the stock has pulled back to its 50-day moving average. This stock is now starting to trend a bit higher and move within range of triggering a breakout trade above the upper-end of its sideways consolidating chart pattern.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in SONS if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $3.56 to $3.59 a share and then once it takes out its 52-week high at $3.72 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 2.50 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then SONS will set up to enter new 52-week high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $5 to $5.50 a share.

  Traders can look to buy SONS off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at $3.33 to $3.25 a share, or right below more support at $3.10 a share. One could also buy SONS off strength once it takes out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of Sonus Networks (NASDAQ: SONS  ) have popped today by upwards of 17% after the company reported first-quarter earnings.

  So what: First quarter sales totaled $63.3 million, which turned into a non-GAAP net loss of $0.02 per share. Investors were expecting just $61.1 million up top and an adjusted loss of $0.03 per share, meaning the figures were a beat relative to consensus estimates. Session border controller, or SBC, revenue was up 77% to $30 million.

Top 10 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now: ISTA Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ISTA)

ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and markets remedies for diseases and conditions of the eye in the United States. It offers products to treat allergy and serious disease of the eye; and therapies for ocular inflammation and pain, glaucoma, dry eye, and ocular and nasal allergies. The company provides BROMDAY for the treatment of postoperative inflammation and reduction of ocular pain in patients who have undergone cataract extractions; BEPREVE for ocular itching associated with allergic conjunctivitis; ISTALOL for the treatment of glaucoma; and VITRASE for use as a spreading agent. Its products under development include T-Pred for steroid responsive inflammation and allergic conjunctivitis; Strong steroid for ocular inflammation; REMURA for the treatment of dry eye syndrome; and BROMDAY (lower concentration) for postoperative inflammation and reduction of ocular pain. The company?s products under development also comprise Bepotast ine nasal and Bepotastine nasal combination for allergic rhinitis. In addition, it is developing iganidipine to enhance ocular nerve blood flow; prostaglandin, a formulation of latanoprost, for the treatment of glaucoma; and ecabet sodium for dry eyes. ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. sells its products to drug wholesalers, retailers, and distributors, such as chain of drug stores, hospitals, clinics, and government agencies, as well as health maintenance organizations and other institutions. The company was formerly known as Advanced Corneal Systems, Inc. and changed its name to ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in March 2000. ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

Top 10 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now: Yadkin Valley Financial Corporation(YAVY)

Yadkin Valley Financial Corporation operates as the holding company for Yadkin Valley Bank and Trust Company that provides consumer and commercial banking services in North Carolina and South Carolina. The company accepts various deposit products that include demand deposits, checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; construction, land development, and other land loans; real estate- 1-4 family mortgage loans; real estate- commercial and other loans; home equity lines of credit; installment loans to individuals; and other loans. In addition, the company offers mortgage brokerage services, investment services, and insurance services, as well as act as a trustee on real estate loans. It operates 38 full-service banking offices. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Elkin, North Carolina.

Top 10 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now: Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.(FCX)

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. engages in the exploration, mining, and production of mineral resources. The company primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and cobalt. It holds interests in various properties, located in North and South America; the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; and the Tenke Fungurume minerals district in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As of December 31, 2010, the company?s consolidated recoverable proven and probable reserves totaled 120.5 billion pounds of copper, 35.5 million ounces of gold, 3.39 billion pounds of molybdenum, 325.0 million ounces of silver, and 0.75 billion pounds of cobalt. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Finally, Atalanta Sosnoff's biggest closed positions included ExxonMobil�and BlackRock. Other closed positions of interest include Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI  ) and Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX  ) . Sirius is up about 84% over the past year, and trading near a five-year high. The company boasts more than 25 million subscribers, and revenue and earnings have been growing at double-digit rates. Growing auto sales bode well for Sirius, as its radios are embedded in many vehicles. Meanwhile, Sirius faces competition from Pandora, but Pandora is dealing with its own problems, recently posting some shrinking numbers.

2 Oil & Gas Stocks Spiking on Big Volume

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Professional traders running mutual funds and hedge funds don't just look at a stock's price moves; they also track big changes in volume activity. Often when above-average volume moves into an equity, it precedes a large spike in volatility.

>>4 Stocks Poised for Breakouts

Major moves in volume can signal unusual activity, such as insider buying or selling -- or buying or selling by "superinvestors."

Unusual volume can also be a major signal that hedge funds and momentum traders are piling into a stock ahead of a catalyst. These types of traders like to get in well before a large spike, so it's always a smart move to monitor unusual volume. That said, remember to combine trend and price action with unusual volume. Put them all together to help you decipher the next big trend for any stock.

>>5 Toxic Stocks to Sell Now

With that in mind, let's take a look at several stocks rising on unusual volume recently.

Energy Transfer Equity

Energy Transfer Equity (ETE), through its subsidiaries, provides diversified energy-related services in the U.S. This stock closed up 2.2% at $41.16 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 7.22 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 1.67 million

Volume % Change: 346%

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

From a technical perspective, ETE bounced notably higher here right off its 50-day moving average of $39.71 with heavy upside volume. This stock has been trending sideways and consolidating for the last month and change, with shares moving between $38.66 on the downside and $42.74 on the upside. Shares of ETE are now starting to move within range of triggering a big breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern. That trade will hit if ETE manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $41.95 to its 52-week high at $43.11 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ETE as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $39.71 or above more near-term support at $38.66 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that this near or above 1.67 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then ETE will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $50 to $55.

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Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy (FANG), together with its subsidiaries, focuses on the acquisition, development, exploration and exploitation of onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin in West Texas. This stock closed up 5.4% at $56.72 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 1.29 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 774,797

Volume % Change: 175%

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From a technical perspective, FANG ripped higher here with above-average volume. This move briefly pushed shares of FANG into new all-time-high territory, since the stock took out some previous overhead resistance at $58.71. Shares of FANG hit an intraday high of $59 before closing well off that level at $56.72. Market players should now look for a continuation move higher in the short-term if FANG manages to take out its new all-time high at $59 with strong volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in FANG as long as it's trending above Friday's low of $55.01 or above $54 and then once it sustains a move or close above $59 with volume that's near or above 774,797 shares. If we get that move soon, then FANG will set up to enter new all-time-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $65 to $70.

To see more stocks rising on unusual volume, check out the Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

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At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.