Morning Movers: CarMax Jumps 5% on Earnings Beat; Jones Group Climbs 8% on Buyout Speculation

Stocks are set to open little changed this morning, one day after falling for a third straight day.

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S&P 500 futures have dropped 2.2 points to 1,690.50, while Dow Jones Industrials futures have fallen 7 points to 15,319. The Nasdaq 100 has gained 1.5 points to 3,210.50.

Lennar (LEN) has gained 0.2% to $34.60 after the homebuilder said it earned 54 cents a share, above forecasts of 46 cents.

CarMax (KMX) has 4.6% to $52.30 after it reported earnings of 62 cents a share, above analyst forecasts of 56 cents.

CIT Group (CIT) has gained 0.6% to $47.10 after it was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.

Jones Group (JNY) has gained 8.4% to $17 after Reuters reported that some private equity firms were interested in purchasing it.

 Sotheby’s (BID) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup.

Do you need to regularly book profits, as many believe?

Rammohan was tormented by this very question� he wanted to book profits when the markets go up and wanted to invest in the markets again when they come down� only that his friend and financial planner, Aditya, would not allow him this indulgence.  Aditya, was of the firm opinion that such short-termism does not serve any purpose and indeed is deleterious for an investor. The reasons Aditya gave seemed convincing enough� but still, Ram was feeling the itch to cash in when the going was good.

Aditya advanced the following arguments �

1.       Investments have to be done with a purpose.  If it has been done as part of a broad strategy, why should one disturb the investment, every once in a while, to take �advantage� of short term ups and downs.  Taking advantage of ups and downs is easier said than done.  One may get carried away when the market is going up, like most people did during the go-go days of 2007. They invested in a rising market as there were many pundits who were predicting a very rosy scenario for the future, then.  And then, there were others who predicted absolute dog-days for years on end, once the market bottom fell off. Both were not true as we now know. If one had invested in the rising markets and had cashed out after the markets have fallen precipitously, they would have made massive losses. Lots of them have. Timing the markets is difficult. It happens to some, mostly by chance. Stay invested and over time good returns do accrue.

2.       If one cashes out and again reinvests in the same asset class, it beats the purpose of cashing out itself. If for instance, one cashes out from a Large cap scheme, books a profit only to invest in another large-cap scheme, it serves no purpose. If one redeems from an Equity MF scheme and invest in a debt scheme, due to specific requirements or due to asset rebalancing, only then it would be fine.

3.       There are costs & work involved in regularly cashing out/ reinvesting. One needs to consider these and see if it is worthwhile going through all that trouble.  Many try to change the loan agency when they find a slightly cheaper loan, which entails a cost and paperwork� or sell equity and pay brokerage for selling and reinvesting.  There is not much gained in many of these transactions at the end of it all. Being opportunistic is a favourite word with investors.  But it is not as simple as it appears, on the surface.  Size up the opportunity and analyse all aspects to check whether it is worth the time and effort and then move in.

4.       If goals are mostly long-term, like retirement, children�s education, marriage, why does one want to take short-term calls? People indulge their gambling instinct with their shares and Mutual funds, which is unfortunate.  After doing that, they blame the stock market being a gambler�s den.  Stock market has given 18% CAGR over a long period of over 30 years. No other asset class has given such spectacular returns, over such a long period, Gold and property included.

5.       They are not gamblers when it comes to property purchase or gold.  They are willing to stay invested for several years, even decades. Obviously they get good returns in these and they stay convinced that these things pay off very well. As regards stocks/ Equity MFs, many have burned their fingers because their time horizon has been several days to several months ! If one gambles, one gets a gambler�s returns. Invest for the long-term and you get good returns on investment.

6.       Just because Stocks and Mutual Fund NAVs are quoted on a daily basis, one need not have to look at them and plunge into the  depths of panic or get carried away in a wave of euphoria.  If one has chosen wisely, it is a good idea to leave it alone. Looking at one�s portfolio once every quarter or half-year is fine, to see if they are still good to retain.  If they are good, it is better to simply leave it alone.

7.       Diversified portfolios are good.  Not for nothing we have a saying which exhorts one not to put all eggs in one basket.  A good diversified portfolio is the best protection for long-term performance.  Even within the asset class, proper diversification is necessary. Getting carried away by fads is dangerous. Currently, investing in Gold is the fad.  People see what returns they get now � they don�t look how it may perform in the long-term. That�s a mistake.

8.       Look at cumulative / growth options, if investments are for the long-term. There is no point in receiving small dividends which one has to keep track of. Since dividends mostly come as direct credit to the bank, it gets spent without one even realizing it. By this, the beneficial effect of compounding does not take place.

After listening to a fairly long sermon, Ram was pondering over it. Aditya�s throat was parched. He sipped on his lemonade and left Ram to ruminate� there was enough food for thought for him, for an evening.

 

In Facebook's wake, will exchanges face scrutiny in Twitter IPO?

Bloomberg News

Eighteen months after Facebook Inc.’s initial public offering was crippled by a Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. computer, equity markets get a shot at redemption Thursday when the New York Stock Exchange hosts the debut of Twitter Inc.

While faulty trades are rare and more than 250 IPOs have been sold in the U.S. since Facebook, infrastructure mishaps, including issues of data transmission similar to those that hurt Facebook in May 2012, have shown few signs of abating. Nasdaq’s three-hour shutdown in August and outages on stock and options venues from New York to Chicago in the past three weeks are straining the patience of regulators.

That makes Twitter’s arrival on the NYSE a critical test for an industry whose reputation has been riven by high-profile failures since the flash crash of May 2010. Securing the deal was a coup for Duncan Niederauer, the NYSE Euronext chief executive officer looking to prove his company can succeed where Nasdaq stumbled.

“Investor perception and confidence is still shaky, so anytime we get a high profile win, for instance Twitter’s IPO, it will go a long way to building back that trust,” Drew Nordlicht, managing director and partner at HighTower Advisors LLC in San Diego, said in a phone interview. His firm oversees $22 billion. “Trust is something that is earned, and when it is lost, it takes a while to earn it back.”

Twitter, the San Francisco-based short-message Internet service, will probably set the price for its IPO tonight and begin trading on the NYSE tomorrow. It’s likely to raise more than $1.75 billion in a deal several times oversubscribed, two people with knowledge of the matter said this week.

SWELLING DEMAND

NYSE’s challenge is to handle that kind of demand. More than 458 million shares of General Motors Co., which is listed on NYSE, changed hands when it began trading in November 2010. Facebook did 582 million shares in its first day last year. To make sure it’s ready, NYSE recently let brokers test its technology.

“A new generation of investors have not participated in either the market from the equity side, or avoided getting into the market because of challenges that the industry has faced,” Scott Cutler, executive vice president and head of global listings at NYSE Euronext, said in a phone interview yesterday. “This is an opportunity to rebuild confidence.”

Mr. Cutler drew a distinction between Nasdaq and the NYSE, where the process of opening a newly public stock is aided by human market makers on the exchange’s trading floor in Manhattan. Precautions have included replications aimed at duplicating expected order flow and turning on extra capacity.

RIGHT PRICE

“I don’t expect that we will touch that capacity here, but we’ve effectively built the systems to handle as much volume as ever happened in any IPO,” he said. “We’re confident in the systems, the technology and the! people that all play into opening the stock ultimately at the right price.”

Will Briganti, a spokesman for Nasdaq, declined to comment on Twitter’s listing.

Scrutiny is so high because IPOs have seen some of the biggest market-structure catastrophes. Nasdaq Stock Market member firms lost tens of millions of dollars in Facebook’s public debut after the computer matching the first trade went into a loop and the open was delayed. Missing confirmations and confusion about prices were the first signs of trouble for a stock that fell more than 50 percent in less than four months.

Nasdaq was fined $10 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission and faces $41.6 million in claims from members. The exchange, home to tech pioneers including Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp., learned last month that it wouldn’t be listing Twitter.

Two months before the Facebook IPO, Bats Global Markets Inc., an all-electronic exchange operator based in Lenexa, Kan., stunned Wall Street by failing to get its own IPO trading hours after it was priced. Flawed software was blamed by CEO Joe Ratterman, who pulled the listing and now is in the process of merging with a rival, Direct Edge Holdings LLC.

“It’s such a public event,” Sang Lee, Boston-based managing partner at Aite Group LLC, said in a phone interview. “An IPO is something that everyone understands. When people talk about, ‘There was an IPO, something happened and I couldn’t buy my shares,’ that’s something that ties into the confidence of the market overall and the reputation of the exchanges.”

For the 221-year-old NYSE, the debut is both a challenge and an opportunity to encroach further on Nasdaq’s tech dominance. Twitter will join Pandora Media Inc., LinkedIn Corp. and Yelp Inc. as Internet companies that listed on the NYSE since 2011.

LISTING VENUES

Although there are 13 exchanges among the more than 50 venues where U.S. stocks trade, NYSE and Nasdaq are the only two wh! ere compa! nies go public. Competition for IPOs is critical for both, which get about a fifth of revenue from listing fees and related services.

While Nasdaq once dominated technology and Internet IPOs, NYSE Euronext has started to reverse the trend. Between the start of 2011 and yesterday, NYSE won 46 IPOs from those industries, with $8.7 billion raised, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Nasdaq secured 44 companies raising $24.7 billion, including the $16 billion that Facebook received.

“This is a nice win for the NYSE, and they definitely don’t want to see a problem like Nasdaq had with Facebook just for pure competitive reasons,” said Richard Repetto, a New York-based analyst at Sandler O’Neill & Partners LP. “Everybody is trying to do the best they can to ensure that there are no problems.”

In the past three months, exchanges have reported multiple instances of information lines being snarled. Price dissemination among options venues broke down on Sept. 16 when the central conduit operated by an NYSE Euronext unit that links a dozen exchanges faltered, forcing them all to shut briefly.

The mishaps have become so frequent and serious that Standard & Poor’s said in September that credit ratings for exchanges worldwide may be cut if they’re not addressed. After Nasdaq’s Aug. 22 data-feed error prevented thousands of U.S. stocks from trading for three hours, SEC Chairman Mary Jo White demanded an industry response.

Breakdowns “involved relatively basic, albeit serious, errors,” she said at a Security Traders Association conference in Washington on Oct. 2. “Many could have happened in a less complex market structure, but the persistent recurrence of these events can undermine the confidence of investors and public companies.”

While NYSE

Checking an Important, Overlooked Metric at Heritage-Crystal Clean

It takes money to make money. Most investors know that, but with business media so focused on the "how much," very few investors bother to ask, "How fast?"

When judging a company's prospects, how quickly it turns cash outflows into cash inflows can be just as important as how much profit it's booking in the accounting fantasy world we call "earnings." This is one of the first metrics I check when I'm hunting for the market's best stocks. Today, we'll see how it applies to Heritage-Crystal Clean (Nasdaq: HCCI  ) .

Let's break this down
In this series, we measure how swiftly a company turns cash into goods or services and back into cash. We'll use a quick, relatively foolproof tool known as the cash conversion cycle, or CCC for short.

Why does the CCC matter? The less time it takes a firm to convert outgoing cash into incoming cash, the more powerful and flexible its profit engine is. The less money tied up in inventory and accounts receivable, the more available to grow the company, pay investors, or both.

To calculate the cash conversion cycle, add days inventory outstanding to days sales outstanding, then subtract days payable outstanding. Like golf, the lower your score here, the better. The CCC figure for Heritage-Crystal Clean for the trailing 12 months is 43.6.

For younger, fast-growth companies, the CCC can give you valuable insight into the sustainability of that growth. A company that's taking longer to make cash may need to tap financing to keep its momentum. For older, mature companies, the CCC can tell you how well the company is managed. Firms that begin to lose control of the CCC may be losing their clout with their suppliers (who might be demanding stricter payment terms) and customers (who might be demanding more generous terms). This can sometimes be an important signal of future distress -- one most investors are likely to miss.

In this series, I'm most interested in comparing a company's CCC to its prior performance. Here's where I believe all investors need to become trend-watchers. Sure, there may be legitimate reasons for an increase in the CCC, but all things being equal, I want to see this number stay steady or move downward over time.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Dollar amounts in millions. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Because of the seasonality in some businesses, the CCC for the TTM period may not be strictly comparable to the fiscal-year periods shown in the chart. Even the steadiest-looking businesses on an annual basis will experience some quarterly fluctuations in the CCC. To get an understanding of the usual ebb and flow at Heritage-Crystal Clean, consult the quarterly-period chart below.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Dollar amounts in millions. FQ = fiscal quarter.

On a 12-month basis, the trend at Heritage-Crystal Clean looks very good. At 43.6 days, it is 17.4 days better than the five-year average of 61. days. The biggest contributor to that improvement was DIO, which improved 16.7 days compared to the five-year average. That was partially offset by a 5.7-day increase in DPO.

Considering the numbers on a quarterly basis, the CCC trend at Heritage-Crystal Clean looks OK. At 49.5 days, it is little changed from the average of the past eight quarters. Investors will want to keep an eye on this for the future to make sure it doesn't stray too far in the wrong direction. With quarterly CCC doing worse than average and the latest 12-month CCC coming in better, Heritage-Crystal Clean gets a mixed review in this cash-conversion checkup.

Though the CCC can take a little work to calculate, it's definitely worth watching every quarter. You'll be better informed about potential problems, and you'll improve your odds of finding underappreciated home run stocks.

Looking for alternatives to Heritage-Crystal Clean? It takes more than great companies to build a fortune for the future. Learn the basic financial habits of millionaires next door and get focused stock ideas in our free report, "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich." Click here for instant access to this free report.

Add Heritage-Crystal Clean to My Watchlist.

JPMorgan and Friends Join Dow on Its Climb

The day the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) has been waiting for is finally here. With Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaking before Congress this morning, investors are finally getting some news on the economy that can inform their trades -- and so far, the news has been good. The index is up 103 points as of 11:30 a.m. EDT, down from an initial spike of a 151-point gain.

Bernanke's testimony
Within the past few days, there have been a number of comments from top Federal Reserve officials that preempted the chairman's testimony this morning. But they all said the same thing: It's too early in the economic recovery to pull back on the current stimulus policy. Bernanke noted that the recent improvements in the labor market are a positive sign, but that there is still weakness that requires the support of the current policy. Acknowledging the low-interest-rate environment, Bernanke said that the Fed is looking for high interest rates later on, but while cutting back the current stimulus would cause a small rise in rates, it would also carry the risk of slowing or ending the current recovery.

During his testimony, Bernanke also put some of the onus on Congress, saying that "monetary policy does not have the capacity to fully offset an economic headwind of this magnitude." With the steps taken by Congress, such as new tax increases, the sequestration, and other fiscal policy changes at the federal level, Bernanke expects a substantial drag on the economy through the rest of the year. Reiterating his statements from the most recent Federal Open Market Committee announcement, Bernanke said that the Fed would adjust the current QE policy as new data comes out showing economic improvements -- especially in the labor market.

In housing news
Applications for new mortgages and refinancings fell for the second week in a row. Increasing mortgage interest rates are being blamed for the 9.8% fall. With the majority of activity falling under the refinance category, the 11.7% drop in new refinancing applications made a big impact. New mortgage activity for new homes fell by 3%.

Existing home sales were up in the month of April, however. Though the 0.6% increase doesn't seem like much, it does show that there is still demand for homes. This is an important piece of data for the housing market, which has seen new housing starts decline significantly.

Inside the Dow
Home Depot (NYSE: HD  ) is leading the Dow component stocks this morning with a 2.68% gain as of this writing. Though some of the stock's gains may be fueled by the recent damage caused by a horrific tornado in Oklahoma, the retailer also has benefited from the housing sector's continued rebound. The company recently announced earnings that beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines. With that, Home Depot increased its outlook for the rest of the year. As the housing market continues to recover, the likelihood of the company following its lead is high.

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) is also in the winners circle this morning, with a 3.1% gain. The pharmaceutical giant announced that it will be splitting off the remainder of Zoetis (NYSE: ZTS  ) , its animal health business. The company is offering a share exchange to investors in order to reduce its 80.2% stake in the company. The tax-free transaction would allow shareholders to take over the remaining stake in Zoetis, making it fully independent. The company has risen 27% since its IPO in February. This is one of the final steps in slimming down Pfizer in order to refocus on developing new drugs.

JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM  ) has had quite a day so far. After a shareholder vote went in favor of Jamie Dimon keeping his dual CEO and chairman roles, as well as management announcing a newly increased dividend, the bank is up 2.34% this morning. The vote yesterday was a 68-32 split, giving the victory to Dimon quite handily. The results even beat last year's margin, which was a 60-40 split. Almost as a reward after the tough battle, management announced a $0.38 per share dividend for July, marking a 26% increase.

With big finance firms still trading at deep discounts to their historic norms, investors everywhere are wondering if this is the new normal, or if finance stocks are a screaming buy today. The answer depends on the company, so to help figure out whether JPMorgan is a buy today, check out The Motley Fool's premium research report on the company. Click here now for instant access!

Whoa There! Bank of America’s Earnings Weren’t that Bad

Looking at the performance of Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC  ) shares following its earnings announcement, you'd be excused for thinking that the nation's second largest bank by assets had a horrible first quarter. But this simply isn't true. In the video below, Motley Fool contributor John Maxfield discusses why the moves in Bank of America's stock were more of an overreaction as opposed to an accurate reflection of the bank's first-quarter performance.

Bank of America's stock doubled in 2012. Is there more yet to come? With significant challenges still ahead, it's critical to have a solid understanding of this megabank before adding it to your portfolio. In The Motley Fool's premium research report on B of A, analysts Anand Chokkavelu, CFA, and Matt Koppenheffer, Financials bureau chief, lift the veil on the bank's operations, including detailing three reasons to buy, and three reasons to sell. Click here now to claim your copy.

Why IBM Still Looks Solid

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, global IT solutions giant International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM  ) has earned a coveted four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at IBM and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

IBM facts

Headquarters (founded)	Armonk, N.Y. (1910)
Market Cap	$233.2 billion
Industry	IT consulting and other services
Trailing-12-Month Revenue	$104.5 billion
Management	Chairman/CEO Virginia Rometty CFO Mark Loughridge
Return on Capital (average, past 3 years)	25.8%
Cash/Debt	$11.2 billion / $33.3 billion
Dividend Yield	1.6%
Competitors	Accenture Hewlett-Packard  Microsoft

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

On CAPS, 91% of the 4,769 members who have rated IBM believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Just yesterday, one of those bulls, Motley Fool Co-Founder David Gardner (TMFSpiffyPop), tapped IBM as a particularly solid selection:

Nobody ever went wrong buying IBM (stock, for the long term). An amazing company by almost any standard I can think of. That said, this won't be hitting my Stock Advisor scorecard anytime soon, I don't think, as there are just too many other companies I can foresee outperforming this one. But it's still darn good enough for one of my green thumbs! Outperform.

If you want market-thumping returns, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Of course, despite a strong four-star rating, IBM may not be your top choice.

We've found another stock we are incredibly excited about -- excited enough to dub it "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013." We have compiled a special free report for investors to uncover this stock today. The report is 100% free, but it won't be here forever, so click here to access it now.

Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.

Walmart Debuts Low-Cost Checking Accounts for 'Unbanked'

Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images PASADENA, Calif. -- Walmart is introducing a mobile checking account for its customers that will eliminate the overdraft and bounced-check fees traditionally charged by banks. It is Walmart's biggest push into the financial services sector and its target is customers that have limited access to traditional banking. The company's GoBank checking has no minimum balance requirements and the monthly fee of $8.95 is waived if a direct deposit of $500 is made each month. Clearing the way for people with poor credit scores and little money, Walmart said Wednesday that credit bureau ratings and other scores typically used to determine eligibility aren't part of the process. Daniel Eckert, senior vice president of services for Walmart U.S., said that the retailer's customers "feel they just aren't getting value from traditional banking because of high fees." Walmart is reaching for Americans who have suffered in the wake of the recession. Many of those people are the retailer's core customers. The Census Bureau said last week that median household incomes were $51,939 in 2013. Adjusting for inflation, that's 8 percent lower than in 2007, when the recession began. Increasingly meager paychecks have forced many Americans just getting by to pay fees for the same basic transactions that people with more money don't. Customers can receive payroll direct deposit earlier than their normal payday if their employer notifies GoBank of a deposit in advance. GoBank checking accounts offer additional services to aid in budgeting. The account notifies customers in real time if a purchase they are about to make falls outside of their budget. The "Fortune Teller" feature crosschecks the price of a particular item against a customer's planned income and other expenses. In addition, customers can send money instantly to each other at no charge through either email or a text message. Walmart Stores (WMT), based in Bentonville, Arkansas, is operating the new account through Green Dot's (GDOT) federally insured Green Dot Bank. The retailer already offers prepaid cards through Green Dot. A MasterCard (MA) debit card can be linked to the GoBank account, which can be set up with a starter kit that costs $2.95. There is a 3 percent transaction fee for using an ATM that is out of network. GoBank is exclusive to Walmart, which will have it available at its stores nationwide by the end of October. The company has more than 11,000 stores in 27 countries.

Another Day, Another All-Time Closing High for the DJIA and S&P 500

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The DJIA and the S&P 500 both closed trading on Wednesday at new all-time highs once again. This really is becoming quite boring.

The DJIA was up 20.17 points at 16976.24 and the S&P 500 was higher by 1.30 to close at 1974.62. The Nasdaq was fractionally lower at 4457.73 while the Russell 2000 was down 6.45 points at 1199.50.

Whatever or whoever is causing this stock market to soar into the stratosphere is now irrelevant. The numbers are what they are. This does not mean that as a trader you should just throw in the towel and start buying at these all-time highs.

>>Who Could Take the Reins From Jamie Dimon?

There continues to be an underlying fundamental problem with this market. And that problem is lack of volume or liquidity. You have read enough of my articles to know that the lack of trading volume is a big issue with me. To put that in perspective, the S&P 500 Trust Series ETF (SPY) volume set a new yearly low in 2014 on Wednesday coming in at just over 52 million shares traded. And if you compare the SPY trading volume on July 2, 2014, to July 2, 2013, you will see that the trading volume was three times higher last year, coming in at 154.8 million shares. The argument from old Wall Street pundits will be that it is different this time. It is not different this time. There is a serious lack of the small retail trader and investor in this market. The entire volume is now controlled by the hedge fund community. Those hedge funds act in unison. That is why we are not seeing a selloff taking place. When the machines decide to sell it will be fast and furious. I expect trading on Thursday will be the slowest in memory as the stock market has an early close at 1:00 p.m. EDT. It is now more important than ever to have a risk management trading process in place to navigate around in this market. The Nasdaq index is well into overbought territory. This is being fueled by the tech-heavy stocks. At the same time, the DJIA and S&P 500 are not close to being overbought. The Russell 2000 internal algorithm numbers are heading down. So we have a market that is out of sync. The fact that all indexes have a negative divergence with price creates a risk that most traders and investors do not understand.  That trading process is critical. You need signals that tell a trader when stocks are overbought and oversold. On Wednesday, I covered my Splunk (SPLK) short position from Tuesday with a terrific gain. I also covered most of my Twitter (TWTR) short for a nice gain. This cannot be done without having an internal algorithm signal. The 94% success rate at www.strategicstocktrade.com is all time stamped and cannot be disputed. At the time of publication the author was short TWTR. This article represents the opinion of a contributor and not necessarily that of TheStreet or its editorial staff.

Checking Up on Your Broker

Responding to horror stories of brokers who run wild with customer assets—by, say, churning accounts or recommending inappropriate investments—Americans have gotten good at doing a little research before hiring. Millions of people turn to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's online BrokerCheck tool each year to get background info on investment professionals.

See Also: No Day in Court for Injured Investors

However, recent research uncovered troubling gaps in the disclosures provided by Finra, the brokerage industry's self-regulatory arm. A Wall Street Journal investigation found that the database failed to include criminal records or personal-bankruptcy filings for 1,600 brokers. The study also confirmed what one might have expected—that brokers who repeatedly failed licensing examinations had worse complaint histories than those who passed their exams on the first try. A separate study by the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association, a group of securities lawyers, found that information reported by state securities regulators—including tax liens, bankruptcies, results of broker licensing exams and the reasons brokers were fired from previous jobs—was often excluded from this public database, too.

Finra says it does disclose termination data when brokers leave in the wake of fraud or misconduct allegations. But it wouldn't necessarily report a case of a supervisor who found a broker incompetent. Some state regulators would.

Finra originally defended its disclosure policies, saying they reflected an appropriate balance between customer and broker rights. But now it says it's launched an internal study to determine whether there's a "meaningful relationship" between currently undisclosed data, such as failed examinations, and broker misconduct.

In addition, the self-regulatory organization is now requiring member firms to do background checks on new hires. It is also launching a nationwide database search to make sure that criminals have not been able to infiltrate the industry by simply failing to disclose past transgressions. Once this initial search is complete, Finra says, it will conduct periodic reviews of public records to ensure that the disclosures in BrokerCheck are kept up-to-date and complete.

Finra says it has long urged investors to take the extra step of supplementing the information they find on BrokerCheck with information filed with their state securities departments. State securities regulators often disclose more information about financial professionals than is available through BrokerCheck. The North American Securities Administrators Association maintains an online listing of state securities offices. But don't expect easy going at the state level. Most state securities offices can be contacted only by phone, and some charge to copy and mail files.

Stocks Fumble for Solid Footing: StockTwits

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stocks on Monday fumbled around like a frat boy after last call, seeking a solid foundation to rest and reassess the situation before continuing the walk-of-shame home.

Stocks spent the first half of the day holding tepid gains before testing participants' resolve with a late day test of intraday lows, followed by an impressive snapback closer toward the days' highs. Some might call that whiplash.

With last week's selling pressure as backdrop, some cooler-headed cashtaggers waded into the fray today with some data points to suggest that things might not be as bad as they seem. First, Ryan Detrick shared this little nugget that gives credence to the idea of a highly probable end-of-month rally:

Over the past 40 years, April has bottomed on April 14 -- then rallied the rest of the month. $SPX http://stks.co/i0UsB -- Ryan Detrick (@RyanDetrick) Apr. 14 at 07:13 AM Second, while stocks were in the middle of their late-day test of the lows, J.C. Parets shared this chart that highlights some strong support for those with a time-frame longer than a nanosecond: the stock market has memory here $SPX let's see if it matters http://stks.co/a0RL2 -- J.C. Parets (@allstarcharts) Apr. 14 at 01:36 PM And lastly, our friends at DarvasTrader.com point out a big fat round number that has been a short-term godsend for the beleaguered tech sector: The NASDAQ finds support at 4,000 for the 2nd straight session. Keep an eye on this level. $COMPQ $QQQ -- DarvasTrader.com (@DarvasTrader) Apr. 14 at 02:02 PM With lots of big economic and earnings reports to be compressed into four trading days due to the market being closed for Good Friday, stay on your toes. We could see some heightened volatility in either direction. Follow me on StockTwits: @chicagosean At the time of publication, the author held no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. This article represents the opinion of a contributor and not necessarily that of TheStreet or its editorial staff.

Stock quotes in this article: COMPQ, QQQ, SPX 

1-Up on Wall Street: Androids Everywhere, Titans Falling, and Asgardians to the Rescue

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) wants Android in everything.  Will Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) respond with iOS-powered scarves? Who stands to profit more from the release of the highly anticipated Xbox One game, Titanfall? And does Lady Sif's ratings-boosting appearance on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. mean we'll see more Asgardians soon? Ellen Bowman, Nathan Alderman, and Tim Beyers have these stories and more in this week's episode of 1-Up on Wall Street!

Three superhero stocks you can profit from right now
You're fans like us, so you probably knew that Disney was getting a steal when it purchased Marvel for $4 billion in 2009. Do you know what you'd be sitting on now if you'd have acted on that knowledge? Triple your money.

The best part about the stock market is that there are always new opportunities to cash in on what you know. Take cable. You know viewers are unplugging in favor of on-demand options. What you might not realize is that the shift has opened up a $2.2 trillion opportunity, and three companies are poised to benefit most. Click here for their names. Hint: They're not Netflix, Google, and Apple. 

Do Olympic Medals Mean A Stronger National Economy?

While the world watches which countries take home medals from the current Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, one group of analysts has been looking at medal counts as an indicator of a nation's economic health.

In a note to investors last week, market strategists at ConvergEx Group, a New York-based global brokerage company, found the Winter Olympics are a useful study guide regarding the relationship between athletic performance and economic progress in emerging markets worldwide.

ConvergeEx analysts believe the Winter Games are an especially good indicator, when you consider the overall costs of competition. "Most sports in the Winter Olympics require a good deal of money to participate," they said, "much more so than the Summer Olympics. Think skis, ice hockey equipment, figure skating outfits, speed skates, access to the right locations to practice, etc."

The strategists looked at medal counts by country since the first Winter Olympics in 1924, and found a nation's athletes rarely make it to the winner's podium "until their respective countries experience economic progress and stability."

Related: Who Are The Economic Winners At The Sochi Winter Games?

The also noted that "consistent podium-worthy performances in subsequent years are typically correlated with GDP growth."

They also looked at some very telling case studies, such as post-World War II Japan. They noted Japan competed in, but didn't win medals, in three pre-war Winter Games. Japan won its first Winter Olympics medal, a silver, in 1956 – and Japanese athletes didn't win any Winter Games medals again until the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo, which they hosted. But they have been top Winter Olympics contenders ever since.

"Japan won its first medal when it was taking off as an emerging economy," ConvergEx notes. "Indusrialism in the country picked up rapidly following the way, and the Olympic medal consistency coincided with the consumption boom in the 1980s."

Two other Asian economies, South Korea and China, have followed similar patterns -- with their Winter Games medal tallies growing as their emerging economies developed and matured.

And this correlation, according to the ConvergEx strategists, can also be applied to the U.S. In the earlier years of the Winter Olympics, during the Great Depression, the analysts note America fell behind Norway in Finland in the medal count – and lagged behind the Soviet Union and Germany in the 1960s and 70s. "And though the United States continued to improve throughout the latter half of the 20th century," they continue, "it actually wasn't until 2010 that American athletes won more medals than any other nationality."

So is there a lesson here for emerging economies? "Root for your athletes," says ConvergEx; "it's tied to a better future."

Posted-In: ConvergEx Olympics Sochi Winter Games winter olympicsAnalyst Color News Emerging Markets Politics Psychology Events Global Economics Markets Analyst Ratings Media General Press Releases Best of Benzinga

(c) 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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BitTag, Real-Time Bitcoin Price Tag, Looks To Solve Key Bitcoin Problems

Bitcoin remains an extremely volatile form of currency. One of the main issues with it is the fact that the value can change at the blink of an eye. Now, a London-based Bitcoin enthusiast tries to solve the problem with BitTag.

BitTag is a device that pulls information from the internet and informs a user on the value of Bitcoin, updating itself once a minute. Its creator, Samual Cox, hopes that this will allow brick-and-mortar stores to start accepting Bitcoin. Cox told BBC, "Bitcoin is becoming more popular…But there's a lack of infrastructure for people to buy things in the physical world because the value changes all the time."

In theory, Cox's argument makes sense. Bitcoin's volatility has been the crypto-currency's main issue. Stores are worried that, hypothetically, the value of Bitcoin can crash mid-transaction. Now, stores will be able to get a more accurate reading on the current value of a Bitcoin.

Related: What Companies Accept Bitcoin?

The BBC writes that over the past year, the price of a Bitcoin fluctuated tremendously, surpassing $1,000 many times but also going as low as $421. The actual BitTag costs about $60 (£40), so its a little too pricey for the average store. The idea is that the BitTag can be attached to a good and it will show how much that item is worth in Bitcoin. So, the price of the good will change depending on the volatility of Bitcoin.

Here's how it works, according to the BitTag website: "[The] Bitcoin transaction can be activated by a simple 'shake' of the BitTag. Enabling a Bitcoin QR code to be displayed on the display and scanned by the user's smartphone."

BitTag uses Bluetooth Low Energy technology and connects to a tablet so that stores can monitor each digital price tag. BLE is most known for its use in Apple's iBeacon device that allows stores to keep track of customers and send notifications to shoppers that are in stores, while they are shopping. The BitTag also has a microprocessor, OLED display and a rechargeable batter. The device comes with an accompanying iPad app and can be purchased online on bittag.net

Posted-In: BBC Bitcoin BitTag Samuel CoxNews Commodities Global Markets Tech Best of Benzinga

(c) 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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5 risks that could upend bullish 2014 thesis

Wall Street bulls say the good times can continue in 2014. But despite articulately laying out a bullish case for stocks, they also admit that there are risks to their upbeat forecast.

Here are five things that could go wrong next year, and trigger the first sizable correction since late 2011.

RAGING BULL: Most experts say stocks to climb higher in 2014

RISK NO. 1: A MARKET 'MELT-UP'

A repeat of last year's eye-popping 25% to 40% returns in 2014, market strategists warn, could potentially spawn a 2000-style stock market bubble that could trigger a market decline far worse than a garden-variety 10% correction.

"Melt-ups are fun when they are happening but they tend to end in much bigger corrections," says Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment officer at Charles Schwab.

Wall Street prefers a steady rise in prices from current levels, with gains in the 5% to 10% range, so prices don't get disconnected from earnings, says David Kelly, chief global strategist for JPMorgan Funds.

The reason: The melt-up scenario, which could be driven by a mountain of cash arriving late to the stock market party or a stimulus-fed bubble, will likely turn a market now considered "fairly valued" into overvalued territory.

"Be careful what you wish for," Kelly says.

BULL VS. BEAR: Will stocks go higher or stall in 2014?

LESSONS LEARNED: Stock winners and losers of 2013 offer lessons

RISK NO. 2: A MESSY FED 'QE' EXIT

Investors have become addicted to stimulus. And even though Wall Street in December took news of the start of the Federal Reserve's exit from its bond-buying program in stride, expect more "taper tantrums" in 2014, says Ann Miletti, senior portfolio manager at Wells Fargo Advantage Funds.

"Maybe the Fed executes perfectly and it doesn't create a lot of waves," Miletti says. "But I would anticipate a withdrawal period. Interest rates won't stay ultra-low forever. In the long run the economy not needing as much stimulus is a good thing. But the! re will be disruptions along the way. But we would be buyers at lower entry points because we believe in the longer-run story."

RISK NO. 3: A RETURN OF IRRATIONAL EXUBERANCE

If first-day IPO price pops or the Dow's stunning rise garner more water-cooler chat time than, say, the first outdoor Super Bowl in wintry New York or Beyonce's latest hit, watch out. It could signal that bullishness has gone mainstream and irrational exuberance is back. Everyone knows what happens when everyone thinks stocks or home prices can't go down.

The market is not at an optimistic sentiment extreme yet, Sonders says. Individual investors are just now starting to funnel money back into the stock market after withdrawing cash for five years. And bullishness on Main Street, while rising, is far from prior peaks. Institutional investors like hedge funds also remain underinvested in stocks.

But investor sentiment bears watching. "If you got to an extreme in bullish sentiment you could point to that solely as a reason for the market to consolidate its gains," Sonders says.

RISK NO. 4: A "DEFENSIVE" CLASS OF CEOs

If CEOs are unwilling to go on the offensive and start deploying more of the $1.2 trillion in cash sitting on their balance sheets it could take away a key plank of the economic growth story. "The key question is what are they going to do with all that cash?" says Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at US Bank Wealth Management.

If CEOs remain tight-fisted, it means less jobs, less spending on tech upgrades, less new plant openings and less M&A activity. In short, less spending means less economic growth.

RISK NO. 5: A "GROWTH SCARE"

Wall Street is betting on faster growth, perhaps a return to 3% GDP.

But faster growth is not assured, given that interest rates are on the rise. And if global growth doesn't materialize, the bull case weakens, says Marty Sass, CEO of money management firm M.D. Sass.

If a market storm does occur in 2014, it will likely ! result fr! om a "growth scare," warns Jeffrey Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial.

The inside scoop from 7 Santa standouts

We didn't sit on Santa's lap. He sat on ours.

Santa – make that seven shopping mall Santas – told us their inside stories.

Our questions were less about being naughty or nice and more about the behind-the-scenes lives of mall Santas on and off the job. We interviewed Santas stationed this holiday at top shopping centers coast-to-coast to find out what gives them North Pole credentials.

Each had a unique story, sometimes a sad story.

Just about every one of the nation's 1,500 major shopping malls has at least one Santa. The malls aren't rolling out the annual Santa Express just because elves asked them to. Kids may link Santa with gifts and snow, but malls equate him with shoppers and dough.

"The mall Santa has been one of the most tried-and-true ways of driving holiday traffic," says Jesse Tron, spokesman for the International Council of Shopping Centers.That, he says, is why Santas are usually hired by the mall's marketing director. Santa is good PR.

He helps to sell stuff, too. Lots of it. "I'd say 100% of the people buy something while they are here to see Santa," says Maureen Bausch, executive vice president for business development at the sprawling Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn.

But is Santa more than a PR tool – and a selling machine?

Seven Santas told us there's much more. While many kids come asking for stuff, others come asking for hope. Santa's job is to provide a little bit of both.

.

#

SANTA TO THE STARS

Patrick Turnbull is Santa to the rich and famous.

That's more by accident than design. When you've been an estate gardener to Hollywood producer Norman Lear for 40 years – as Turnbull has – you're bound to rub elbows with the well-to-do.

That resulted, 14 years ago, in Turnbull showing up at the Playboy Mansion, on a lark, to try out as Santa Claus for the annual Christmas party there. He won. Next thing he knew, there was Playboy founder Hugh Hefner seated on his lap – and then a! photo of that moment in Playboy magazine.

Turnbull, 64, gets $150 for the first hour at a party or shopping mall and $100 for each hour after that. Clients get what they pay for. One of his six handmade Santa outfits cost him a cool $3,500.

But he'll get it back. Over the five weeks before Christmas, he expects to earn up to $9,000 at 22 gigs. One is at a holiday charity event that actor Kevin Costner is hosting at his Carpinteria, Calif., home.

Not all the wealthy people he works with are famous. Years ago, a top executive at a Swiss bank hired Turnbull for a Christmas party at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Turnbull thought he was posing for pictures. Then the exec asked him to address the audience of big shots.

"Suddenly, I was supposed to give words of inspiration – beyond money -- to rich businesspeople," he recalls. Apparently he did well, because he's been invited back year after year to do the same.

#

SPECIAL NEEDS SANTA

Imagine not being able to hear the sounds of Christmas.

No jingle bells. No laughter. No ho-ho-ho.

Val Jenkins can imagine that. Jenkins is not deaf, but the retired school employee from Spring City, Utah, is an unusual Santa Claus who learned sign language and communicates the joy of Christmas with the deaf.

Val Jenkins, resident Santa at Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, Calif., uses sign language to communicate to deaf kids.(Photo: Noerr Programs)

He is hard of hearing and has a brother who is deaf.

"I can understand what these kids are going through," says Jenkins, 63, resident Santa at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, Calif. "These are kids who are afraid of being singled out by society."

A few! years ag! o, a deaf girl – who was with a caregiver – was too shy to approach him, so he walked up to her. He knelt down, spoke with her briefly in sign language, then asked her something she'd never been asked before: to sing Jingle Bells with him in sign language.

The girl was enthralled. She sadly told Jenkins that her parents did not sign with her. The caregiver explained to Jenkins that they were not interested in learning sign language.

A week later, the girl returned with an uncle and jumped into Jenkins' arms. The uncle saw their special relationship and later passed that on to the parents.

Two weeks before Christmas, she showed up again – with both parents. They told Jenkins something that struck him as the best gift he could imagine: Both were learning sign language, they said, thanks to him.

'CHOCOLATE' SANTA

David Allen grew up in a world where Christmas was supposed to be white – and so was Santa.

David Allen poses with Elena Recinto in Detroit. "They call me the chocolate Santa," he says.(Photo: Marco Floyd, Party Pictures)

That's why the 57-year-old retired security employee from Detroit was taken aback five years ago when he was asked to portray Santa at a local mall. Sure, he had the big belly, but he certainly didn't have the flowing white beard and locks.

Never mind that. He's been playing Santa ever since with a fake white beard and fake white hair.

"They call me the chocolate Santa," he laughs.

He rarely gets comments about his color, he says, except from teen siblings or parents. "Kids don't see color," he says.

This is his third year as Santa at the Northland Center in Southfield, Mich. The shopping center, in an area with a large African-American population, has h! ad black ! Santas for at least seven years, says Pam Lightbody, mall marketing director..

When he first started to play Santa, Allen recalls, "I would turn people's heads." Not anymore.

He's got one big goal: "I want to be the first black Santa in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade."

#

INTENSE SANTA

Long before a kid plops on his lap and hands him a wish list, Santa Neil Beck has his game plan in motion. It begins when the kid is still in line.

Neil Beck has been the Santa at Bellevue Square shopping mall in Washington for 13 years.(Photo: Scott Matsuda via Arthur and Associates)

Beck waves and makes eye contact. "If you start when they're in line, you can win them over before they get here," explains Beck, 68, a retired community college instructor in Bellevue, Wash. For 13 years, he's been Santa at the Bellevue Square shopping mall.

Small things matter. He constantly chews breath mints and wears a perfume that smells like fresh-baked cookies.

Some meetings are particularly tough.

Several years ago, a bald mother, a stage-four cancer patient, came with her four daughters. The girls all sat on his lap, and Beck prodded the mother to join them, which she finally did.

A year later, the girls returned – without their mother. She had died that October. One of the daughters told Beck that her mom so treasured that photo that she kept it on the mantel all year. "They told me that photo will always be there."

#

SANTA BY APPOINTMENT

One of the harshest realities of visiting Santa Claus is those long, long lines.

One of two Santas at the Mall of America has a solution. He's Santa by appointment.

Oh, what fun it is to ride with Santa and his elves at Mall of America. This Santa won't reveal his name because he says he doesn't want to confuse kids.(Photo: Mall of America)

He's fully booked for the season. In fact, he was 90% booked before he even showed up at the mall on Nov. 12. But sometimes folks cancel, so you can always try to get on his lengthy wait list.

This Santa goes by the name Santa Sid (stands for Santa in Disguise). He won't reveal his real name because he says he doesn't want to confuse kids. The 60-year-old Santa is retired from working at an aircraft parts supply maker.

Santa Sid got in the business more than 40 years ago, as a 19-year-old, shortly after his 4-year-old brother died of leukemia. "That really got to me," says Santa Sid. He needed to find a way to make himself – and others – happy.

He takes his Santa gig very, very seriously. His beard and hair are real, and every day when he arrives at the mall, he first stops at a hair salon to get them primped and dyed. "Shoppers line up at the window taking pictures," he says.

#

SUITCASE SANTA

For much of the year, this Santa lives in Santa Claus, Ind., on Rudolph Lane.

Then, come mid-November, he packs his suitcase and drives 400 miles to South Charlotte, S.C., where he's employed for almost six weeks as Santa at the SouthPark Mall.

SouthPark Mall's Santa Gary (whose full name cannot be divulged) settles in for a long winter's nap.(Photo: The Noerr Programs)

Santa Gary puts in roughly 210 days annually in th! e role of! Santa Claus, including a good chunk of it in the summer playing the Santa role for an entertainment company that requires him not to disclose his last name. "There are a lot of others who claim to be full-time Santas," says the 62-year-old. "But I see more children in one year than most Santas see in four."

At first, becoming Santa was not an expression of joy. It was something closer to desperation. About a dozen years ago, within three months he lost his job and was diagnosed with cancer.

With no job and caring little about his appearance, he started to grow a beard. "People began to tell me that I looked like Santa," he recalls. "I sort of fell into it."

It's not just kids who come to see Santa Gary. Not long ago, a 95-year-old great grandmother asked if she could sit on his lap. The moment she did, she started to cry. "What's the matter, Grandma?" he asked, thinking he'd somehow hurt her. The old woman told him she'd lived 95 years without ever sitting in Santa's lap. "But I always wanted to."

#

SANTA KNOWS ME

Some folks think it's the white beard that makes Santa Claus genuine. Others think it's the jelly belly.

But as far as Santa Ken Traveller, 70, is concerned, it's knowing the names of all the kids who come to sit on his lap and inscribing those first names in a big book.

Ken Traveller, a veteran mall Santa at Tysons Galleria in McLean, Va., talks with Lilly Smith, 6, and her brother Nihl Smith, 4, of Falls Church, Va.(Photo: Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)

He's filled 14 books in 14 years as Santa at Tysons Galleria in McLean, Va. Assistants help, quietly asking parents waiting in line, then passing the names to Santa Ken.

He quickly inscribes a name in his book, the! n bellows! the name to call the usually shocked child up. "When they ask how I know their name," he says, "I remind them that I'm keeping a list and checking it twice."

There are emotional moments when even Santa has no words.

One family with six kids visited Traveller each year. One of the daughters, Margaret, was in a wheelchair, and the father always lifted her onto Santa's lap.

One year the family didn't come. The next year they were back – without Margaret. One of the children told him Margaret had died the year before.

That's when Santa began to cry. Traveller and his wife, too, had lost one of their children years ago. "I told them," he recalls tearfully, "maybe they're up in heaven together."

A worker dressed as Santa Claus hugs a Zebra shark at the Sunshine International Aquarium on Dec. 11 in Tokyo.  Shizuo Kambayashi, APFullscreen Miley Cyrus performs with a dancer dressed as Santa Claus during the KIIS-FM Jingle Ball concert at Staples Center on Dec. 6 in Los Angeles.  Chris Pizzello, Invision, via APFullscreen Men dressed as Santa Claus use the restroom at a bar during the SantaCon event on Dec. 14 in Vancouver, British Columbia. SantaCon is held in 300 locations in 44 countries.  Darryl Dyck, The Canadian Press, via APFullscreen Santa Claus dunks a basketball Dec. 16 during a timeout in the fourth quarter of the NBA basketball game between the Boston Celtics and the Minnesota Timberwolves in Boston.  Michael Dwyer, APFullscreen A Palestinian shop owner sets up a Santa Claus figure on the street near Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem on Dec. 19.  Abir Sultan EPAFullscreen People photograph a Santa Claus figure in a famous pose from the Marilyn Monroe movie "The Seven Year Itch" outside a department store Dec. 17 in Taiyuan, China.  APFullscreen A penguin wearing a Santa Claus costume parades through the Everland amusement park on Dec. 18 in Yongin, South Korea.  Woohae Chu, AFP/Getty ImagesFullscreen People dressed as Santa Claus run at Tompkins Square Park during the annual SantaCon bar crawl Dec. 14 in New York City.  Kena Betancur, Getty ImagesFullscreen A Boston Bruins fan dressed as Santa Claus cheers in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Calgary Flames on Dec. 17 in Boston.  Elise Amendola, APFullscreen A man dressed as Santa Claus waits for the beginning of a training session for seasonal workers portraying Santa Claus or angels on Nov. 30 in Berlin, Germany.  Gero Breloer, APFullscreenLike this topic? You may also like these photo galleries:ReplayAu! toplaySho! w ThumbnailsShow CaptionsLast SlideNext Slide

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WHAT KIDS ARE ASKING SANTA FOR THIS YEAR:

Santa to the Stars: iPads, iPhones, Barbie dolls, pets

Special Needs Santa: American Girl dolls, trains

"Chocolate" Santa: electronics

Intense Santa: cellphones, iPads, Xbox, Wii

Santa by Appointment: Skylanders Swap Force toys, Apple products, Nooks, Kindles

Suitcase Santa: Plush toys, trains

Santa Knows Me: Legos, American Girl dolls, iPads, cellphones, pets

#

WHAT SANTA WANTS THIS YEAR:

Santa to the Stars: Funds to pay medical bills

Special Needs Santa: "I want all children to be happy."

"Chocolate" Santa: Money for a wedding ring

Intense Santa: A really good camera

Santa by Appointment: A vacation with his wife

Suitcase Santa: Peace on earth

Santa Knows Me: "I want all sad children to be happy."

Will Recent News Boost Verizon’s Stock?

With shares of Verizon (NYSE:VZ) trading around $48, is VZ an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Verizon is a provider of communications, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental agencies. It operates in two primary segments: Verizon Wireless and Wireline. Verizon Wireless' communications products and services include wireless voice, data services, and equipment sales, which are provided to consumer, business, and government customers across the United States. Wireline's communications products and services include voice, Internet access, broadband video and data, Internet protocol network services, network access, long distance, and other services.

Verizon is nearing an agreement to purchase Intel Corp.'s (NASDAQ:INTC) Internet-based TV Service, sources familiar with the matter tell Bloomberg. According to the same sources, a deal could be announced as early as next week following the finalization of details.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart Are Mixed

Verizon stock has been pulling back in recent quarters. The stock is currently surging higher, but may need time to consolidate. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Verizon is trading below its rising key averages, which signal neutral to bearish price action in the near-term.

(Source: Thinkorswim)

Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of Verizon options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish.

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
Verizon options	22.51%	96%	93%

What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a very significant amount of call and put options contracts as compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days.

	Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
January Options	Steep	Average
February Options	Steep	Average

As of today, there is an average demand from call buyers or sellers and high demand by put buyers or low demand by put sellers, all neutral to bearish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a very significant amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral to bearish over the next two months.

On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates and the conclusion.

E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter

Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on Verizon’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for Verizon look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

	2013 Q3	2013 Q2	2013 Q1	2012 Q4
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	39.29%	14.06%	15.25%	-107.21%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	4.39%	4.32%	4.17%	5.66%
Earnings Reaction	3.49%	-1.51%	2.76%	0.58%

Verizon has seen increasing earnings and revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have been pleased with Verizon’s recent earnings announcements.

P = Average Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has Verizon stock done relative to its peers, AT&T (NYSE:T), T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS), Sprint (NYSE:S), and sector?

	Verizon	AT&T	T-Mobile	Sprint	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	-7.13%	-8.02%	49.60%	52.34%	22.69%

Verizon has been an average relative performer, year-to-date.

Conclusion

Verizon provides communications products and services through a variety of mediums to consumers and companies around the world. The company is nearing an agreement to purchase Intel Corp.'s Internet-based TV Service. The stock has been pulling back in recent quarters, but is currently surging higher. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenues have been increasing so investors have been pleased with recent earnings announcements. Relative to its peers and sector, Verizon has been an average year-to-date performer. Look for Verizon to OUTPERFORM.

Shutdown, Schmutdown: Midwest Business Activity Surges

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images WASHINGTON -- Business activity in the U.S. Midwest surged past expectations in October as new orders hit their highest level since 2004, countering recent evidence of soft economic growth. Weekly unemployment claims also fell, in welcome news for the nation's battered labor market after the impact of a government shutdown on furloughed federal workers diminished. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago business barometer jumped to 65.9 from 55.7, the strongest reading since March 2011 and well above the most optimistic forecast in a Reuters poll. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 340,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The U.S. job market has apparently slackened in recent months, with private-sector employers hiring fewer workers in October after uncertainty caused by budget brinkmanship in Washington dented confidence among both consumers and businesses. Given that backdrop, analysts treated the ISM-Chicago numbers with some skepticism. "The report may be exaggerating the extent of economic growth momentum," said Millan Mulraine, director of research at TD Securities (TD). Financial markets showed little reaction to the figures, with stocks lower on investor caution following recent record highs. Treasury bonds were also down modestly. Other recent data on hiring, factory output and home sales in September have suggested the economy lost a step even before the government shut down. Readings on consumer confidence this month have shown the fiscal standoff rattled households. Anxious to maintain policy support while the economy works through this soft spot, the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday extended its asset purchase campaign at a policy meeting that opted to keep buying bonds at a $85 billion monthly pace. A 16-day partial shutdown of the federal government had pushed up claims in recent weeks as furloughed workers applied for benefits, but this factor appeared to be diminishing. Claims filed by federal employees dropped 29,713 in the week ended Oct. 19 to 14,423. The shutdown ended Oct. 17. In addition, a Labor Department analyst said California, which had been dealing with a backlog, reported no carryover in claims last week from previous weeks. Technical problems as California converted to a new computer system have distorted the claims data since September, which had made it hard to get a clear read of labor market conditions. The four-week moving average for new claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, increased 8,000 to 356,250. Federal Reserve officials are closely focused on improvements in the labor market, which they have made a condition for tapering their massive bond buying program, while stressing they will wait a considerable period before beginning to raise interest rates after asset purchases have halted. Markets have pushed out their expectations for a rate hike to June 2015, when the chance of a move was priced at 60 percent. Earlier this week, the Fed funds futures contract had signaled a 52 percent chance of a hike in April 2015. The government will publish October's employment report on Nov. 8. Payrolls gained 148,000 in September, with the unemployment rate hitting a near five-year low of 7.2 percent. But if average monthly jobs growth continues at less than 150,000, where it has been over the last three months, that would make it difficult for the jobless rate to fall further.

U.S. Stocks Break Losing Streak

U.S. stocks held onto earlier gains through the closing bell and snapped a string of recent losses as positive job market data helped offset worries about a budget standoff in Washington.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.4% to 15,3218.2. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.35% to 1,698.7, breaking its longest losing streak this year.

And the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.7% to 3,787.4.

Uncertainty over the Fed’s policy intentions and rising worries about the budget and debt-ceiling talks have some investors climbing a wall of worry. Lawmakers are fighting over a short-term spending bill to keep the government running when the next fiscal year starts Oct. 1. But Democrats have been unwilling to give into GOP demands, namely the defunding of President Barack Obama's health care reform law.

It was a busy day on the economic data front. The number of Americans seeking new unemployment benefits remained near six-year lows in the latest week. The number of initial jobless claims fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 305,000.

Economic growth during the second-quarter was left unrevised at 2.5%.

And sales of previously-owned homes fell in August for the third month in a row, as an index for pending sales of existing homes declined 1.6%, slightly more than expected.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note ticked up to 2.648%. Bond yields move inversely to bond prices.

November crude-oil futures edged higher, while September gold futures slipped a bit. And the U.S. dollar gained ground against both the yen and the euro.

In corporate news, J.C. Penney (JCP) rose almost 3% to close at $10.42. The company issued a news release Thursday saying that it anticipates positive same-store sales for the rest of the year, and CNBC reported that the company’s CEO doesn’t see conditions this year where the company would raise liquidity.

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) rose 4.5% to $77.54 after the retailer reported late Wednesday fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue that topped estimates, and provided an upbeat earnings outlook.

Meanwhile, Hertz (HTZ) plunged 16% to close at $21.63 after it lowered full-year 2013 financial forecasts.

SEC Votes To Disclose The Wage Gap

A new rule many CEOs are likely dreading is one step closer to being finalized at the SEC.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today unveiled a new controversial rule that would disclose the wage gap between CEOs of public companies and that of its workers.

The SEC was split on the proposal voting 3-2 on the rule that would allow anyone to see the pay gap between employees and the CEO.

CEO and named executive officers are already required to make public their compensation in annual SEC filings, but this rule would also require companies to calculate and make public the median pay of its workers.

That new disclosure isn't sitting well with many who say the new pay disclosure is burdensome.

Critics of the rule say collecting such data about employee compensation each year is overwhelming. For instance, they argue, global companies may have compensation administration in each country it operates in making it difficult and costly to gather the necessary information.

But the SEC's proposed rule today is somewhat less burdensome than originally planned.

"The rules proposed would not require a specific methodology, but instead would provide a company with the flexibility to determine the median and calculate the annual total compensation for that employee in a way that best suits its particular circumstances," said SEC chair Mary Jo White in a prepared remarks.

That means companies could come up with their own methodology to come up with the median pay. A company could use a sampling of employees rather than collect the information for its entire workforce.

Here's the pay ratio requirement from the SEC:

The median of the annual total compensation of all its employees except the CEO. The annual total compensation of its CEO. The ratio of the two amounts.

But that's still too much information say critics.

SEC Commissioner Daniel M. Gallagher voted against the rule today saying the rule has "nothing to do with the SEC's mission and everything to do with the politics of not letting a serious crisis go to waste."

He added in remarks, "Gimmicks like these don't belong in corporate filings.  The agency would sanction issuers who acted so "creatively" in other areas of their 10K or proxy disclosure."

However, proponents of the rule say the more information a company discloses the better. That's particularly true for investors who would now have yet another way to measure how a company spends its money.

SEC commissioner Luis A. Aguilar notes that large public company CEOs were paid an average of 204 times the compensation of rank-and-file workers in their industries. "By comparison, [the study] estimated that the average CEO was paid about 20 times the typical worker's pay in the 1950s, with that multiple rising to 42-to-1 in 1980, and to 120-to-1 in 2000," he says in his remarks.

CEO pay has been a hot issue since the financial crisis which drew greater attention to outsized compensation packages.

Since the crisis more shareholders, particularly those invested in big Wall Street banks, are paying closer attention to executive pay.

Rules like "Say On Pay" which allow shareholders to vote against pay packages of CEOs have received more attention.