Best US Stocks To Watch For 2014

Over the past five years, economists have been waging a fierce battle over if and when fiscal stimulus is an appropriate tool to fight the deleterious effects of the ongoing crisis.

On one side are the Keynesians, taking their name from the great 19th-century British economist John Maynard Keynes who believed that the most effective way to combat high unemployment is through direct government intervention in the economy -- that is, by building things like roads and bridges. On the other side are classical economists who take the position that government spending is ineffective because it crowds out, or takes the place of, private spending. To this group, an economy is a zero-sum game.

If you've read about the Great Depression or studied economics, you'd be excused for finding the latter hypothesis difficult to reconcile with history. I say this because most reasonable minds would agree that government spending during World War II is what fully and finally lurched the U.S. economy back into action. It's for this reason the classical view was in desperate need of an alternative explanation for its long-held disdain for fiscal stimulus.

Best India Stocks To Buy Right Now: Copa Holdings SA (CPA)

Copa Holdings, S.A. (Copa Holdings), incorporated on May 06, 1998, is a Latin American provider of airline passenger and cargo service through its two principal operating subsidiaries, Copa Airlines and Copa Colombia. Copa Airlines operates from its position in the Republic of Panama, and Copa Colombia provides service within Colombia and international flights from various cities in Colombia to Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala and Costa Rica, complemented with service within Colombia. As of December 31, 2012, the Company operated a fleet of 83 aircraft with an average age of 5.13 years; consisting of 57 modern Boeing 737-Next Generation aircraft and 26 Embraer 190 aircraft. . As of December 31, 2012, the Company offers approximately 334 daily scheduled flights among 64 destinations in 29 countries in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, mainly from its Panama City Hub.

Copa provides passengers with access to flights to more than 150 other destinations through codeshare arrangements with UAL pursuant to which each airline places its name and flight designation code on the other�� flights. As of December 31, 2012, Copa had firm orders, including purchase and lease commitments, for 35 additional Boeing 737-Next Generation aircraft. Copa also has options for an additional 14 Boeing 737-Next Generation aircraft.

The Company competes with Avianca-Taca, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and LAN Group.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Arie Goren]

  After running this screen on May 21, 2013, before the markets' open, I discovered the following eight stocks: Sunoco Logistics Partners LP (SXL), Leggett & Platt Inc (LEG), Copa Holdings SA (CPA), RPC Inc. (RES), Tupperware Brands Corp. (TUP), Herbalife Ltd. (HLF), John Wiley & Sons Inc. (JW.A) and C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (CHRW).

• [By Michael J. Carr]

  Copa Holdings (NYSE: CPA) is also undervalued with a PEG ratio of 0.53. Copa Holdings provides airline passenger and cargo services within Colombia and international flights from various cities in Colombia to Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala and Costa Rica.

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  Analysts at JPMorgan maintained an Overweight rating on Copa Holdings (NYSE: CPA) with a price target raised to $168 from a previous $163. Shares lost 0.25 percent, closing at $125.38.

Best US Stocks To Watch For 2014: Xerox Corporation(XRX)

Xerox Corporation provides business process and information technology (IT) outsourcing, and document management services worldwide. Its business process outsourcing services include human resources services; finance and accounting services; healthcare payers and pharma; customer management solutions; healthcare provider solutions; technology-based transactional services for retail, travel, and non-healthcare insurance companies; programs for federal, state, county, and town governments; transportation solutions; and government healthcare solutions. The company is involved in designing, developing, and delivering IT solutions, such as comprehensive systems support, systems administration, database administration, systems monitoring, batch processing, data backup, and capacity planning services; telecommunications management services; and desktop services. Its document outsourcing services comprise managed print services that optimize, rationalize, and manage the operation of Xerox and non-Xerox print devices; and communication and marketing services that deliver design, communication, marketing, logistic, and distribution services through SMS, Web, email, and mobile, as well as print media. The company also manufactures and sells products, including desktop monochrome, color and compact printers, multifunction printers, copiers, digital printing presses, and light production devices for small/mid-size businesses and large enterprises. In addition, it sells paper, wide-format systems, network integration solutions, and electronic presentation systems. The company sells its products and solutions through its sales force, as well as through a network of independent agents, dealers, value-added resellers, systems integrators, and the Web. Xerox Corporation was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James Brumley]

  In fact, that same 200-day line has been acting as technical support since September.

  Xerox (XRX)

  12/2 Price: $11.56

  For years now, the self-proclaimed experts have been calling for�Xerox’s (XRX) death, explaining that the photocopier has gone the way of the Edsel.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Xerox (XRX) has fallen 1.9% to $10.20 after it received a “Wells Notice” from the SEC, which is investigating the accounting at one of its units.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Since the beginning of December, 3D Systems Inc. (NYSE: DDD) has made three acquisitions. The latest one was announced Wednesday morning — the 3D printing company acquired a team of engineers and other assets from Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) for $32.5 million in cash. Earlier in December, 3D Systems acquired a maker of 3D printer materials based in Ohio and ceramics printer company Figulo.

• [By Nicolas73]

  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.

Best US Stocks To Watch For 2014: Newell Rubbermaid Inc.(NWL)

Newell Rubbermaid Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets consumer and commercial products. It operates in three segments: Home & Family, Office Products, and Tools, Hardware & Commercial Products. The Home & Family segment offers indoor/outdoor organization, food storage, and home storage products; infant and juvenile products, such as car seats, strollers, highchairs, and playards; drapery hardware, window treatments, and cabinet hardware; gourmet cookware, bakeware, cutlery, and small kitchen electrics; and hair care accessories and grooming products to mass merchants, specialty stores, and grocery/drug and department stores. The Office Products segment provides writing instruments, including pens, pencils, markers and highlighters, and art products; fine writing instruments and leather goods; office technology solutions, such as label makers and printers, interactive teaching solutions, and on-line postage to mass merchants, warehouse clubs, grocery/drug stores, office superstores, contract stationers, and retailers. The Tools, Hardware & Commercial Products segment offers industrial bandsaw blades and cutting tools for pipes and HVAC systems; hand tools and power tool accessories; manual paint applicators, window hardware, and convenience hardware; cleaning and refuse products, hygiene systems, material handling solutions, medical and computer carts, and wall-mounted workstations to mass merchants, home centers, department stores, hardware and commercial products distributors, industrial/construction outlets, custom shops, select contract customers, and professional customers. It sells its products under Rubbermaid, Graco, Aprica, Levolor, Kirsch, Amerock, Calphalon, Goody, Sharpie, Expo, Dymo, Paper Mate, Parker, Waterman, Lenox, Irwin, Shur-line, and Bulldog brands. The company operates in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. Newell Rubbermaid Inc. was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  Alticor
  Avon Products (NYSE: AVP  )
  Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE: NWL  )

  Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

• [By DAILYFINANCE]

  Alamy DETROIT -- Graco is recalling nearly 3.8 million car safety seats because children can get trapped by buckles that may not unlatch. But the company has drawn the ire of federal safety regulators who say the recall should include another 1.8 million rear-facing car seats designed for infants. The recall covers 11 models made from 2009 through 2013 by Graco Children's Products of Atlanta, a unit of Newell Rubbermaid (NWL). It's the fourth-largest child seat recall in U.S. history, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the government's road safety watchdog. The agency warned that the problem could make it "difficult to remove the child from the restraint, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a vehicle crash, fire or other emergency." NHTSA also criticized Graco in a sternly-worded letter dated Tuesday, saying the recall excludes seven infant car seat models with the same buckles. Both the company and NHTSA have received complaints about stuck buckles on the infant seats, the agency said. "Some of these consumers have had no choice but to resort to the extreme measure of cutting the harness straps to remove their child from the car seat," the NHTSA letter said. The agency wants Graco to identify the total number of seats that potentially have the defect and explain why it excluded the infant seats. NHTSA, which began investigating the seats in October of 2012, said the investigation remains open. The agency said it could hold a public hearing and require Graco to add the infant seats. Graco, a division of Atlanta-based Newell Rubbermaid, told The Associated Press that its tests found that food or beverages can make the harness buckles in the children's seats sticky and harder to use over time. Rear-facing infant seats aren't being recalled because infants don't get food or drinks on their seats, Graco spokeswoman Ashley Mowrey said. But Mowrey said Graco will send replacement buckles to owners of infant seats upon re

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NWL) announced on Wednesday that it has finalized the sale of its Hardware business.

  The sale, which was first reported on August 9, was completed on Wednesday. Nova Capital has acquired NWL’s Hardware business which includes the Amerock, Ashland, Bulldog and Shur-Line brands.

  NWL will receive approximately $175 million in after-tax proceeds from the sale.

  Newell Rubbermaid shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Wednesday. The stock has increased 18% YTD.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Friday’s session are United Parcel Service Inc.(UPS), Newell Rubbermaid Inc.(NWL) and National Oilwell Varco Inc.(NOV)

Best US Stocks To Watch For 2014: Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc (BR)

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (Broadridge), incorporated on March 29, 2007, is a global provider of investor communications and technology-driven solutions to banks/broker-dealers, mutual funds and corporate issuers. The Company's systems and services include investor communication solutions, and securities processing and operations outsourcing solutions. It operates in two segments: Investor Communication Solutions and Securities Processing Solutions. The Company provides the infrastructure that helps the financial services industry operate. It serves a client base across its four businesses: Bank/Broker-Dealer Communications, Mutual Fund and Retirement Solutions, Corporate Issuer Solutions, and Bank/Broker-Dealer Technology and Operations. It delivers a range of solutions that help its clients serve their retail and institutional customers across the entire investment lifecycle, including pre-trade, trade and post-trade processing. In February 2014, the Company announced that it has acquired Emerald Connect, LLC, a provider of websites and related communications solutions for financial advisors, from StoneRiver Group, L.P.

Investor Communication Solutions

The Company's Bank/Broker-Dealer Communications, Mutual Funds and Retirement Solutions and Corporate Issuer Solutions businesses operate within this segment. A large portion of the Company's Investor Communication Solutions business involves the processing and distribution of proxy materials to investors in equity securities and mutual funds, as well as the facilitation of related vote processing. ProxyEdge, its electronic proxy delivery and voting solution for institutional investors and financial advisors, helps ensure the participation of the stockholders of many companies. The Company also provides the distribution of regulatory reports and corporate action/reorganization event information, as well as tax reporting solutions that help its clients meet their regulatory compliance needs. In addition, it provides f! inancial information distribution and transaction reporting services to both financial institutions and securities issuers. These services include the processing and distribution of account statements and trade confirmations, traditional and personalized document fulfillment and content management services, marketing communications, and imaging, archival and workflow solutions that enable and enhance the Company's clients' communications with investors. All of these communications are delivered in paper or electronic form. In addition, Broadridge provides corporate issuers with registrar, stock transfer and record-keeping services.

The Company distributes more than one billion investor communications annually through a combination of physical and electronic channels. Through the Company's governance activities, Broadridge has a service relationship with every major mutual fund complex in the United States. Broadridge is an independent provider of retirement fund processing and provides data-driven market intelligence, specialized marketing communications and fund governance. Broadridge serves corporate issuers with a variety of their needs, including proxy and transfer agency services, both domestically and globally.

The Company provides proxy distribution, vote tabulation, and various additional investor communication tools and services to institutional investors, corporate issuers and investment companies. The Company handles the entire proxy materials distribution and voting processes for its bank and broker-dealer clients on-line and in real-time, from coordination with third-party entities to ordering, inventory maintenance, mailing, tracking and vote tabulation. It offers electronic proxy delivery services for the electronic delivery of proxy materials to investors and collection of consents; maintenance of a database that contains the delivery method preferences of its clients' customers; posting of documents on the Internet; e-mail notification to investors notifying th! em that p! roxy materials are available, and proxy voting over the Internet, mobile devices and tablets. The Company also provides a complete reorganization communications solution to notify investors of reorganizations or corporate action events, such as tender offers, mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcies and class action lawsuits.

The Company offers its bank and brokerage clients financial information distribution and transaction reporting services to help them meet their regulatory compliance requirements and business needs, including prospectus fulfillment services; electronic prospectus services; PostEdge, its electronic document archival and electronic delivery solution for documents, including trade confirmations, tax documents and account statements; marketing communications; imaging, archival and workflow solutions, and on-demand digital print services. In addition, the Company offers its Mailbox productsAdvisor Mailbox and Investor Mailbox, which provides a holistic network environment that support and complements any investor communication strategy. The Company's Advisor Mailbox is an electronic communications platform for financial advisors that delivers immediate electronic access to the communications and documents sent to such advisors' customers. Advisor Mailbox streamlines multiple communication paths for all investor-related documents into a single-visit portal that is integrated onto an advisor's platform.

The Company offers tax services to financial services firms that support their various information year-end reporting (e.g., Forms 1099) and withholding requirements, with a focus on securities and fund processing/clearance operations. The Company's tax data services provide tax content and data management, including securities tax classifications and reclassifications, calculations of original issue discount and other accrual and cost basis adjusting events. The Company's tax managed services provide technology and personnel outsourcing, withholding services and cl! ient repo! rting, including print/electronic distribution and archival.

The Company provides a suite of services to manage the entire proxy voting process of institutional investors, including fulfilling their fiduciary obligations and meeting their reporting needs, such as ProxyEdge, its workflow solution that integrates ballots for positions held across multiple custodians and presents them under a single proxy. ProxyEdge also provides for client reporting and regulatory reporting. ProxyEdge can be utilized for meetings of United States and Canadian companies and for meetings in many non-North American countries based on the holdings of the Company's global custodian clients. The Company is a processor and provider of investor communication solutions to public companies. It offers its corporate issuer clients many tools to facilitate their communications with investors, such as Internet and telephone proxy voting, electronic delivery of corporate filings, and householding of communications to stockholders at the same address. It also offers proxy services to non-North American corporate issuers in connection with their general and special meetings of stockholders. The Company's corporate issuers services include ShareLink, which provides complete project management for the beneficial and registered proxy process.

The Company's Shareholder Forum solution is an online venue that offers public companies the ability to host structured, controlled communication with their shareholders on a timely and regular basis. The Company's Virtual Shareholder Meeting service provides corporate issuers in a number of states with the ability to host their annual meeting electronically on the Internet, either on a stand-alone basis, or in conjunction with their physical annual meeting.

The Company provides a range of tools that enable mutual funds to communicate with audiences of investors and often with substantial cost savings. The Company's solutions allow mutual funds to centralize all in! vestor co! mmunications through one resource. The Company also provides printing and mailing of regulatory reports, prospectuses and proxy materials, as well as proxy solicitation services. In addition, it distributes marketing communications and informational materials and creates on-demand enrollment materials for mutual fund investors. Its position in the industry enables the Company to manage the entire communication process with both registered and beneficial stockholders. The Company's SalesVision platform provides data aggregation and data management solutions. SalesVision is software delivered as a service (SaaS) and assists mutual funds in processing commission and distribution payments, monitoring their compliance with regulatory requirements, and assembling shareholder and intermediary data in a form to better drive their sales strategy and marketing programs. The Company provides mutual fund processing services for third party administrators, financial advisors, banks and wealth management professionals through its subsidiary Matrix Financial Solutions, Inc.

Securities Processing Solutions

The Company's Bank/Broker-Dealer Technology and Operations business operates within this segment. The Company offers a suite of advanced computerized real-time transaction processing services that automate the securities transaction lifecycle, from desktop productivity tools, data aggregation, performance reporting, and portfolio management to order capture and execution, trade confirmation, settlement and accounting. The Company's services help financial institutions consolidate their books and records, gather and service assets under management, focus on their core businesses and manage risk. In addition, the Company's operations outsourcing solutions allow broker-dealers to outsource certain administrative functions relating to clearing and settlement, from order entry to trade matching and settlement, while maintaining their ability to finance and capitalize their business. Broadridge is! a back- ! and middle-office securities processing platform for North American and global broker-dealers. Provided on an application service provider (ASP) basis, Broadridge's platform is a global market solution, clearing and settling in over 50 countries.

The Company's securities processing solutions automate the transaction lifecycle of equity, mutual fund, fixed income, and option securities trading operations, from order capture and execution through trade confirmation, settlement, custody and accounting. The Company's services facilitate the automation of straight-through-processing operations and enable financial institutions to efficiently and cost-effectively consolidate their books and records, gather and service assets under management, focus on their core businesses, and manage risk. With the Company's multi-currency capabilities, the Company supports trading activities on a global basis.

The Company provides a set of multi-currency systems that support real-time processing of securities transactions in North American equities, options, fixed income securities and mutual funds. Brokerage Processing Services (BPS) is the Company's core multi-currency back-office processing system that supports real-time processing of transactions in the United States markets. The Company also offers a version of BPS for processing Canadian securities. In addition to the Company's BPS offering, the Company provides specialized transaction processing tools and services for small to mid-market financial firms in the United States and Canada that are operated on separate Broadridge technology platforms. The Company's securities processing services can be integrated with the Company's Web-based desktop applications, wealth management tools, enterprise workflow, automated inquiry reporting and record-keeping services.

The Company provides advanced multi-currency transaction processing solutions for institutional and retail securities operations, corporate actions, and business processes ! outsourci! ng services, such as data cleansing. The Company also provides operations outsourcing services relating to a variety of securities clearing, record-keeping, and custody-related functions. The Company's clients execute and clear their securities transactions and engage the Company to perform a number of related administrative back-office functions, such as record-keeping and reconciliations.

The Company's core systems for processing equity, option, and mutual fund transactions in the United States markets can also be combined with the Company's specialized systems for processing fixed income and international securities transactions. These specialized securities processing services can be fully integrated with operations outsourcing services. In addition, its clients can integrate its securities processing and operations outsourcing services with its other services, including the processing of trade confirmations and account statements, delivered in paper or electronically; equity and mutual fund prospectus processing; automated workflow tools that help its clients streamline their securities processing and operations activities, and a suite of wealth management products, including data aggregation tools, end-customer Websites, broker desktop, financial planning and modeling tools, performance reporting and portfolio accounting.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sid Riggs]

  Something else that's not commonly understood is that a lot of insider buying and selling occurs as part of stock options offered as compensation. Let's use a recent example from Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE: BR) to illustrate this:

Best US Stocks To Watch For 2014: Powell Industries Inc.(POWL)

Powell Industries, Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, and servicing of custom engineered-to-order equipment and systems for the management and control of electrical energy and other critical processes in transportation, environmental, energy, industrial, and utility industries. The company operates in two segments, Electrical Power Products and Process Control Systems. The Electrical Power Products segment offers electrical power distribution and control systems that are used to distribute, monitor, and control the flow of electrical energy, as well as to provide protection to motors, transformers, and other electrically-powered equipment. It offers power control room substation packages, traditional and arc-resistant distribution switchgear, medium-voltage circuit breakers, offshore generator and control modules, monitoring and control communications systems, motor control centers, and bus duct systems directly to end-users or to engineering, procuremen t, and construction firms. This segment serves oil and gas producers, oil and gas pipelines, refineries, petrochemical plants, electrical power generators, public and private utilities, co-generation facilities, mining/metals operations, pulp and paper plants, transportation authorities, governmental agencies, and other industrial customers. The Process Control Systems provides technology solutions, including instrumentation, computer controls, and communications and data management systems to control and manage critical processes and facilities; and technical services to deliver these systems. This segment sells its products and services directly to end-users in transportation, environmental, and energy sectors. The company has operations in Europe, the Far East, the Middle East, Africa, North America, South America, and Central America. Powell Industries, Inc. was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Powell Industries (NASDAQ: POWL) shares tumbled 8.93 percent to $45.28 after the company lowered its FY14 outlook.

  Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) was down, falling 1.02 percent to $82.85. Analysts at Bank of America downgraded Philip Morris International from Buy to Neutral and lowered the target price to $87.

Best US Stocks To Watch For 2014: Exide Technologies (XIDEQ)

Exide Technologies, incorporated on November 23, 1966, is engaged in stored electrical energy solutions, and is a manufacturer and supplier of lead-acid batteries for transportation and industrial applications in the worldwide. Exide operates in four business segments: Transportation Americas, Transportation Europe and ROW, Industrial Energy Americas, and Industrial Energy Europe and ROW. The Company�� operations in the Americas as well as Europe and Rest of World (ROW) represented approximately 42% and 58%, respectively, during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013 (fiscal 2013), net sales.

Transportation

The Company�� transportation batteries include starting lighting and ignition (SLI) batteries for cars, trucks, off-road vehicles, agricultural and construction vehicles, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, marine, and other applications including Micro-hybrids. The Company�� principal batteries sold in the transportation markets are represented by brands: Exide, Exide Extreme, Exide NASCAR Select, Centra, DETA, Orbital, Fulmen, and Tudor, as well as other brands under various private labels. The market for transportation batteries is divided between sales to aftermarket customers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Transportation segments represented approximately 61% of the Company�� net sales in fiscal 2013. Within the transportation segments, aftermarket and OEM net sales, including original equipment service (OES) represented approximately 72.1% and 27.9% of fiscal 2013 net sales, respectively.

Some of the Company�� aftermarket customers include Pep Boys, Bosch, Tractor Supply, Canadian Tire, ADI, ATR International, and GroupAuto International. In addition, the Company is also a supplier of authorized replacement batteries for OEMs including the BMW Group, Fiat Group, Honda, Iveco, John Deere, PSA Group, Scania, Volvo Trucks, Toyota, Volkswagen Group, Renault-Nissan, PACCAR, and many others. Some of the Company�� OEM customers include t! he BMW Group, Fiat Group, International Truck & Engine, the PSA group (Peugeot S.A./Citroen), Case/New Holland, John Deere, Renault, Nissan, Scania, Volvo Trucks, Volkswagen Group, Chrysler, Toyota, Jaguar, Land Rover, among others.

In the Americas, the Company sells aftermarket transportation products through various distribution channels, including mass merchandisers, auto parts outlets, wholesale distributors, and battery specialists. The Company sells its OEM transportation replacement products principally through dealer networks. The Company�� Americas operations include a network of 74 branches which sell and distribute batteries and other products to the Company�� distributor channel customers, battery specialists, national account customers, retail stores, and OEM dealers. In addition, these branches collect spent batteries for the Company�� recycling facilities. These operations supply recycled lead for approximately 75 to 80% of Exide�� Transportation and Industrial Energy products manufactured in North America. The recycling facilities also recover and recycle battery acid as well as plastic materials that are used to produce new battery covers and cases.

In Europe and ROW, the Company sells OEM batteries to the light vehicle, light commercial vehicle and commercial vehicle industries. The commercial vehicle industry includes truck manufacturers as well as construction and agriculture vehicle manufacturers. Exide supplies its OEM batteries directly to the assembly plants of its customers. The Company also delivers service and replacement batteries into this segment. Those are either distributed by the OEM customers themselves or delivered directly to the service points through the Exide logistics network. The Company also supplies advanced lead-acid batteries for microhybrid vehicles equipped with carbon dioxide reducing technologies such as Start & Stop with and without regenerative braking systems. It sells Europe and ROW aftermarket batteries primarily th! rough aut! omotive parts and battery wholesalers, mass-merchandisers, auto centers, service installers, and oil companies. Battery specialists sell and distribute batteries to a network of automotive parts retailers, service stations, independent retailers, and garages throughout Europe.

The Company competes with Johnson Controls, Inc. and East Penn Manufacturing.

Industrial Energy

The Company�� Industrial Energy segments supply both motive power and network power applications. Motive power batteries are used in the material handling industry for electric forklift trucks, and in other industries, including floor cleaning machinery, powered wheelchairs, railroad locomotives, mining, and the electric road vehicles market. The battery technologies for the motive power markets include flooded flat plate products, tubular plate products, absorbed glass mat (AGM) products, and gel electrolyte products. The Company also offers a complete range of battery chargers and related equipment for the operation and maintenance of battery-powered vehicles. Network power batteries are used to provide back-up power for use with telecommunications systems, computer installations or data centers, hospitals, air traffic control systems, security systems, utilities, railway and military applications. Telecommunications applications include central and local switching systems, satellite stations, wireless base stations and mobile switches, optical fiber repeating boxes, cable television transmission boxes, and radio transmission stations. The Company�� strongest network power battery brands, Absolyte and Sonnenschein, offer customers the choice of AGM or gel electrolyte valve regulated battery technologies and deliver among the highest energy and power densities in their class.

In the Americas, the Company distributes motive power products and services through multiple channels. These include sales and service locations owned by the Company that are augmented by a network of indep! endent ma! nufacturers��representatives. The Company serves a wide range of customers including OEM suppliers of lift trucks, industrial companies, retail distributors, warehousing companies, and manufacturers. Motive power customers in the Americas include Toyota, MCFA, NACCO, Sears, Toyota, Walmart, and Target. The Company distributes network power products and services through sales and service locations owned by the Company augmented by a network of independent manufacturers��representatives. The Company�� primary network power customers in the Americas include AT&T, APC, Emerson Electric, and Verizon Wireless.

The Company distributes motive power products and services in Europe through in-house sales and service organizations and utilizes distributors and agents for the export of products from Europe to ROW countries. Motive power products in Europe are also sold to a wide range of customers in the aftermarket, ranging from industrial companies and retail distributors to small warehousing and manufacturing operations. Motive power batteries are also sold in complete packages, including batteries, chargers, and increasingly through on-site service. The Company�� OEM motive power customers include Toyota Material Handling, the KION Group, and Jungheinrich. The Company distributes network power products and services in Europe and batteries and chargers in Australia and New Zealand through in-house sales and service organizations. In Asia, products are distributed through independent distributors. The Company utilizes distributors, agents, and direct sales to export products from Europe and North America to ROW. The Company�� primary Network Power customers in Europe and ROW include Deutsche Telecom, Alcatel, Emerson Electric, Ericsson and Siemens Nokia Networks.

The Company competes with EnerSys Inc., East Penn Manufacturing, Hoppecke, MIDAC, GS/Yuasa, Shinkobe and C&D Technologies.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  A real car wreck on the horizon
  Already crashing and burning was lead-acid battery maker Exide Technologies (NASDAQOTH: XIDEQ  ) , which confirmed it had hired a restructuring specialist to help it cope with is financial situation ahead of some of its debt maturing this fall. It's shares fell almost 48% on the news.