Xerox Corporation: An Interesting Misunderstanding

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The Xerox (XRX) brand bias

What is the first image that comes to your mind when I say "Xerox?" I tried to do this exercise with my friends and colleagues. The answers were different, but all boiled down to photocopiers and printers.

I think that's an instinctive connection.

The Xerox brand has been linked to printing technology since 1906, the year it was founded. In 1938 the company invented a process today known as "xerography", a kind of dry writing. Using this process, in 1959 they introduced the first plain paper photocopier (the famous Xerox 914), and some years later the first laser printer, invented in their laboratories in 1969.

I won't go through the complete version of Xerox history, but one thing is clear: Xerox is the protagonist of (modern) printing technology history.

That's why associating its brand to printing machines seems quite natural. After all, the company has been doing it for almost 106 years.

But, if we dig deeper into this affair, we easily discover that Xerox is no longer a pure printing machine producer: It is already in the process of turning itself into a service company.

The Xerox brand, which has been impressing people's minds for over a century, as is perceived today, consists in fact of a brand bias, because most of Xerox revenues don't actually come from equipment selling, but from offering a wide range of services.

World digitalization

In an ever more digital world, the need for physical equipment is decreasing relentlessly. On the contrary, the demand for services is growing exponentially.

In particular, referring to the printing sector, we can observe that:

Digitalized data (documents, books, articles) volume is growing at an incredible pace. Moreover, it would be simply not possible (nor useful) to print everything.Company and institutions encourag! e people to print something only when strictly needed, both for environmental and for cost-cutting purposes.Fax machines will quickly become (tech) museum pieces, replaced by emails (people are free to print an email whenever it is really necessary).Combo printers (scanner and printer) will quickly replace most photocopiers (people will scan everything and print only when it is really necessary).
I think Xerox's management felt the responsibility to deal with these kinds of business dangers as soon as they became evident. I also think they brilliantly addressed and solved them.

Let's find out how.

The Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) acquisition

In September 2009, Xerox announced it would acquire ACS for $6.4 billion. ACS was a leading firm in Business Process Outsourcing (around 80% of 2009 total revenues, 40% of that coming from government contracts).

A BPO firm is able to handle specific customer business functions, like human resources or accounting, integrating them with the rest of customer business as if it was a single company.

To put it simply, ACS specialized in organizing and managing every kind of company information and process, by adding its expertise in order to simplify customer business functions, make them cheaper and/or more efficient.

The acquisition was a big achievement for both companies. Let's see why:

Xerox has been able to leverage ACS added-value BPO services, channeling them to its wide range of customersXerox added its document technology to ACS optimization processes, implementing them more effectively and decreasing costsLast but not least, ACS outsourcing expertise has been applied to Xerox itself, optimizing business functions, allowing them to cut most third-party outsourcing contracts
One thing that's worth noting is that the ACS acquisition was not a discontinuity in Xerox's business model — it was just the last step in a slow path in the services-oriented direction.

Let's have a look at cur! rent reve! nues breakdown in order to show what has changed since the ACS acquisition (the deal was completed in February 2010).

Xerox revenues breakdown	2009	2010	2011
Total (in millions)	15,179	21,633	22,626
Equipment sales	3,491	7,138	7,014
Services revenues	11,687	13,628	14,706

One other point is: the operation contributed also to sell more equipment, probably partially because customers searching for a complete solution provider showed up and partially because Xerox was able to sell its printing machines to pre-existent ACS customers.

We know that integrating a big company into one even bigger company is an hard task. CEO Ursula M. Burns and her staff is still in the process of doing it and cutting costs in divisions belonging to the old ACS organization.

That's really interesting to me as a value investor, because I firmly think that the best of the ACS acquisition hasn't come yet!

The real power of the new XRX organization, the new BPO-centered business model, is that all the synergies working underground are currently hidden by the current economic weakness (especially in Europe), by the restructuring charges (mainly amortization of intangibles) and by initial investments needed to start new contracts (their services-related new signings were up 15% in the last quarter).

Valuation and investment thesis

As we've seen, XRX is slightly but inexorably changing its skin to move into the future, in an increasingly digitized world, capturing new market share in BPO and document outsourcing growing markets, so my guess is that very soon it will be considered and compared to consolidated services businesses like IBM and Oracle.

Moreover, I think it should be valued using multiples similar to these companies, not the current ones (if you check, for e! xample, o! n Google Finance, you will see that XRX is still considered belonging to the Office Equipment sector).

IBM has a P/E multiple of 14.35 (considering fiscal year 2011 earnings). Applying this multiple to XRX would raise its price to $12.91 (always considering XRX fiscal 2011 earnings), giving it a potential return (at today price of $8.30) of 55%.

This consideration, added to the fact that the company expects its 2012 EPS to grow 10-15% and that it intends to repurchase its shares for around $1 billion (at today prices, it would be around 8% of total outstanding common shares), leads me to be really confident of the fact that XRX shareholders will be very well rewarded in the long run.

Disclosure: I am long XRX

Nothing to Build On: Homebuilders Tank as New Home Sales Plunge

Remember all that talk that may home buyers would shrug off rising mortgage rates? Well, for one month at least, it looks to be just that–talk.

Scott Dalton

Sales of single-family homes fell 13.4% to an annualized rated 394,000 in July, the Census Bureau reported today, well below forecasts for 487,000.

Homebuilding stocks have plunged on the news. The Ryland Group (RYL) has fallen 4.6% to $35.15, Toll Brothers (TOL) has dropped 3.1% to $31.45, KB Home (KBH) has declined 3.1% to $16.67 and DR Horton (DHI) is off 2.8% at $18.74. Pulte Group (PHM) has dropped 2.7% at $15.80.

Not everyone thinks the drop is such a big deal, however. Here’s Peirpont Securities’ Stephen Stanley:

I am highly dubious, however, that new home sales have weakened in any meaningful way.  The anecdotal and survey evidence do not support such a dramatic weakening in the demand for homes.  Perhaps the backup in rates has had a marginal impact, but July's reading was roughly 25% lower than expectations, and there is nothing I've seen that corroborates anything like that!  Keep in mind that this series tends to be very volatile, and I would wait to see the August reading before getting too excited.

Marketfield’s Michael Shaoul calls the report a “glaring outlier.” He writes:

Regarding the Census Bureau report it is simply too early to be sure. Public statements from homebuilders (and private surveys too) have not suggested a rapid deceleration of housing demand and the NAHB survey (which had no problem registering bearish sentiment in recent years) would generally have been expected to decline sharply if the surveyed homebuilders had actually seen demand destruction on this level…

[We] doubt whether the New Home market has suffered a reverse close to the magnitude contained in this report, but we respect the fact that for the time being the market will keep the homebuilding sector under a cloud, at least until corporate earnings and additional data prove the matter one way or another.

Sounds like good advice.

Blackhawk Bancorp Reports Q2 2013 Results (OTCMKTS:BHWB, OTCMKTS:CLNOD)

Blackhawk Bancorp, Inc. (BHWB)

Today, BHWB remains (0.00%) +0.000 at $9.00 thus far (ref. google finance Delayed:   2:02PM EDT July 31, 2013).

Blackhawk Bancorp, Inc. previously reported net income $513,000 for the second quarter of 2013, a 31% drop compared to $745,000 earned in the second quarter of 2012. For the six months of 2013 the company's net income was $1,096,000, a 23% decrease compared to $1,423,000 earned the first six months of 2012.

Earnings per diluted share for the quarter decreased $0.11, to $0.16 compared to $0.27 per diluted share the second quarter of 2012. For the first half of 2013 the company earned $0.35 per diluted share, a 30% decrease compared to the $0.50 per diluted share earned the first half of 2012. The company had total assets of $593.8 million at June 30, 2013, a $34.0 million increase compared to $559.8 million at December 31, 2012.

Blackhawk Bancorp, Inc. (BHWB) 5 day chart:

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EQCO2, Inc. (CLNOD)

EQCO2, Inc. (OTCMKTS:CLNOD) (www.eqco2.com) through its Discovery Carbon subsidiary, develops emissions offset strategies for companies, municipalities, and countries. Today, CLNOD has shed (-3.03%) down -0.005 at $.16 with 46,193 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 12:27PM EDT July 31, 2013).

CLNOD daily range is at ($.17 – $.16) thus far and currently at $.16 would be considered a (+79900%) gain above the 52 wk low of $0.0002 and rightly so. The stock is up +0.16 ( +8788.89%) since the concerning dates of February 1, 2013 – July 31, 2013. +8788.89% is the 6 month high.

EQCO2, Inc. (CLNOD ) day chart:

AICPA Attacks DOL Fiduciary Plan’s ESOP Language

Efforts to stop the Department of Labor from reproposing its fiduciary rule continue. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is pressuring members of Congress to ensure that DOL’s fiduciary reproposal does not define independent appraisers of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) as fiduciaries.

AICPA president and CEO Barry Melancon sent a June 10 letter to Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee—which has jurisdiction over DOL and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)—and other committee members urging them to co-sponsor two bills, H.R 2014  and S. 273.

The House bill, introduced in February, and the Senate bill, introduced in May, both support AICPA’s effort to block inclusion of appraisers to ESOP plans in DOL's fiduciary rule.

The DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Semiannual Regulatory Agenda, released July 3, states that a reproposal to amend the definition of fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) will come in October. Industry watchers say that the DOL’s fiduciary “train has left the station,” and that the reproposal should be at the Office of Management and Budget in a matter of weeks.

H.R. 2041, which currently has 16 co-sponsors, was introduced by Reps. Brett Guthrie and David Loebsack, who are members of the committee of jurisdiction on the House side, the House Education and Workforce Committee.

In a May “dear colleague” letter to members of their subcommittee asking them to sign onto their bill, Guthrie and Loebsack argue that DOL’s proposal to designate ESOP appraisers as fiduciaries “is a costly and unnecessary new layer of regulation.” Under current law, the two write, “the trustees of private ESOPs are already liable as fiduciaries. Extending this liability to appraisers would, in the best case scenario, drive up costs of ESOP plans and have the net effect of moving stock gains away from the workers who earn them.”

In the worst-case scenario, they continued, “this new and costly regulation would drive appraisers out of the market entirely or discourage companies from participating in an ESOP profit-sharing program entirely.”

Sen. Kelly Ayotte, a member of the Armed Services, Budget, Commerce, Homeland Security and Special Aging Committee, who introduced S. 273 (which has seven co-sponsors), argued in a June 27 dear colleague letter that if the DOL’s proposal moves ahead, “would result in compliance and regulatory costs for the 11,000 ESOPs around the country (including the 10 million participating employees) and could jeopardize their availability in the future.”

Further, Ayotte argued, designating appraisers as fiduciaries would “force appraisers to purchase expensive fiduciary insurance, employ specialized ERISA counsel and expose them to unnecessary litigation.”

In his June 10 letter to Harkin, Barry Melancon, AICPA president and CEO, said that if the DOL were to redefine an ERISA fiduciary to include ESOP appraisers “an inherent conflict would arise between the DOL and IRS requirements for ESOP appraisers.”

Many CPAs, Melancon wrote, “perform business valuation services for ESOPs by providing an independent, third-party objective appraisal of the stock of employer companies that sponsor ESOPs. Many of these appraisals are also used for other purposes including satisfying the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requirements related to the ESOP’s tax-exempt status.” The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) requires, he continued, “that ESOP valuations be obtained from an independent appraiser at least annually.”

Therefore, he said, redefining an ERISA fiduciary to include ESOP appraisers would create an inherent conflict between the DOL and IRS requirements for ESOP appraisers.

An ERISA fiduciary, Melancon wrote, “must act solely in the interest of plan participants and their beneficiaries and therefore cannot provide an independent, third-party objective perspective.”

The DOL’s proposal, Melancon continued, “is a draconian response to a very small number of deficient ESOP appraisals.”

Melancon told lawmakers that DOL’s concerns with the quality of ESOP appraisals could be addressed with a far more targeted solution. Unlike other federal agencies including the IRS and Small Business Administration (SBA), the DOL, he said, “does not have any minimum requirements or standards for appraisers.”

Requiring ESOP appraisers “to have specialized training, credentials, and to adhere to professional standards would protect participants and beneficiaries in a cost effective manner,” he wrote, “would be consistent with the IRS and SBA rules for appraisals and thus avoid the potential for conflicting requirements across federal agencies.”

ACE Fortifies Contractors Insurance - Analyst Blog

Top 5 Value Companies To Invest In Right Now

Recently, U.S.-based retail facility of ACE Limited (ACE), ACE USA introduced new services through its risk management services company, ESIS Inc. pertaining to the healthcare industry construction projects. This launch is an augmentation to the company's Contractors Pollution Liability (CPL) coverage named Owner-Controlled Insurance Program (OCIP) launched in Jun 2013.

With the help of the company's comprehensive insurance program, ACE Construction Industry Practice, the company insures construction businesses from unexpected job-site catastrophes and other complex risks involved in the business. The program widens the capacities of this option, thereby adding value to the same.

This ESIS program provides services like environmental compliance, Hazardous Materials Management, Transactional Services, Construction Safety and Risk Management, Patient Safety and many more such services. These are in addition to the insurance and construction risk management services provided by the ACE Construction Industry Practice.

The company has continuously assisted U.S. based multinational companies in mitigating risks associated with their businesses. The new endorsement will enhance its efforts by delivering customized solutions to the risks faced by the healthcare facility owners, general contractors and construction managers who provide contracting services to the healthcare industry. The program is expected to support ACE in expanding its multinational client base, and in turn boost revenues. The long term sales growth rate of the company is projected at 7.5%.

Earlier, in Mar 2013, ACE USA introduced a Foreign Casualty Pollution Liability coverage endorsement to provide insurance and risk management solutions to the globally operating mid-sized and large-scale multinational companies located in the U.S.A.

ACE currently carr! ies a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Among others in the industry, American Safety Insurance Holdings Inc. (ASI), Catlin Group Ltd. (CLNGF) and AmTrust Financial Services Inc. (AFSI) carry a favorable Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and are worth considering.

Progressive Tops Earnings on Higher Premiums - Analyst Blog

Progressive Corp.'s (PGR) earnings per share for the second quarter of 2013 were 54 cents, surging nearly 176% from 19 cents in the year-ago quarter. The result also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 40 cents. Net income shot up 174% from the second quarter of 2012 to $324.6 million in the reported quarter.

Progressive recorded net premiums of $4.4 billion in the quarter under review, up 6% from $4.1 billion in the year-ago quarter. Net premiums earned were $4.3 billion, up 7% from $4.0 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Net realized gains on securities in the quarter were $132.9 million, rebounding from a loss of $4.7 million in the year-ago quarter. Combined ratio − the percentage of premiums paid out as claims and expenses − improved 430 basis points from the prior-year quarter to 93.3% in the reported quarter.

Numbers in June

Progressive publishes monthly financial reports. During June, policies in force remained healthy, with the Personal Auto segment increasing 1% year over year and 0.1% sequentially. Special Lines increased 1% year over year and 0.6% sequentially.

In Personal Auto, Direct Auto grew 2% year over year and 0.3% from the preceding month. Agency Auto declined 1% year over year, although it improved 0.01% from the preceding month. Progressive's Commercial Auto segment grew 0.3% year over year.

Total expenses for the reported month increased 3.3% to $1.35 billion from $1.26 billion in Jun 2012. The major components contributing to the increase in total expenses were a 5% increase in losses and loss adjustment expenses.

Progressive reported book value per share of $10.87, up from $10.32 as of Jun 30, 2012 but down from $10.98 as of May 31, 2013.

Return on equity on a trailing 12-month basis was 17.9%, up from 12.5% in Jun 2012 but down from 19.9% in May 2013. The debt-to-total-capital ratio was 24.4% as of Jun 30, 2013, down from 24.7% as of Jun 30, 2012 but slightly up from 23.8% as of May 31, 2013.

Prog! ressive carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Insurers Alleghany Corporation (Y), American Safety Insurance Holdings Ltd. (ASI) and AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. (AFSI), among others, also carry a Zacks Rank #1(Strong Buy) and appear impressive.

Here are few strategies to plan your finances

Below is the verbatim transcript of Mashruwala's interview with CNBC-TV18.

Q: It is the beginning of the financial year and our only hope is that people will use this opportunity to plan their finances as well as their taxes much in advance and not in March 2014, when the year ending comes. What would your strategy be in terms of people planning their finances; a lot of people get their increments around this time. Do you think it is good idea for employees to voluntarily opt for higher Employees Provident Fund (EPF) deductions?

A: It makes lot of sense because what happens is usually, whenever one has an increment or bonus or anything, retirement takes the backseat in the sense that people look at either splurging because of nearing summer vacations or people get into funding for their other goals. So, it makes sense to focus on retirement when one gets an increment and ensure that the additional amount that he will be getting gets deducted and added to the retirement corpus.

Voluntary contribution voluntarily to provident fund, usually companies prefer that the request is made at the beginning of financial year. So, if one has got an increment now then inform the HR department that he wants to make additional contribution to his provident fund.

One can do up to 100 percent of basic. Obviously that may or may not make sense but one may want to do it, put it on autopilot so that throughout the year, every month from the basic pay, there will be contribution happening to his voluntary provident fund.

Q: What is the rate of interest on this? Is there something like lock in period and if someone wants to withdraw then will you take a haircut on it?

A: Interest rates hover every year. The employees' provident fund organisation (EPFO) meets and the interest rates normally vary between 8-8.5 percent - that's number one. One can take out his corpus at the time of retirement however there are certain situations where he can withdraw interim. So, if there are situations like marriage in the family or home buying or there are some special situations where one is allowed to withdraw.

In terms of tax implications, contribution to provident fund is tax free, the growth is tax free and when one takes that money out, there is also a tax benefit. In fact, public provident fund is one more option where one can contribute. There has been some reduction in rate of interest there by 0.1 percentages. There is another option one can consider but here, generally, people tend to keep money till end and they only take it out towards the retirement. So, only when one retires, he should take out money and that is a prudent strategy.

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Top 10 Performing Companies To Invest In 2014

Good news, Time Warner (NYSE: TWX  ) investors. After suffering a run of bad numbers, buzz is finally building for Pacific Rim, director Guillermo Del Toro's giant robots vs. monsters epic that cost as much as $200 million to make.

Plenty is it stake for Warner and financing partner Legendary Pictures, says Fool contributor Tim Beyers in the following video. Why? Both studios need a new franchise to bank on. The fact that 75% of critics who've seen Pacific Rim rate it as "fresh"-- better than the 67% accorded to surprise hit World War Z -- suggests the film could enjoy a decent run in theaters.

But will it be as big a winner as the zombie thriller? According to Box Office Mojo, Viacom's (NASDAQ: VIAB  ) Paramount Studios has earned more than $370 million in worldwide grosses from the film, which has enjoyed uncommon staying power after last weekend's gate drop of just 38%, when 50% or more is typical. Getting even within spitting distance of that performance would be a win for Del Toro, Legendary, and Time Warner investors, Tim says.

Do you like the odds of Pacific Rim outperforming? Please watch the video to get Tim's full take, and then leave a comment to let us know whether you plan to see the film.

Top 10 Performing Companies To Invest In 2014: Imax Corp Com Npv(IMX.TO)

IMAX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an entertainment technology company specializing in motion picture technologies and presentations worldwide. The company operates in seven segments: IMAX Systems, Theater System Maintenance, Joint Revenue Sharing Arrangements, Film Production and IMAX Digital Re-Mastering (DRM), Film Distribution, Film Post-Production, and Other. The IMAX Systems segment designs, manufactures, sells, or leases IMAX theater projection system equipment. The Theater System Maintenance segment maintains IMAX theater projection system equipment in the IMAX theater network. The Joint Revenue Sharing Arrangements segment provides IMAX theater projection system equipment to an exhibitor in exchange for a share of the box-office and concession revenues. The Film Production and IMAX DMR segment produces films and performs film re-mastering services. The Film Distribution segment distributes films for which the company has distribution rig hts. The Film Post-Production segment offers film post-production and film print services. The Other segment owns and operates IMAX theaters; rents two-dimensional and three-dimensional (3D) large-format film and digital cameras to third party production companies; and offers after market sales services for projection system parts and 3D glasses. The company serves institutional customers, such as science and natural history museums, zoos, aquaria, and other educational and cultural centers, as well as commercial multiplex exhibitors. IMAX Corporation also sells or leases its theater systems to theme parks, tourist destination sites, fairs, and expositions. As of December 31, 2011, the company operated 634 theater systems comprising 517 commercial and 117 institutional theater systems. IMAX Corporation was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Mississauga, Canada.

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Top 10 Performing Companies To Invest In 2014: The Spectranetics Corporation (SPNC)

The Spectranetics Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets single use medical devices used in minimally invasive surgical procedures within the cardiovascular system in conjunction with its proprietary excimer laser system, the CVX-300. The company?s excimer laser technology is used to ablate multiple lesion morphology morphologies, such as plaque, moderate calcium, and thrombus. It offers four primary product categories for the Vascular Intervention product line, including peripheral atherectomy, coronary atherectomy, thrombus management, and crossing solutions. The peripheral atherectomy product line consists of a selection of proprietary laser catheters that are indicated for the treatment of infrainguinal (leg) stenoses and occlusions; and the coronary atherectomy product line includes a selection of proprietary laser catheters to be used in various types of coronary artery diseases comprising occluded saphenous vein bypass grafts, ostial lesions, long lesions, m oderately calcified stenoses, total occlusions traversable by guidewire, lesions, and restenosis. The thrombus management product line consists of three thrombus removal devices intended to remove fresh, soft thrombi, and emboli from vessels in the arterial system, as well as to address thrombotic occlusions in dialysis grafts and fistulae; and the crossing solutions product line support guidewires or other devices in facilitating vascular access in the arterial system to enable various types of interventions. The company?s lead management product line comprises excimer laser sheaths, non-laser sheaths, and cardiac lead management accessories for the removal of pacemaker and defibrillator cardiac leads. It sells its products in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Puerto Rico. The company has a strategic alliance with Kensey Nash Corporation. The Spectranetics Corporation was founded in 1984 and is based in Colorado Springs , Colorado.

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The Company focuses on applying its technology to develop additional products used for other vascular procedures, specifically carotid (the arteries that supply blood to the brain) and peripheral (other arteries) procedures. The MGuard stent is an embolic protection device based on a protective sleeve, which is constructed out of an ultra-thin polymer mesh and wrapped around the stent. The protective sleeve is comprised of a micron level fiber-knitted mesh, engineered in an optimal geometric configuration and designed for utmost flexibility while retaining strength characteristics of the fiber material.

MGuard - Coronary Applications

The Company�� MGuard Coronary with a bio-stable mesh and its MGuard Coronary with a drug-eluting mesh focuses on the treatment of coronary arterial disease. The Company�� first MGuard product, the MGuard Coronary with a bi o-stable mesh, is comprised of its mesh sleeve wrapped arou! n! d a bare-metal stent. The bio-absorbability of MGuard Coronary with a drug eluting bio-absorbable mesh is intended to improve upon the bio-absorbability of other drug-eluting stents, in light of the wide surface area of the mesh and the small diameter of the fiber.

MGuard - Carotid Applications

The Company focuses on marketing its mesh sleeve coupled with a self-expandable stent for use in carotid-applications. Expandable stent is a stent that expands without balloon dilation pressure or need of an inflation balloon. This product is under development, although the Company has temporarily delayed its development until additional funding is secured.

MGuard - Peripheral Applications

Peripheral Artery Disease, also known as peripheral vascular disease, is characterized by the accumulation of plaque in arteries in the legs, need for amputation of affected joints or even death, when untreated. Peripheral Artery Disease is treated either by trying to clear the artery of the blockage, or by implanting a stent in the affected area to push the blockage out of the way of normal blood flow.

The Company competes with Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Inc., The Sorin Group, Xtent, Inc., Cinvention AG, OrbusNeich, Biotronik SE & Co. KG, Svelte Medical Systems, Inc., Reva Inc. and Stentys SA.

Top 10 Performing Companies To Invest In 2014: VirnetX Holding Corp(VHC)

VirnetX Holding Corporation engages in developing and commercializing software and technology solutions for securing real-time communications over the Internet. Its software and technology solutions, which include secure domain name registry and GABRIEL Connection Technology, facilitate secure communications and create a secure environment for real-time communication applications, such as instant messaging, voice over Internet protocol, smart phones, eReaders, and video conferencing. The company focuses on commercializing its technology to original equipment manufacturers within the IP-telephony, mobility, fixed-mobile convergence, and unified communications markets. VirnetX Holding Corporation was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Scotts Valley, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sy_Harding]

  VirnetX Holding Corp Common St (AMEX:VHC): This equity had 11,198,740 shares sold short as of Aug 31st, as compared to 9,939,110 on Aug 15th, which represents a change of 1,259,630 shares, or 12.7%. Days to cover for this company is 5 and average daily trading volume is 2,172,693. About the equity: Virnetx Holding Corporation is developing and commercializing software and technology solutions for securing real-time communications over the Internet.

Top 10 Performing Companies To Invest In 2014: Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc.(SNSS)

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of oncology therapeutics for the treatment of solid and hematologic cancers. The company?s principal product includes Vosaroxin, an anti-cancer quinolone derivative for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). It is conducting various clinical trials of Vosaroxin, including Phase II clinical trial, known as VALOR trial in combination with cytarabine for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory AML; and a Phase II clinical trial, known as REVEAL-1 in previously untreated patients of age 60 years or older, as well as completed a Phase II single-agent trial of Vosaroxin in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. In addition, the company is conducting a Phase II/III trial, known as the Less Intensive 1 in patients older than 60 years with AML or high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome. It has a license agreement with Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co. , Ltd. for the development and commercialization of Vosaroxin; a collaboration agreement with Millennium for the development of pan-Raf kinase inhibitor and one additional undisclosed kinase inhibitor program in oncology; and a collaboration agreement with Biogen Idec, Inc. to discover, develop, and commercialize small molecule inhibitors of a preclinical kinase inhibitor program in immunology. The company formerly known as, Mosaic Pharmaceuticals, Inc., was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.

Top 10 Performing Companies To Invest In 2014: Lam Research Corporation(LRCX)

Lam Research Corporation designs, manufactures, markets, refurbishes, and services semiconductor processing equipments used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. The company offers etch products that remove portions of various films from the wafer in the creation of semiconductor devices. Its etch products include dielectric etch, conductor etch, three-dimensional integrated circuit etch, MEMS devices, CMOS image sensors, and power devices for etching process. Lam Research Corporation also provides wafer cleaning steps that comprise post-etch and post-strip cleans, and pre-diffusion and pre-deposition cleans; and single-wafer wet clean and plasma-based bevel clean systems. The company offers its products to semiconductor manufacturers. It operates in the United States, Europe, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and the Asia Pacific. Lam Research Corporation was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.

Hot High Tech Companies For 2014

Recently, Groupon's (NASDAQ: GRPN  ) �co-CEOs sat down with Business Insider, which uncovered that the daily-deals company wants to transform itself into a $100 billion-a-year business. Considering Groupon is expected to earn only $2.5 billion this year, that aspiration seems pretty unrealistic. In this video, Fool contributor Steve Heller gets into the details and explores what it will take for Groupon to improve its top line by several orders of magnitude.

Groupon's story is one of the American Dream. The company went from 400 subscribers in 2008 to more than 150 million today. While this story is definitely one of triumph on a business level, investors certainly�haven't shared in its success. Shares have fallen more than 80% over the past year and left investors panicked. Will this company live out its American Dream or leave shareholders empty-handed? To answer that question, our analyst has compiled a premium research report with in-depth analysis on whether you should buy or sell Groupon right now, and why. Simply click here now to get started.

Hot High Tech Companies For 2014: Tribal Group(TRB.L)

Tribal Group plc, through its subsidiaries, provides technology, service delivery, and advisory solutions primarily to the educational sector in the United Kingdom, Australasia, and internationally. The company provides education services to the public sector, including software, managed services, school inspection services, consultancy, benchmarking, e-learning, publishing, and training services. Its technology solutions comprise student management products, asset management products, learning management products, program-based systems, platform-based systems, and bespoke solutions. The company?s service delivery solutions include training and development, school improvement, delivery of major education programs for the government, inspection of schools in the south of England, and management of the early years? professional status. Its advisory services comprise performance improvement, program and project management, strategy and innovation, curriculum support, subjec t excellence, school improvement, benchmarking and consultancy for further and higher education, and workforce development services. The company serves schools, colleges, universities, government agencies, and employers to manage their resources and deliver education services. Tribal Group plc was founded in 1999 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Hot High Tech Companies For 2014: Adams Golf Inc.(ADGF)

Adams Golf, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, assembles, markets, and distributes golf clubs for various skill levels primarily in the United States and internationally. Its products comprise Speedline Fast 12 drivers, Fast 12 LS drivers, Speedline Fast 12 fairway woods, Idea a12 OS irons and hybrids, Idea a12 hybrids, Idea Pro a12 irons and hybrids, Idea Tech V3 irons and hybrids, Redline irons, Idea a7 and a7 OS irons and hybrids, and Speedline 9088 UL drivers. It also develops products under the Yes! Putters, Women's Golf Unlimited, Lady Fairway, and Square 2 brands. In addition, it offers a range of golf bags, hats, and other accessories. The company sells its products to on- and off- course golf shops, sporting goods retailers, and mass merchants, as well as to international distributors. Adams Golf, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is based in Plano, Texas.

Top 5 Value Stocks To Watch Right Now: Mines Mgt Inc Com Usd0.01 (MGT.TO)

Mines Management, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties, primarily silver, and associated base and precious metals. It principally owns the Montanore property comprising 355 acres and a 5-acre patented mill site consisting of 2 patented mining claims and approximately 825 unpatented mining claims located in Sanders and Lincoln counties in northwestern Montana, the United States. The company also holds working interest royalty in various oil producing wells situated in Kansas. Mines Management, Inc. was founded in 1947 and is based in Spokane, Washington.

Why the Stock Market Could Crash

At the most basic level, a share of stock entitles you to a share of profits -- and profits are what ultimately bolster a stock price. Recently, profits have been at all-time highs -- not only nominally, but as a percentage of GDP. Some observers believe this trend is unsustainable and that corporate profits will revert to their historical mean. And if profits do fall and revert to the mean, stock prices will fall as well.

Why does all this matter right now? Because profits this past quarter just fell by a significant amount.

The numbers

As a percentage of GDP, corporate profits have averaged 6.2% of GDP since 1947. Today, they hover around 11%. Against the recent upward trend, however, the latest quarter's profit numbers have fallen. Corporate profits after tax dropped 2% from the fourth quarter of 2012. That's the biggest drop since the first quarter of 2011, a year when the S&P 500  (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) ended flat. The difference now, though, is that profits are even higher and have further to fall if they do revert.

Some commentators argue that there's been a fundamental change in our economy's structure and that corporate profits won't necessarily return to that historical mean. That is, innovations such as computers and the Internet help companies book more profit than they could in the past.

As James Surowiecki of The New Yorker writes:

The underlying issue is that in recent decades there's been a shift in the U.S. economy: It's become far more congenial to businesses and investors. The fundamental trends that have driven the profit boom are unlikely to be reversed.

The changes he highlights are historically low corporate taxes, American companies that are grabbing profits overseas, and a weak labor market.

Of course, there are counterarguments to each of those points.

Corporate tax hounding
Surowiecki notes:

In 1951, corporations had to pay almost half of reported profits in taxes. In 1965, they had to pay more than thirty per cent. Today, they pay only around twenty per cent.

And now, with fewer taxes from corporations, governments strain to stay afloat. Stockton, Calif., declares bankruptcy, and Detroit hires emergency financial managers. But governments are fighting back. Apple  (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) was questioned before a Senate subcommittee to figure out how it lessens its tax burden, which the Senate's report claimed amounted to $10 billion in tax avoidance per year. While the federal corporate tax rate is set at about 35%, Apple's 2011 annual report showed a federal tax rate of 20%, but its IRS returns recorded a payment that amounted to only a 7% tax rate.

Governments will be looking to tighten loopholes and take a greater share of corporate profits to sustain themselves.

Overseas profits
Surowiecki cites a study that says, on average, that an S&P 500 company earns 46% of profit from abroad. That's a completely different picture from even a decade ago. However, America is now often cited as the strongest economy while Europe deals with its economic crises and China fights falling growth. In addition, the latest Bureau of Economic Analysis numbers show that "the rest-of-the-world component of profits decreased $33.0 billion in the first quarter, in contrast to an increase of $24.1 billion in the fourth."

Weak labor
Surowiecki's final point rests on a weak labor market that has lost negotiating power with employers. The result is lower wages for workers but higher profits for the company. This factor might stick around awhile, as even though the unemployment rate is falling, it's taking a while to return to what is considered normal. Of course, there is always populist pressure to return more profits to workers. Take the Occupy protests, for example, or the Federal Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which would increase the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10.10 per hour by 2015.

A profit top or a temporary dip
There were previous dips in corporate profits while they've marched to their historic highs, and it will take a few more data points before confirming any trends. These are definitely things to keep an eye on, as stock prices are ultimately based upon future profits.

The best investing approach is to choose great companies and stick with them for the long term. The Motley Fool's free report "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich" names stocks that could help you build long-term wealth and retire well, along with some winning wealth-building strategies that every investor should be aware of. Click here now to keep reading.

McDonald's CEO: I Lost Weight by Being More Active

NEW YORK (AP) -- They might start calling it the McDiet.

McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) CEO Don Thompson revealed at an analyst conference this week that he shed about 20 pounds in the past year by getting his "butt up" and "working out again." But he said he hasn't changed his habit of eating at McDonald's "every single day."

Thompson, who has been on the job for less than a year, was responding to a question about how the company is adapting amid growing concerns about obesity.

Thompson said that he lost the weight by getting active again. He noted that Europeans walk a lot and that it's rare to see Europeans that are "very, very heavy."

"And so I think that balance is really important to people," he said.

The remarks come as fast-food chains and packaged food companies face criticism about making products that fuel obesity rates. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO  ) , for example, recently started a campaign seeking to highlight its healthier, low-calorie drinks as well as the importance of physical activity in a balanced lifestyle.

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For its part, McDonald's in recent years has boosted its marketing to highlight healthier menu options, including salads, chicken wraps, and egg white breakfast sandwiches.

At the Sanford Bernstein conference on Wednesday, Thompson noted that customers have many options at the fast-food chain. For example, he said someone might get a Big Mac one day and a grilled chicken salad with balsamic vinaigrette another day.

Earlier in the talk, however, Thompson also said that salads make up just 2 percent to 3 percent of sales. He said there were other ways the company could incorporate fruits and vegetables into its menu, pointing to the chicken wraps it recently introduced.

But going forward, he said: "I don't see salads being a major growth driver."

Google to Retire Checkout, Transitions to Wallet

Over the next six months, Google  (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) will retire the Google Checkout platform and developers will have to redeem purchases through Google Wallet. For a year now, Google Play customers have used Wallet to make their purchases.

Google says it's making the shift to help merchants "benefit from the growing consumer adoption of mobile commerce." As consumers purchase from multiple devices, Wallet seems to best adapt to developers' and customers' needs. 

While most app developers will undergo a seamless transition to Wallet, some developers will see the following changes: 

Sellers of physical goods or services will no longer be able to use Checkout after Nov. 20. Google is providing discounted migration options.  Google Checkout for the Notifications and/or Order Reports software will need to migrate to replacement software before Nov. 20. The replacement software will be available through Google Play. 

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Developers that sell apps or in-app products in Google Play will soon have access to the new Wallet Merchant Center. There, they'll have access to new reporting and analytic features. Other developers will see the switch to Wallet over the next several weeks.

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Shares of Video Game Makers Soar Amid Sluggish Sales

Sales of video games and consoles have been sluggish, but shares of the game makers are soaring.

The research group NPD reports that domestic sales of video games by retailers fell nearly 10 percent in the first-quarter.

But investors are overlooking some middling performance and focusing on what they hope will be an exciting future.

So far this year, shares of Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) have both soared by more than 40 percent. Industry leader Electronic Arts (EA) is up 24 percent.

And retailer Gamestop (GME) has beat them all, up 49 percent since the beginning of the year.

Electronic Arts and Activision will report first quarter results this week, and analysts aren't expecting anything special.

Invision for Xbox/AP Images So what's driving the stocks higher despite so-so performance? It's the expectation for a new round in the console war, with new Xbox and PlayStation models rolling out in time for the holidays. Microsoft (MSFT) is expected to unveil the new Xbox on May 21st.

And we already know Sony's (SNE) PlayStation 4 will have touch-sensing controllers and a 'share' button to allow gamers to live-cast their play to friends. Sony is likely to release more details at next month's E3 videogame conference.

In the meantime, though, console sales have slumped as gamers await the new models, or anticipate that current models will be deeply discounted.

As for the game makers, they've had some high profile releases this year. EA has "Crysis 3" and "Dead Space 3". Analysts will be watching sales of those games when the company reports.

EA has also been dealing with the surprise resignation in mid-March of its CEO. The company has not yet named a replacement. And the company warned that its earnings for the first-quarter were likely to fall short of Wall Street expectations.

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A fourth video game maker, THQ, filed for bankruptcy in December, and it's in the process of selling of its business in parts.

The tepid offering of new games has weighed on Game Stop. The retailer is also dealing with a customer base that has been migrating to cheaper mobile and social games. EA forecasts that digitally delivered video games may account for half of its sales by 2015.

Which Automaker Rules the Globe by 2020?

With vehicle sales in the U.S. surging, the race to crown this year's No. 1 automaker is off to a fast start. It comes down to three players: Toyota (NYSE: TM  ) , which reclaimed the title from General Motors (NYSE: GM  ) in 2012, and Volkswagen (NASDAQOTH: VLKAY  ) . Volkswagen was brazen enough to claim it would top all automakers globally by 2018. The recession threw in an initial speed bump, but Volkswagen has since had three strong years and continues to build momentum globally.

With one fourth of the year in the books, let's break it down and see who has the early lead. Let's also look long-term and see if Volkswagen could end up No. 1 as soon as 2018. 

By the numbers
Toyota takes the early lead, reporting sales of 2.43 million vehicles in the first three months of 2013. That was good enough to narrowly top GM, which reported 2.36 million, and Volkswagen, at 2.27 million. Comparing those numbers to the same time period in 2012, you can see a slightly different trend. Toyota sales declined 2.2%, while GM and Volkswagen surged 3.6% and 5.1% respectively.

We can quickly name one large reason behind Toyota's decline -- China. Its sales dropped 13% from a year earlier. After a territorial dispute between China and Japan, Toyota and Honda vehicle sales tanked in the region, and haven't fully returned. Ford, GM, and Volkswagen were all beneficiaries of this, and quickly ate up the market share.

Racing forward
Throughout the rest of this decade, we're going to witness a drastic change in the emerging markets and how their sales stack up against mature markets. Europe, once a global bright spot in vehicle sales, is projected to remain flat or have minimal growth -- maybe reaching 15 million vehicles by 2020. The U.S. is expected to grow sales to about 20 million vehicles. Meanwhile, In addition to China's 19.3 million vehicles sold last year, it's expected to grow its sales by the size of Europe's current market – roughly 12 million vehicles.

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U.S. and China are key for this decade
Success in the U.S. and China will largely determine which automaker finishes on top by 2018. This bodes well for GM and Volkswagen, which both enjoy dominant positions in the Chinese market. GM sells a wide range of vehicles, and Volkswagen's Audi – the company's high-margin luxury line – is beloved by the Chinese.

Both are gunning to increase their presence in the rapidly growing region. Volkswagen announced it will spend nearly $13 billion investing in seven new plants in China -- five of which start construction this year. GM also aims to grow its production capacity, adding four plants over the next three years.

One thing GM has over Volkswagen is that it already has a dominant position in the U.S. market. That said, Volkswagen has made strides here recently, selling 580,000 vehicles in 2012 – up 31%. That's still a long shot off of the company's goal to top 1 million, which it will need to reach to have a shot at becoming the global leader.

Bottom line
There's plenty of time before 2018 for things to go awry with any one of these three automakers -- and choosing which one will end up on top is no easy task. I'll go out on a limb and say that Toyota, which has enjoyed its recent reign as No. 1, will be relegated to third place. I expect GM to finish cleaning up operations and improve margins. It's also redesigning, replacing, or refreshing 90% of its vehicles by 2016. Once GM's entire vehicle portfolio dust-off is complete, I expect a substantial increase in vehicle sales. Only time will tell if it will be enough to overtake Toyota and hold off Volkswagen.

The automotive industry is cyclical, and there's no doubt it's beginning to rebound from the lows seen in recent years. Companies are now leaner and more profitable -- finally giving us a reason to consider them as potential investments. Investors who are able to choose the right automaker and hold long term will realize large gains for their portfolio. What do you think ... which one ends up on top? 

Worried about GM?
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