Best Integrated Utility Companies For 2014

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) opened 10 points lower than its record-high close yesterday. Though yesterday's gains were boosted by positive economic data, investors seem to be pulling back due to continued uncertainty revolving around the Fed's plan for its stimulus policy. As of this writing, the Dow is down 172 points and headed lower.

Economic data releases are limited today, with only the MBA mortgage purchase application survey coming out this morning. The newest data shows an 8.8% decrease in application activity, driven by a 12% decrease in refinancing applications. Since refinancing activity accounts for 71% of the overall applications, this data is not necessarily a bad sign for the housing market. Purchase applications for new mortgages increased 3% versus the previous week, and with the recent home price data showing a rise in prices due to higher demand, mortgage applications may begin commanding a bigger share of the applications activity.

Best Integrated Utility Companies For 2014: ENQUEST PLC ORD GBP0.05(ENQ.L)

EnQuest PLC engages in the exploration, extraction, development, and production of hydrocarbons in the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS). Its principal assets include the Thistle, Deveron, Heather, Broom, West Don, and Don Southwest fields. The company has working interests in 26 production licenses covering 34 blocks or part blocks in the UKCS. As of December 31, 2010, its assets had total net proved plus probable oil and natural gas liquid reserves of 88.5 million barrels of oil equivalents. The company was incorporated in 2010 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Best Integrated Utility Companies For 2014: Facebook Inc (FB)

Facebook, Inc. (Facebook), incorporated in July 2004, is engaged in building products to create utility for users, developers, and advertisers. People use Facebook to stay connected with their friends and family, to discover what is going on in the world around them, and to share and express what matters to them to the people they care about. Developers can use the Facebook Platform to build applications and Websites that integrate with Facebook to reach its global network of users and to build personalized and social products. Advertisers can engage with more than 900 million monthly active users (MAUs) on Facebook or subsets of its users based on information they have chosen to share with the Company, such as their age, location, gender, or interests. It offers advertisers a combination of reach, relevance, social context and engagement.

Products for Users

The Company�� products for users are free of charge and available on the Web, mobile Web, and mobile platforms, such as Android and iOS. It launched Timeline in September 2011, as an enhanced and updated version of the Facebook Profile. Timeline allows users to organize and display the events and activities that matter most to them, enabling them to curate their memories in a searchable personal narrative that is organized chronologically. Users choose what information to share on their Timeline, such as their interests, photos, education, work history, relationship status, and contact information, and users can control with whom each piece of content is shared on their Timeline. The Facebook News Feed is the core feature of a user�� homepage and is a regularly updating list of stories from friends, Pages, and other entities to which a user is connected on Facebook. It includes posts, photos, event updates, group memberships, app updates, and other activities. Each user�� News Feed is personalized based on his or her interests and the sharing activity of the user�� friends.

Facebook is a photo upload! ing service on the Web. Users can upload an unlimited number of high resolution photos, create photo albums, and share them with their friends or any audience they choose. Users can also upload and share videos. Users can set specific privacy settings for each of their photo albums and videos, making them visible to everyone, or only to certain friends. Users can arrange their photos, add captions, and tag people in a photo or video. Tagging allows users to identify a person in a photo or video as one of their friends. Its messaging products include email, chat, and text messaging. Groups are shared Facebook pages for groups of users to discuss common interests. Lists allow users to organize their friends in order to filter the stories shown in their News Feeds and reach or exclude specific people when they share on Facebook. Through Events, users can organize gatherings, manage invitations, and send event notifications and reminders to their friends. From the Events page, users can create a new event, check out upcoming events of interest to them and their friends, and view previous events.

Through Places, users can share their location and see where their friends are. They are able to see if any of their friends are nearby. Users can also check in to Places to tell their friends where they are, tag their friends in the Places they visit, or view Comments their friends have made about the Places they visit. Using Subscribe, users can sign up to receive public posts in their News Feeds from other Facebook users of interest, such as celebrities, thought leaders, and other public figures. Ticker is a live stream of the real-time activities of a user�� friends and the Pages and other entities to which the user is connected. On the top of each Facebook page, a highlighted icon is displayed to users when there is relevant and new information available to them, such as a new friend request, a new message from a friend, or an alert that the user has been tagged in a photo posted by a friend.

A Facebook Page is a public profile that allows anyone, including artists, public figures, businesses, brands, organizations, and charities to create a presence on Facebook and engage with the Facebook community. A Page owner can connect with interested users in order to provide updates, answer questions, receive feedback, or otherwise stimulate interest in the owner�� messages, products, and services. When a Facebook user likes a Page, the Page owner has the opportunity to publish stories to the user�� News Feed on an ongoing basis. In addition, when a Facebook user Likes or Comments on a post by a Page owner, that user�� action may be shared with the user�� friends via News Feed to drive awareness to a wider circle of users, increasing the Page�� exposure, recognition, and engagement. The Company does not charge for Pages, nor does it charge for the resulting organic distribution. As of March 31, 2012, there were more than 42 million Pages with 10 or more Likes, including Harvard, Lady Gaga, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Starbucks, and Boo (the World�� Cutest Dog), as well as millions of local businesses.

Products for Developers

The Facebook Platform is a set of tools and application programming interfaces (APIs) that developers can use to build social apps on Facebook or to integrate their Websites with Facebook. As of March 31, 2012, more than nine million applications and Websites were integrated with Facebook. Some of the elements of the Facebook Platform include open graph, social plugins, payments, applications on Facebook, desktop applications, mobile applications and platform-integrated Websites. The Open Graph is a set of APIs that developers can use to build applications and Websites that enable users to share their activities with friends on Facebook. Social plugins are social features that developers can easily integrate with their Websites by incorporating a single line of HyperText Markup Language (HTML) code.

Facebook provides an o! nline pay! ments infrastructure that enables developers to receive payments from users through a secure system. The Company has designed its Payments infrastructure to streamline the buying process between its users and developers. Its Payments system enables users to purchase virtual or digital goods from developers and third-party Websites by using debit and credit cards, PayPal, mobile phone payments, gift cards or other methods. Applications on Facebook run within the Facebook Website. The Facebook Platform has also enabled new types of social applications on Facebook beyond games to facilitate social sharing and discovery of music, news, television programming, and everyday interests, such as cooking, fitness, and travel. Developers can also build desktop apps that run on the operating system of a personal computer and offer experiences that are integrated with the Facebook Platform. The Facebook Platform for mobile has enabled developers to create engaging mobile applications that integrate with Facebook�� social and personalization capabilities. Websites can integrate with Facebook using social plugins, such as the Like button or design more deeply integrated social experiences built around users and their friends.

Products for Advertisers and Marketers

Facebook offers products that enable advertisers and marketers to leverage its combination of reach, relevance, social context, and engagement. When creating a Facebook ad, advertisers can specify a title, content, image, and destination Web page or Facebook Page to which a user is directed if he or she clicks on the ad. Advertisers can further engage their intended audiences by incorporating social context with their marketing messages. Social context includes actions a user�� friends have taken, such as Liking the advertiser�� Facebook Page. Ads with social context are shown only to a user�� friends, and the user�� privacy settings apply to social ads. It offers a range of ads with social context, from an ad with a sing! le Like b! utton to its Premium Ad paired with social context, which allows advertisers to highlight the interactions of a user�� friends with a brand or product.

Sponsored stories enable marketers to promote the stories they publish from their Facebook Page to users who have connected with the Page or to amplify the distribution of stories users are already sharing that are relevant to their marketing efforts. When advertisers create an ad campaign with Facebook, they specify the types of users they would like to reach based on information that users chose to share about their age, location, gender, relationship status, educational history, workplace, and interests. Advertisers choose to pay for their ads based on either cost per thousand impressions (CPM) on a fixed or bidded basis or cost per click (CPC) on a bidded basis. Facebook ad analytics enable advertisers to gain insights into which ads were displayed and clicked on. These analytics help advertisers make modifications to their ad campaigns. Advertisers with Facebook Pages can also view the number of users who Liked and Commented on their Page and a newly introduced metric, People Talking About This, which shows how many stories about their brand are being created and shared.

The Company competes with Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Cyworld, Mixi and vKontakte.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ryan Peckyno]

  According to the article, Facebook was named the “top large-cap pick” for 2013 by J.P. Morgan.  Admittedly, over the past 3 months Facebook has had a nice run, rising by more than 50%.  As the disclaimers in investment prospectus love to say, however, past performance is not indicative of future performance.  But what I found even more confounding was that the price target was set at $35 – which is a mere 12% more than Facebook is trading at today.  My question: How could a stock with a considerable amount of risk and fairly limited expected upside be the “top large-cap pick”?  According to analyst Doug Anmuth, “we believe it is still very early in Facebook’s mobile advertising trajectory, and marketer feedback on mobile and News Feed ads is now more positive.”

• [By Lisa Springer]

  Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) ruined about as many investors after a sham of an IPO as it has marriages. That was then. The social networking giant finds itself in a much more favorable outlook at the start of 2013 than it did even a few months ago, and its key lock-up expirations have mostly been seen. Facebook’s biggest challenge had been how it will capitalize off of (and avoid cannibalization from) mobile use, but Wall St. is now looking more supportive than ever. Facebook has the chance to be one major search contender if it chooses to, and the lower dependence upon Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) will help its social gaming efforts in the long run. Facebook has a rabid base of users, and those users seem to have unlimited time that they are willing to “like” their Facebook efforts.

  Facebook shares rose at the end of 2012 and have so far added to the gains in 2013. Shares are now at $29.42, and the stock has a post-IPO trading range of $17.55 to $45.00. Its market value is $63 billion and the consensus price target is now becoming closer and closer at $31.89. Analysts have upgraded the stock, but as of now this consensus target implies upside of only about 8.4%. Facebook trades at close to 45-times its expected 2013 earnings.

Top Gold Stocks To Own For 2014: Genetic Technologies Ltd (GENE)

Genetic Technologies Limited provides genetic testing services. It offers a range of DNA based genetic tests for cancer predisposition, including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, bowel cancer, and uterine cancer; neurogenetic diagnostic assays; and gene testing for gene related disorders. The company also provides forensics tests, such as presumptive and confirmatory testing, individual DNA profiling, species identification, and animal forensic testing; paternity tests, which include antenatal, deceased estate, grandparent, immigration, legal paternity, non-legal paternity, sibling, twins, and Y-Chromosome DNA testing, as well as DNA profiling; and personal DNA testing comprising sports performance and ancestry gene testing. In addition, it offers animals� tests consisting of disease testing, breed identification, coat color, and forensic DNA testing, as well as DNA clinical services; and plant tests, including genomic and Xpress sequencing services. Further, the company is involved in the out-licensing of its intellectual property relating to non-coding DNA; and research and development activities in the areas of genetics and related fields. It operates in Australia, the United States, China, Canada, and Switzerland. The company was formerly known as Duketon Goldfields N.L. and changed it name to Genetic Technologies Limited in August 2000 as a result of the change in business from mining to biotechnology. Genetic Technologies Limited is headquartered in Fitzroy, Australia

Best Integrated Utility Companies For 2014: O'Charley's Inc.(CHUX)

O?Charley?s Inc. operates as a multi-concept restaurant company in the United States. The company owns and operates a network of casual-dining restaurants under the O?Charley?s, Ninety Nine, and Stoney River Legendary Steaks names. As of December 25, 2011, it operated 221 company-owned O?Charley?s brand restaurants in 17 states in the east, southeast, and Midwest, as well as 6 franchised O?Charley?s restaurants in 4 states; 105 Ninety Nine brand restaurants in 7 states in New England and upstate New York; and 10 Stoney River restaurants in 6 states in the east, southeast, and midwest regions. O?Charley?s Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.

Best Integrated Utility Companies For 2014: China Precision Steel Inc.(CPSL)

China Precision Steel, Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of high precision cold-rolled steel products primarily in the People?s Republic of China. Its products include high strength and ultra-thin cold-rolled precision steel coils and sheets with reduced thickness ranging from 7.5 mm to 0.03 mm comprising low carbon steel used in steel roofing, food packaging, dry batteries, electronic devices, and kitchen tools; and high carbon steel for automobile parts and components, grinding pieces, saw blades, and weaving needles, as well as for use in microelectronics. The company also provides steel processing for tailor made cold rolled steel products; and heat treatment, and cutting and slitting of medium and high-carbon hot-rolled steel strips not exceeding 7.5 mm thickness. It sells its products to components manufactures and directly to the end-users in China; and exports to Indonesia, Thailand, the Caribbean, Nigeria, and Ethiopia. China Precision Steel, Inc. is headq uartered in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong.

Best Integrated Utility Companies For 2014: Bassett Furniture Industries Incorporated(BSET)

Bassett Furniture Industries, Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture, marketing, import, and retail of branded home furnishings in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Wholesale, Retail, and Investments and Real Estate. The Wholesale segment engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, sale, and distribution of furniture products and accessories to a network of 89 Bassett Home Furnishings stores, including independently-owned and company-owned retail stores; and independent furniture retailers. This segment is also involved in wood and upholstery operations. The Retail segment operates 39 licensee-owned stores and 49 company-owned and operated stores in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. The Investments a nd Real Estate segment consists of retail real estate related to licensee stores; equity investments in Zenith Freight Lines, LLC; and investments in marketable securities; investment in the Fortress Value Recovery Fund I, LLC. Bassett Furniture Industries, Incorporated was founded in 1902 and is based in Bassett, Virginia.