As trading wraps up on the last day of 2014, US Equity index returns have notched yet another year of positive gains.
For the sixth year in a row, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up, capturing 7.5 percent in gains.
The S&P 500 added 11.40 percent in 2014 and also completed its sixth straight year of gains (including the minimal return from 2011).
Most notably, oil futures closed the year with their worst performance since 2008, losing 45.36 percent in 2014.
Posted-In: News Commodities After-Hours Center Markets Movers
© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Related Articles (SPY + BROAD) Credit Suisse Previews Friday's Job Report, FOMC MinutesHot International Stocks To Watch For 2015: iShares Russell 3000 Index Fund (IWV)
iShares Russell 3000 Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell 3000 Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the United States equity market. The Index serves as the underlying index for Russell 3000 Growth and Value Series, and the Russell 1000 and Russell 2000 Indexes, as well as their respective Growth and Value series. The Index is a capitalization-weighted index and consists of the 3000 largest companies domiciled in the United States and its territories.
The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. iShares Russell 3000 Index Fund's investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Maxfield]
Over the past five years, this ETF has beaten the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) by 23 percentage points. It's outperformed the Russell 3000 (NYSEMKT: IWV ) by 21 percentage points. And it's done the same to the eponymous S&P 500, exceeding it by 11 percentage points.
10 Best US Stocks To Own Right Now: FreightCar America Inc (RAIL)
FreightCar America, Inc. (America) is engaged in manufacturing of aluminum-bodied railcars in North America. America is also a manufacturer of coal cars. During the year ended December 31, 2011(2011), the Company was specialized in the production of coal cars, which represented 93% of its deliveries of railcars. The Company also refurbishes and rebuilds railcars and sells forged, cast and fabricated parts for all of the railcars it produces, as well as those manufactured by others. During 2011, its primary customers were railroads, shippers and financial institutions, which represented 83%, 2% and 1%, respectively, of its total sales attributable to each type of customer. During 2011, it delivered 6,188 railcars, including 4,500 aluminum-bodied coal cars. It offers railcar leasing and refurbishment alternatives to its customers. Through its newly formed subsidiary FreightCar Rail Services, LLC (FCRS), it provides railcar repair and maintenance, inspections, and railcar fleet management services for all types of freight railcars. Its railcar manufacturing facilities are located in Danville, Illinois and Roanoke, Virginia.
The Company also leases freight cars through its JAIX Leasing Company subsidiary. In addition, the Company manufactures coal cars for export to Latin America and manufactures intermodal railcars for export to the Middle East. With operations in Colorado, Indiana and Nebraska, it services freight cars and unit coal trains utilizing rail corridors in the Midwest and Western regions of the United States. The Company designs and manufactures aluminum-bodied and steel-bodied railcars that transport a range of various products. It manufactures two primary types of coal cars, such as gondolas and open-top hoppers. The BethGon is the aluminum-bodied coal gondola railcar segment, which is used in North America. Its aluminum bodied open-top hopper railcar, the AutoFlood, is a five-pocket coal car equipped with a bottom discharge gate mechanism. AutoFlood II and AutoFlood III design! incorporates the automatic rapid discharge system, the MegaFlo door system and a mechanism that uses an over-center locking design, enabling the cargo door to close with tension rather than by compression.
The Company also manufactures a range of other types of aluminum and steel-bodied coal cars, including triple hopper, hybrid aluminum/stainless steel hoppers and gondolas and flat bottom gondola railcars. The Company�� portfolio of other railcar types include the AVC Aluminum Vehicle Carrier design, which is used to transport commercial and light vehicles (automobiles and trucks) from assembly plants and ports to rail distribution centers; the Articulated Bulk Container railcar designed to carry dense bulk products, such as waste products in 20 foot containers; Intermodal Double Stack railcars, including a stand-alone, 40 foot well car and the DynaStack articulated, 5-unit, 40 foot and 3-unit, 53 foot well cars for transportation of containers; a Small Cube Covered Hopper railcar, which is used to transport products, such as roofing granules, fly ash, sand and cement; a Mill Gondola Railcar, which is used to transport steel products and scrap; Slab and Coil steel railcars, which is designed for transportation of steel slabs and coil steel products, respectively; Flat Railcars, Bulkhead Flat Railcars and Centerbeam Flat Railcars, which is designed to transport a range of products, including machinery and equipment, steel and structural steel components (including pipe), forest products and other bulky industrial products; a Woodchip Gondola Railcar, which is designed to haul woodchips and municipal waste, and a range of non-coal carrying open top hopper railcars designed to carry aggregates, iron ore, taconite pellets, petroleum coke and other bulk commodities.
The Company has established a licensing arrangement with a railcar manufacturer in Brazil pursuant to which its technology is used to produce various types of railcars in Brazil. In addition, it manufacture coal car! s for exp! ort to Latin America and have manufactured intermodal railcars for export to the Middle East. Railroads outside of North America have a range of track gauges that are sized differently than in North America, which requires it, in some cases, to alter manufacturing specifications for foreign sales. The Company has added 10 new or redesigned products to its portfolio in the last five years, including the AVC, slab and coil steel railcar, triple hopper and hybrid aluminum/stainless steel railcars, ore cars, ballast cars and aggregate cars. The Company�� manufacturing process involves four basic steps: fabrication, assembly, finishing and inspection. In its fabrication processes, it employ standard metal working tools, many of which are computer controlled. Each assembly line typically involves 15 to 20 manufacturing positions, depending on the complexity of the particular railcar design. It uses mechanical fastening in the fitting and assembly of its aluminum-bodied railcar parts, while it uses welding for the assembly of its steel-bodied railcars.
The Company competes with Trinity Industries, Inc., National Steel Car Limited, The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. and American Railcar Industries, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By SA Pro Top Ideas]
Stock Movers and Great Calls
On July 24, Mike Williams explained why FreightCar America's (RAIL) shares could double by 2015 as it returned to historic profitability. Shares are +16.3% to date after a strong earnings report this week. Read article » Vince Martin said on June 17 that Cray's (CRAY) sell-off after Q1 earnings was way overdone, offering investors a great deal. After a strong earnings report last week, shares now stand +45% from where they were before the article. Read article »
Alpha-Rich long and short ideas regularly move stocks and identify stocks that are about to move. Some notable recent calls subscribers had early access to:To Come Today
Don't forget to check your SA Pro dashboard later today for the latest Alpha-Rich ideas. Any thoughts to share on the latest Alpha-Rich ideas? Leave a comment here.
SA Pro Editors
…............
The SA Pro team is Eli Hoffmann (Editor in Chief), Rachael Granby (Editorial Product Manager), Daniel Shvartsman, Samir Patel, Michael McDonald, and Jeffrey Fischer (Senior Pro Editors). You can reach us at pro-editors@seekingalpha.com. - [By Eric Volkman]
FreightCar America (NASDAQ: RAIL ) has found an executive to lead its finance team. The company announced that it appointed Charles Avery as its CFO, vice president of finance, and treasurer, replacing Joseph McNeely. Avery will take up his position on Aug. 1.
10 Best US Stocks To Own Right Now: Etfs Gold Trust (SGOL)
ETFS Gold Trust (the Trust) is an investment trust. The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion, less the expenses of the Trust�� operations. The Trust holds gold bullion and issues ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares (the Shares) in exchange for deposits of gold and distributes gold in connection with redemption of Baskets. The sponsor of the Trust is ETF Securities USA LLC (the Sponsor). The trustee of the Trust is The Bank of New York Mellon and the custodian is JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Pham]
Although the Fed doubled its bond buying last September, the top gold exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, including SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEMKT: GLD ) , iShares Gold Trust (NYSEMKT: IAU ) , and ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares (NYSEMKT: SGOL ) , have dropped around 25% each over the last 12 months, which speaks to gold's extreme vulnerability to QE tapering. Even the mere mention of tapering seems to send gold into a tailspin, as seen with SPDR Gold Shares, which has plunged 24% year to date and also suffered massive losses with its physical holdings. Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEMKT: GDX ) has suffered a massive drop of 48% so far in 2013, making it one of the worst-performing ETFs this year.
10 Best US Stocks To Own Right Now: Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (BSV)
Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (the Fund) seeks to track the performance of a market-weighted bond index with a short-term, dollar-weighted average maturity. The Fund employs a passive management or indexing strategy designed to track the performance of the Barclays Capital U.S. 1-5 Year Government/Credit Bond Index (the Index). The Index includes all medium and larger issues of the United States Government, investment-grade corporate, and investment-grade international dollar-denominated bonds that have maturities of between 1 and 5 years and are publicly issued. The Fund invests by sampling the Index, meaning that it holds a range of securities that, in the aggregate, approximates the full Index in terms of key risk factors and other characteristics. All of the Fund�� investments will be selected through the sampling process, and at least 80% of its assets will be invested in bonds held in the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is The Vanguard Group, Inc. Advisors' Opinion:- [By GURUFOCUS]
In addition to individual stocks several funds pay a monthly dividend. Below is a sampling of these:
Monthly Bond Funds- iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Credit Bond (CSJ) | Yield: 1.29%
- Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (BSV) | Yield: 1.25%
- Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF (BIV) | Yield: 2.96%
- Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF (BLV) | Yield: 4.42%
10 Best US Stocks To Own Right Now: Deutz AG (DEZ)
DEUTZ AG is a Germany-based manufacturer of diesel engines. The Company produces engines with outputs of between 19 kilowatts (kW) and 520 kW for on-road as well as non-road applications. Its activities cover development, design, production, sales and services for diesel engines that are cooled by water, oil or air. DEUTZ AG divides its activities into two segments: DEUTZ Compact Engines and DEUTZ Customized Solutions. DEUTZ Customized Solutions segment focuses on air-cooled engines and large liquid-cooled engines with capacities of more than eight liters. The segment DEUTZ Compact Engines comprises liquid-cooled engines with capacities of less than four liters as well as engines with capacities of four to eight liters. The Company is the executive and operating company within the DEUTZ Group. It has a global reach with its production sites, ten distribution companies, nine sales offices, as well as over 800 distribution and service partners in more than 130 countries worldwide. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jonathan Morgan]
RWE AG (RWE) jumped 6.4 percent, leading a gauge of utilities higher. Deutz AG (DEZ) plunged the most in more than two years after an investor sold a 8.4 percent stake in the manufacturer of diesel engines. ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG (PSM) dropped 1.1 percent after Telegraaf Media Groep NV sold its stake in the company.
10 Best US Stocks To Own Right Now: AMREP Corp (AXR)
AMREP Corporation, incorporated on August 7, 1987, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in four business segments: the Subscription Fulfillment Services business operated by Palm Coast Data LLC (Palm Coast), the Newsstand Distribution Services business, the Product Services and Other businesses operated by Kable Media Services, Inc. and its subsidiaries (Kable) (the businesses operated by Palm Coast and Kable are collectively referred to as Media Services), and the real estate business operated by AMREP Southwest Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, AMREP Southwest). The Company, through its Palm Coast subsidiary, conducts its Subscription Fulfillment Services business, in which it performs subscription fulfillment and related services for publishers and other customers; through its Kable Newsstand Distribution Services subsidiary distributes periodicals nationally and in Canada and in other foreign countries, and through its Kable Product Services, Specialty Packaging Services and Staffing Resources subsidiaries, provides Internet order processing and shipment for e-commerce retailers, packaging design, procurement and product fulfillment services and temporary staffing services. In January 2013, the Company's subsidiary, had acquired certain assets of FulCircle, Inc.
Subscription Fulfillment Services
The Subscription Fulfillment Services business performs fulfillment and fulfillment-related activities, principally magazine subscription fulfillment services and ancillary services. During the fiscal year ended April 30, 2012 (fiscal 2012), it accounted for approximately 75% of Media Services revenues. In the magazine subscription fulfillment services operation, Palm Coast maintains subscriber lists and databases, processes new orders, receives and accounts for payments, prepares and transmits to each publisher�� printer the labels or tapes containing the names and addresses of subscribers for mailing each issue, handles subscriber telephone inquiries and correspondence,! prepares renewal and statement notifications for mailing, generates marketing and statistical reports, processes Internet orders and prints forms and promotional materials. List services clients are publishers for whom Palm Coast maintains client customer lists, selects names for clients who rent their lists, merges rented lists with a client�� lists to eliminate duplication for the client�� promotional mailings, and sorts and sequences mailing labels. Palm Coast performs subscription fulfillment services for approximately 450 different magazine titles for approximately 110 clients and maintains databases of approximately 41 million active subscribers for its client publishers and membership organizations.
Newsstand Distribution Services
In the Company�� Newsstand Distribution Services business, Kable distributes over 450 publications for approximately 200 publishers. Among the titles are special interest magazines, including hobbyist, celebrity, puzzle, automotive, comics, women�� service and sports magazines. In a typical month, Kable distributes approximately 47 million copies of various titles to wholesalers. Kable coordinates the movement of the publications from its publisher clients to approximately 100 independent wholesalers in North America and to wholesalers in over 80 countries globally. The wholesalers in turn sell the publications to retail chains and independent retail outlets. During fiscal 2012, the Newsstand Distribution Services business accounted for approximately 11% of Media Services revenues. Kable generates and delivers to each publisher�� printer shipping instructions with the addresses of the wholesalers and the number of copies of product to be shipped to each.
Product Services and Other
Together, Kable Product Services and Kable Specialty Packaging Services (collectively, Product Services) offer an integrated approach to electronic and traditional commerce for consumer products manufacturers, including both publ! ishing an! d non-publishing customers. The business unit provides account management by customer; design, procurement, and packaging of retail packs and point-of-purchase displays; front-end processing, including customer out-reach through e-commerce, direct mail and phone; order capturing through electronic mediums, as well as traditional call center operations, mail capture and entry; warehousing and pick/pack/ship functions, including analysis of shipping methods, and billing, as well as collection of payments tendered by credit cards, checks and cash.
As an adjunct to the Subscription Fulfillment Services business, Product Services offers fulfillment services to their publishers, including shipment of premiums (free gifts) provided to subscribers, shipment of replacement copies of newly issued magazines or purchased copies of older editions and shipment and payment processing for product advertised for sale in their publishers��magazines or associated Websites. Kable Staffing Resources (Staffing Resources) operates as a separate business, which provides temporary employees to local companies in the Fairfield, Ohio area, including its affiliate Product Services. During fiscal 2012, together, they accounted for approximately 14% of Media Services revenues in 2012.
Real Estate Operations
The Company conducts its Real Estate business through AMREP Southwest, with these activities occurring in the City of Rio Rancho and adjoining areas of Sandoval County, New Mexico. Rio Rancho consists of 91,049 acres in Sandoval County near Albuquerque, of which approximately 74,100 acres have been platted into approximately 114,680 residential and commercial lots, approximately 16,500 acres are dedicated to community facilities, roads and drainage and the remainder is unplatted land. As of April 30, 2012, approximately 91,000 of these residential and commercial lots had been sold by AMREP Southwest net of lots repurchased and those returned to AMREP Southwest by deeds in lieu of foreclosu! re. As of! April 30, 2012, AMREP Southwest owns approximately 17,350 acres in Rio Rancho, of which approximately 4,415 acres are in several areas of contiguous properties, which are being developed or are suitable for development, and approximately 2,000 acres are in areas with a concentration of ownership, where AMREP Southwest owns more than 50% of the lots in the area.
At Rio Rancho, AMREP Southwest develops both residential lots and sites for commercial and industrial use as demand warrants, and also secures entitlements for development tracts for sale to homebuilders. AMREP Southwest also owns two tracts of land in Colorado, consisting of one property of approximately 160 acres planned for approximately 400 homes that AMREP Southwest focuses to offer for sale upon obtaining all necessary entitlements, and one property of approximately 10 acres zoned for commercial use.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Damian Illia]
As we can see, the firm has a higher ROE than Amrep Corporation (AXR) but is well below the one registered by US Ecology Inc. (ECOL) and Cintas Corporation (CTAS).
10 Best US Stocks To Own Right Now: Stellus Capital Investment Corp (SCM)
Stellus Capital Investment Corporation is an externally managed, closed-end, non-diversified management investment company. The Company was formed to originate and invest primarily in private middle-market companies.
The Company is focusing on a variety of industry sectors, including business services, energy, general industrial, government services, healthcare, software and specialty finance. Its investment activities will be managed by its investment adviser, Stellus Capital Management. It intends to originate and invest primarily in private middle-market companies through first lien, second lien, unitranche and mezzanine debt financing.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Investing Caffeine]
DISCLOSURE: Sidoxia Capital Management (SCM) and some of its clients hold long positions in certain exchange traded funds (ETFs), but at the time of publishing SCM had no direct position in GS, SCHW, ICE, or any other security referenced in this article. No information accessed through the Investing Caffeine (IC) website constitutes investment, financial, legal, tax or other advice nor is to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Please read disclosure language on IC Contact page.
- [By Investing Caffeine]
With the stock market reaching all-time record highs (S&P 500: 1900), you would think there would be a lot of cheers, high-fiving, and back slapping. Instead, investors are ignoring the sunny, blue skies and taking off their rose-colored glasses. Rather than securely sleeping like a baby (or relaxing during a three-day weekend) with their investment accounts, people are biting their fingernails with clenched teeth, while searching for a market boogeyman in their closets or under their beds.If you don�� believe me, all you have to do is pick up the paper, turn on the TV, or walk over to the office water cooler. An avalanche of scary headlines that are spooking investors include geopolitical concerns in Ukraine & Thailand, slowing housing statistics, bearish hedge fund managers (i.e., Tepper Einhorn, Cooperman), declining interest rates, and collapsing internet stocks. In other words, investors are looking for things to worry about, despite record corporate profits and stock prices. Peter Lynch, the manager of the Magellan Fund that posted +2,700% in gains from 1977-1990, put short-term stock price volatility into perspective:��ou shouldn�� worry about it. You should worry what are stocks going to be 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 30 years from now.��ather than focusing on immediate stock market volatility and other factors out of your control, why not prioritize your time on things you can control. What investors can control is their asset allocation and spending levels (budget), subject to their personal time horizons and risk tolerances. Circumstances always change, but if people spent half the time on investing that they devoted to planning holiday vacations, purchasing a car, or choosing a school for their child, then retirement would be a lot less stressful. After realizing 99% of all the short-term news is nonsensical noise, the next important realization is stocks are volatile securities, which frequently go down -10 to -20%. As much
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