Motorcycle review: Honda’s F6B is one big, edgy…

One of the biggest motorcycles has lost some weight and added some serious attitude.

Honda's 2013 F6B motorcycle is a new version of the company's big touring bike, the Gold Wing, that's been in production since the 1970s.

With the new F6B, Honda has chopped off the standard Gold Wing's big rear trunk, chopped down the windshield and blacked out the motor and other chrome parts to give it a street-wise tough-guy look.

Available in red or a matte black, the bike takes aim at the big cruiser and touring bike market that Harley-Davidson dominates with its big but stylish saddlebag cruisers like the Street Glide and Road Glide.

The B in the name stands for Bagger, because of the saddlebags that define the class of touring motorcycles. F6 refers to the Honda's big "flat six" motor, six cylinders horizontally opposed in a flat configuration that provides enormous torque and pulling power in all five gears – yet feels silky smooth from the rider's seat.

Unlike the Harleys, the F6B is based on a sportbike-inspired aluminum twin-spar frame that gives it fast, responsive handling. It's big, over 800 pounds, but feels far lighter while moving. Honda lost about 60 pounds from the standard Gold Wing in part by eliminating that bike's reverse gear and cruise control.

In the cockpit, it's got stereo, digital audio and passenger intercom connections as well as heated grips for long-haul comfort.

On the street, its styling draws plenty of attention. Honda's F6B has a list price of $20,000 – or $21,000 for the deluxe version, which includes a passenger backrest and some other refinements.

Stocks Fall as Government Shutdown Draws Nearer

Richard Drew/AP

Stocks fell again Friday to close out Septembers first down week as investors fretted over the looming possibility of a government shutdown. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) lost 70 points, or 0.5 percent, to 15,258, the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) fell 7 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,691 and the Nasdaq composite index (^IXIC) dropped 6 points, or 0.2 percent, to 3,781. The Senate passed legislation to keep the federal government operating beyond midnight Monday. It remains unclear, however, whether the Democratic-led Senate and the Republican-run House will be able to craft a compromise and rush it to President Barack Obama for his signature before the government has to tell hundreds of thousands of federal workers to stay home, starting Tuesday. In the latest comments from Fed officials after last week's surprise decision by the central bank to continue its stimulus measures at full power, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Charles Evans, said the Fed could still start reducing its asset purchases this year based on economic forecasts, but that the decision to wind down stimulus could be pushed into next year Investors also dealt with mixed economic signals from two new reports Friday.

Data from the Commerce Department showed U.S. household spending rose in August rose as incomes increased at their fastest pace in six months, a sign that momentum could be picking up in the U.S. economy despite months of harsh government austerity. On the other hand a University of Michigan survey showed that consumer confidence declined in September as Americans worried about the possible government shutdown and their own finances. The survey also found that half of households expect no pay increase in the year ahead. In commodities news, benchmark U.S. crude fell 16 cents to close at $102.87 a barrel, while gold rose rose $15.10 an ounce to $1,339.20. In corporate news, BlackBerry (BBRY) said it was committed to completing a series of major changes quickly after reporting Friday that it lost $965 million on revenue of $1.6 billion. The troubled smartphone company's financial results were in line with the the figures it released last week, when it warned investors to expect dismal earnings and announced 4,500 layoffs. Fairfax, BlackBerry's largest shareholder, subsequently announced it plans to make an offer for Blackberry and is trying to attract other investors. BlackBerry canceled its conference call with analysts Friday in light of that overture. It gained 1 percent, to close at $8.03.

Triangle Petroleum Corporation (TPLM): Will This Bakken Play Jump Again After Earnings? EOX & KOG

Small cap Triangle Petroleum Corporation (NYSEMKT: TPLM), just like its peers Emerald Oil Inc (NYSEMKT: EOX) and Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp (NYSE: KOG), is focused on the Williston Basin's Bakken and Three Forks formations and the company is scheduled to release second quarter fiscal year 2014 financial results after the close of trading next Monday. And the last time earnings were reported, shares jumped around 10% plus management gave some rosy commentary for investors. With that in mind, should investors in Triangle Petroleum Corporation be ready for another earnings report that excites the bulls?

What is Small Cap Triangle Petroleum Corporation?

Based in Denver, small cap Triangle Petroleum Corporation is an oil and gas exploration and development company focused solely on the Bakken oil play in the Williston Basin of North Dakota and Montana. The company entered the basin in early 2010 and has since acquired approximately 86,000 net acres prospective for the Bakken and Three Forks formations.

For reference, Emerald Oil has approximately 54,000 net acres in the Williston Basin in North Dakota and Montana and has identified approximately 279 net potential drilling locations while Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp's oil and natural gas reserves and operations are primarily concentrated in the Williston Basin and the Green River Basin of Wyoming and Colorado.

What You Need to Know About Triangle Petroleum Corporation Ahead of Earnings

The last time Triangle Petroleum Corporation reported earnings (back in June), shares jumped around 10% after the company beat earnings expectations when revenues of $34,294M verses $5,241M for the same period last year plus net income of $5,211M verses a net loss of $3,324M were reported. In the earnings conference call, the CEO gave the following rather glowing assessment:  

…every aspect of our business is improving. Production is up, costs are coming down. We're drilling wells faster….. Management expects drilling costs to decline going forward, and there will be a benefit from gas sales that started in June.

At the end of his presentation, he added:

Our objective is to be the low-cost producer in the basin. We want to make money at the lowest possible oil price. We want to be sustainable over the long term. We believe the way we're going to do that is through vertical integration. We think they're finally, starting to see that in our numbers and you're going to see more of that to come….. So we're excited. The team is in place. Morale is high. We're continuing to improve, and we look forward to this call next quarter and the quarter after.

There hasn't been much news from Triangle Petroleum Corporation since the last earnings report beyond a registered offering of 15,000,000 shares of common stock which raised approximately $88.4 million after expenses. The company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund acquisitions of certain other oil and gas properties contiguous to its core McKenzie County, North Dakota acreage; its drilling and development program; and for other general corporate purposes.

Share Performance: Triangle Petroleum Corporation vs. EOX & EOG

On Tuesday, small cap Triangle Petroleum Corporation rose 6.02% to $7.05 (TPLM has a 52 week trading range of $4.85 to $7.93 a share) for a market cap of $506.32 million plus shares were rising more than 2% in after hours or premarket trading. Triangle Petroleum Corporation is also up 24.8% since the start of the year, up 2.62% over the past year and down 6% over the past five years.

Emerald Oil is up 30.5% since the start of the year, down 23% over the past year and down 3.6% over the past five years while Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp is up 17.7% since the start of the year, up 12.5% over the past year and up 246.9% over the past five years.  

As you can see from the above chart, Emerald Oil was a volatile high flier for awhile followed by Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp while Triangle Petroleum Corporation has been a steady but otherwise flat performer.

Finally, here is a look at the latest technical charts for all three Bakken or Three Forks formations plays:

The Bottom Line. Given the optimism from Triangle Petroleum Corporation's management during the last earnings call, this earnings report will be all about delivering on that optimism – meaning investors and traders alike will be watching closely.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2014

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.'s (HOT) eco-friendly hotel brand, Element, recently debuted in Vaughan, Ontario. This Canadian property ��christened Element Vaughan Southwest ��is also the first Element branded property outside the U.S.

Element Vaughan Southwest�� proximity to Pearson International Airport positions it strategically for easy access to downtown Toronto. It features 152 guest rooms along with various other amenities such as outdoor pool, a bar, a fitness center and a 3,500 square feet meeting place. The hotel is likely to witness huge footfalls as it is well connected with various corporate hubs and social centers.

Starwood Hotels has engaged Atlific Hotels for the management of Element Vaughan. This is not Altific�� first job with Starwood. It has previously managed the operations of various Starwood branded properties in the Canada.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2014: Cameco Corporation(CCJ)

Cameco Corporation operates as a uranium producer, supplier of conversion services, and fuel manufacturer. The company?s Uranium segment is involved in the exploration for, mining, milling, purchase, and sale of uranium concentrate. Its operating uranium properties include the McArthur River and Key Lake, and Rabbit Lake located in Saskatchewan, Canada; the Crow Butte located in Nebraska and the Smith Ranch-Highland located in Wyoming; and the Inkai uranium deposit located in Kazakhstan. Cameco Corporation?s Fuel Services segment engages in the refining, conversion, and fabrication of uranium concentrate; and the purchase and sale of conversion services. Its products include uranium trioxide, uranium hexafluoride, and uranium dioxide. This segment also manufactures fuel bundles, reactor components, and monitoring equipment to Candu reactors; and provides nuclear fuel and consulting services to Candu operators. The company?s Electricity segment engages in the generation and sale of nuclear electricity, through its 31.6% interest in Bruce Power L.P. This segment operates four nuclear reactors at the Bruce B generating station in southern Ontario, Canada. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Saskatoon, Canada.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2014: Canadian National Railway Company(CNI)

Canadian National Railway Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail and related transportation business in North America. It provides transportation for various goods, including petroleum and chemicals, grain and fertilizers, coal, metals and minerals, forest products, and intermodal and automotive products. The company operates a network of approximately 20,600 route miles of track that spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico. It serves the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert (British Columbia), Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile (Alabama), as well as metropolitan areas of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth (Minnesota)/Superior (Wisconsin), Green Bay (Wisconsin), Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, and Jackson (Mississippi), with connections to various points in North America. The company was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

Top 10 Growth Stocks To Buy Right Now: Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.(POT)

Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. produces and sells fertilizers and related industrial and feed products primarily in the United States and Canada. The company mines and produces potash, which is used as fertilizer. It also offers solid and liquid phosphate fertilizers; animal feed supplements; and industrial acids that are used in food products and industrial processes. In addition, the company produces nitrogen fertilizers, as well as nitrogen feed and industrial products, including ammonia, urea, nitrogen solutions, ammonium nitrate, and nitric acid. Further, it holds the right to mine 785,759 acres of land in Saskatchewan; and 58,263 acres of land in New Brunswick in Canada. The company sells its fertilizers primarily to retailers, dealers, co-operatives, distributors, and other fertilizer producers; industrial products primarily to chemical product manufacturers; and purified phosphoric acid directly to consumers of the product. Potash Corporation was founded i n 1953 and is based in Saskatoon, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  PotashCorp (POT) delivered a modest gain of about 1% during the quarter ��drastically better than having 13% of the portfolio lose over 22%.

  The small cap story is even more remarkable. The Materials sector accounts for approximately 26% of the BMO Nesbitt Burns Small Cap Index. On average, this sub-section of companies lost over 26% this quarter, with plunging gold prices weighing heavily on many of these 铿�ms. Mawer did have over 9% of our small cap Canadian portfolio in the Materials sector, but our investments did not lose 26%, they gained approximately 13%. In fact, one of the bestperforming securities in the portfolio was Stella-Jones, which gained almost 30% in the last three months. Although Stella-Jones is technically a component of the Materials sector, it does not mine for gold or other metals. Based in Quebec, Stella-Jones supplies a large portion of North America with wood products, such as railway ties and telephone poles.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT) was up 25 at $33.12 in Monday afternoon trading. Monday’s gain puts shares up within striking distance of its breakout point from the aftermath this summer that took shares from $38 to $31 and ultimately back under $30 before recovering.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT) was downgraded to Underweight from Overweight at HSBC.

  Speaking of out of favor stocks potentially creating a value situation, we have identified five big stocks trading under book value for you value investors.

• [By Daniela Pylypczak]

  Morgan Stanley announced on Monday that it has resumed coverage on Potash Corp (POT).

  Morgan Stanley analyst Vincent Andrews stated that the company has assigned the fertilizer stock an “Equal Weight” rating, warning “We remain cautious on the overall potash market, though more because of loose supply/demand fundamentals than because of dynamics in Russia/Belorussia. Potash prices have been moving lower for 8 quarters in a row now (7 of which BPC was fully functioning) and prices were continuing to drift lower in the weeks preceding the BPC break-up (recall Mosaic’s disclosure about lower prices in the Brazilian market on its July 16th earnings call.”

  Potash shares popped 1.55% during Monday’s session. Year-to-date, the stock has fallen 21.35%.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2014: Piper Jaffray Companies(PJC)

Piper Jaffray Companies provides investment banking, institutional brokerage, asset management, and related financial services to corporations, private equity groups, public entities, non-profit entities, and institutional investors in the United States, Asia, and Europe. The company raises capital through equity financings; provides advisory services, primarily relating to mergers and acquisitions for its corporate clients; underwrites debt issuances; and offers financial advisory and interest rate risk management services. Its public finance investment banking capabilities focus on state and local governments, as well as healthcare, higher education, housing, hospitality, transportation, and commercial real estate industries, as well as operates in business and financial services, clean technology and renewables, consumer, and industrial growth, as well as media, telecommunications, and technology industries. The company also offers equity and fixed income advisory and t rade execution services for institutional investors, and government and non-profit entities; and is involved in proprietary trading, as well as has equity sales and trading relationships with institutional investors. In addition, it provides asset management services to separately managed accounts, private funds or partnerships, and open-end and closed-end registered investment companies or funds; and offers an array of investment products comprising small and mid-cap value equity, and master limited partnerships focused on the energy industry, as well as fixed income. Further, the company engages in merchant banking activities, which comprises proprietary debt or equity investments in late stage private companies, and investments in private equity and venture capital funds, as well as other firm investments and forfeiture of stock-based compensation. Piper Jaffray Companies was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2014: Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd(TNP)

Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides seaborne crude oil and petroleum product transportation services worldwide. The company offers marine transportation services for national and independent oil companies and refiners under long, medium, and short-term charters. As of August 16, 2011, its fleet consisted of 50 vessels comprising 59 tankers, including 2 dynamic positioning 2 (DP2) shuttle tankers under construction, and 1 liquefied natural gas carrier. The company was formerly known as MIF Limited and changed its name to Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited in July 2001. Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited was founded in 1993 and is based in Athens, Greece.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2014: Thomson Reuters Corp(TRI)

Thomson Reuters Corporation provides intelligent information for businesses and professionals worldwide. The company allows market participants to connect, access content, and trade in a secure environment through Thomson Reuters Eikon desktop, Thomson Reuters Elektron network, content integration and management technology, content feeds and databases, and transactions infrastructure solutions that support buy- and sell-side customers to trade in foreign exchange, fixed income and derivatives, equities, exchange-traded instruments, and commodities and energy markets. It also offers information, analytics, workflow, and technology solutions to buy-side and off-trading floor customers; access to liquidity in over-the-counter markets, trade execution, and connections for market participants and financial professionals? communities; and a suite of solutions offering informed outcomes to regulated industries and law firms. In addition, the company provides critical information , decision support tools, and software and services to legal, investigation, business, and government professionals; integrated tax compliance and accounting software and services for accounting and law firms, corporations, and government professionals; intellectual property and scientific resources that enable its customers to discover, develop, and deliver innovations; and data analytics, and performance benchmarking solutions and services to healthcare sector. Further, it offers coverage of global, regional, and national news in 20 languages covering politics, business, finance, entertainment, lifestyle, technology, health, science, and sports; and engages in advertising-supported direct-to-consumer publishing activities of Reuters.com and its network of Websites, mobile applications, and electronic out-of-home displays. The company was formerly known as The Thomson Corporation and changed its name to Thomson Reuters Corporation in April 2008. The company is headquartered in New York, New York.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2014: Penn West Petroleum Ltd(PWE)

Penn West Petroleum Ltd. engages in acquiring, exploring, developing, exploiting, and holding interests in petroleum and natural gas properties and related assets in North America. The company produces light and medium crude oil, natural gas liquids, heavy oil, and natural gas. It operates in two major regions, including the Southern District, which covers properties within Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and southern and east central Alberta with developed and undeveloped land base totaling approximately 3.3 million net acres; and the Northern District encompassing northeastern British Columbia, northern Alberta, parts of west central Alberta, and the Northwest Territories with developed and undeveloped land position of approximately 2.9 million net acres. The company was formerly known as Penn West Energy Trust and changed its name to Penn West Petroleum Ltd. in January 2011. Penn West Petroleum Ltd. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2014: PPL Corporation(PPL)

PPL Corporation, an energy and utility holding company, generates and sells electricity; and delivers natural gas to approximately 5.3 million utility customers primarily in the northeastern and northwestern U.S. The company operates in four segments: Kentucky Regulated, International Regulated, Pennsylvania Regulated, and Supply. The Kentucky Regulated segment engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity; and the distribution and sale of natural gas to approximately 1.3 million customers in Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. The International Regulated segment owns and operates electricity distribution businesses in the United Kingdom that deliver electricity to 7.7 million customers. The Pennsylvania Regulated segment delivers electricity to approximately 1.4 million customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania. The Supply segment owns and operates power plants to generate electricity using coal, uranium, natural gas, oil, and water res ources; markets and trades electricity and other purchased power to wholesale and retail markets; and acquires and develops domestic generation projects. It controls or owns a portfolio of generation assets of approximately 11,000 megawatts in Montana and Pennsylvania. As of December 31, 2010, the company?s distribution system included 649 substations with a capacity of 25 million kVA, 28,838 circuit miles of overhead lines, and 24,131 cable miles of underground conductors in the United Kingdom. It also operated 377 substations with a capacity of 31 million kVA, 33,122 circuit miles of overhead lines, and 7,368 cable miles of underground conductors in Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2014: Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(The)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides investment banking, securities, and investment management services to corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. Its Investment Banking segment offers financial advisory, including advisory assignments with respect to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense, risk management, restructurings, and spin-offs; and underwriting securities, loans and other financial instruments, and derivative transactions. The company?s Institutional Client Services segment provides client execution activities, such as fixed income, currency, and commodities client execution related to making markets in interest rate products, credit products, mortgages, currencies, and commodities; and equities related to making markets in equity products, as well as commissions and fees from executing and clearing institutional client transactions on stock, options, and fu tures exchanges. This segment also engages in the securities services business providing financing, securities lending, and other prime brokerage services to institutional clients, including hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds, and foundations. Its Investing and Lending segment invests in debt securities, loans, public and private equity securities, real estate, consolidated investment entities, and power generation facilities. This segment also involves in the origination of loans to provide financing to clients. The company?s Investment Management segment provides investment management services and investment products to institutional and individual clients. This segment also offers wealth advisory services, including portfolio management and financial counseling, and brokerage and other transaction services to high-net-worth individuals and families. In addition, it provides global investment research services. The company was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2014: Agrium Inc.(AGU)

Agrium Inc., together with its subsidiaries, produces and markets agricultural nutrients, industrial products, and specialty products worldwide, as well as involves in the retail supply of agricultural products and services in North and South Americas. The company?s Retail segment markets crop nutrient products, including nitrogen, phosphate, potash, sulphur, and micronutrients; crop protection products, such as herbicides, fungicides, adjuvants, and insecticides; and seeds. This segment also offers agronomic services, as well as product application, soil and leaf tissue testing and analysis, and crop scouting services. This segment operates 1,192 outlets in the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. The company?s Wholesale segment produces, markets, and distributes nitrogen, phosphate, potash, sulphate, and other crop nutrient products for agricultural and industrial customers. This segment also owns and operates facilities that upgrade ammonia t o other nitrogen products, such as urea, nitric acid, and ammonium nitrate, as well as provides Rainbow plant food products. Agrium?s Advanced Technologies segment produces and markets controlled-release crop nutrients and micronutrients for the agriculture, specialty agriculture, professional turf, horticulture, and consumer lawn and garden markets. The company was formerly known as Cominco Fertilizers Ltd. and changed its name to Agrium Inc. in 1995. Agrium Inc. was founded in 1931 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Gains are being seen elsewhere as well, except in shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS). Agrium�Inc. (NYSE: AGU) was up almost 3% at $91.95 in late Monday trading, although this one held up much better in the destructive news phase when the alarming news roiled these stocks. The big winner is Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE: IPI), with a gain of 7% to $16.20 in late-Monday trading.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  BPC had been one of two major marketing groups for potash. The other, Canpotex, is based in Canada and markets potash production from Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT), Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) and the Canadian arm of Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS). The two marketing organizations (cartels?) controlled about two-thirds of the world�� production of potash and had for years maintained high prices for potash by limiting production.

The 10 Fastest-Growing Jobs in America

Over the past 10 years, the number of nonfarm workers rose by just 5%. But despite past decade's painful recession and the slow job growth that has followed, several occupations have more than doubled the number of workers employed.

24/7 Wall St. compared employment figures published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for hundreds of occupations from 2002 and 2012. Service unit operator jobs in the energy industry quadrupled in that time. The nation's aging population and changing energy needs played major roles in driving disproportionate job growth for many of the occupations listed. These are the 10 fastest-growing jobs in America.

Click here to see the fastest-growing jobs

Many occupations with extreme job growth in the past few years owe at least part of their growth to the changing demographics of the United States. As the baby boom generation ages, many more people need help planning for retirement. This has driven growth of personal financial advisors jobs. Similarly, the need for personal care aides has grown because more people require help in their daily lives

An aging population also has driven job growth in many occupations that are not directly related to retirement planning and care. According to BLS Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli, "The aging of the population is one of the factors that is driving the demand for massage therapists." An aging population "is also a factor in the demand for coaches," Kohli said. Many coaches work as instructors for leisure sports that retirees enjoy.

The growing Hispanic population, in conjunction with expanding international trade, are also factors behind the rising number of interpreters and translators, according to the BLS and Kohli.

But not all job growth can be explained by demographic shifts. For both petroleum engineers and service unit operators in the resource industry, the nation's two fastest-growing jobs, growth likely is due largely to changes in the energy sector. Both the rise in oil prices, as well as the need to produce from unconventional sources, such as shale oil, have been beneficial to workers in these occupations.

To determine the jobs with the highest percentage growth in employment, 24/7 Wall St. compared data from the BLS’s Occupational Employment Statistics program for both 2002 and 2012. Only jobs with an estimated 20,000 employees or more were included. The program is intended to be a sample of the overall workforce, and estimates are subject to sampling error. The program does not count self-employed workers. Data are collected by the program over the course of several years. Only occupations that existed in both 2002 and 2012 were considered, and any occupations split-up or consolidated between these periods were excluded. Further information on each occupation came from the BLS's Occupational Outlook Handbook.

These are the 10 fastest-growing jobs in America.

The Deal: Huntsman Buys Rockwood's Titanium Dioxide Business

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Chemicals company Huntsman (HUN) said Tuesday it would acquire the performance additives and titanium dioxide assets of Rockwood Holdings (ROC) in a deal valued at $1.1 billion.

Terms of the deal also call for Huntsman to assume unfunded pension liabilities estimated at $225 million. The Woodlands, Texas-based acquirer said it intends to combine some of the assets to be acquired with its existing titanium dioxide unit with the hope of launching an initial public offering for the combined business within two years. [Read: Fall of the Bank Titans]

Huntsman said that post-deal it would be the world's second-largest producer of titanium dioxide, which is used to create white paint and coatings. Huntsman is also buying Princeton, N.J.-based Rockwood's color pigment business and chemicals that are used in the forestry, water treatment and rubber industries.

"This acquisition provides a unique opportunity to unlock value within our pigments business and builds on the strong improvements we have made to its competitiveness," company CEO Peter R. Huntsman said in a statement. "The transaction announced today is the next step in our long-term value creation strategy for our pigments business." Huntsman said the company believes it can extract about $130 million in annual cost savings from the combination by the end of 2015. The deal values the Rockwood assets at about 5.5 times 2014 estimated adjusted Ebitda, or 3.3 times Ebitda should the cost saving targets be hit. For Rockwood, the deal continues an aggressive campaign to sell assets and revamp its business. The company in January 2013 announced plans to repurchase $400 million in common shares, pay down debt, increase the dividend and divest noncore businesses. The company in the months since has announced sales totaling $3.9 billion, including shedding its clay-based additives to British buyout firm Cinven Ltd. for 1.49 billion pounds ($1.98 billion) and its rheology business to Germany's Altana AG for $635 million. "With the sale of these businesses, we have successfully completed, ahead of schedule, all of our key objectives for 2013," Rockwood chairman and CEO Seifi Ghasemi said in a statement. "We remain committed to a disciplined approach in implementing our long-term business strategy, which is to further enhance shareholder value by creating a premier global specialty chemical company with market leading positions in all of its businesses." Bank of America Merrill Lynch was financial adviser to Huntsman and represented by Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. Vinson & Elkins LLP advised Huntsman. The Vinson & Elkins team consisted of Jeff Floyd, Steve Gill, Kai Haakon Liekefett, John Rosenkild, Han Gao, Bobak Fatemizadeh, Kelly Sanderson and Matthew Greenberg. [Read: Investment Ideas From Day 1 of the NY Value Investing Congress] In addition, V&E's Ted Stockbridge, Adam Lyons, Mark Wang, Larry Nettles, Matt Dobbins, David D'Alessandro, Jared Whalen, Billy Vigdor, Sean Becker, Martin Luff, John Lynch, Lina Dimachkieh, Peter Mims, Devika Kornbacher, Lavonne Hopkins, Scot Dixon, Sandy Weiner, Prentiss Cutshaw, Rochelle Thomas, Dave Johnson, Bill Lawler, Kevin Davis, Guy Gribov and Zach Rider also assisted in the transaction. Rockwood received financial advice from Lazard and legal counsel from Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP and a team from Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. consisting of Georg Linde, Patrick Meiisel, Christian Rolf, Annette Peron, Gregory F. de Saxc� and Maurizio Delfino. The Hughes Hubbard team included Jim Modlin, Dan Litowitz, Wayne Josel, Christine Lamsvelt, Alison Peyser, Michael Traube, Jillian Kane, Justin Greenbaum, Andrew Braiterman, Spencer Harrison, Susan Campbell, Alex Anderson and Erin DeCecchis. -- Written by Lou Whiteman in New York

Global Equity Funds Record Biggest Inflows Since 2005

Global equity funds attracted the largest inflows since at least 2005 in the week ended Sept. 18 as investors piled into stocks before the Federal Reserve's decision to maintain monetary stimulus.

The funds lured a net $25.9 billion in the period, Wei Liang Chang, a foreign-exchange strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ), said by phone from Singapore today, citing data from EPFR Global. Developed markets posted $24.3 billion of inflows, while emerging-nation funds drew $1.6 billion, according to Chang.

The MSCI All-Country World Index climbed to the highest level since 2008 on Sept. 16 after Lawrence Summers withdrew his bid to become the next Fed chairman, easing concerns that he would curtail monetary stimulus. The gauge extended gains after the U.S. central bank unexpectedly maintained its $85 billion monthly bond-purchase program two days later.

"People will find some space to breathe at this point," Wellian Wiranto, an investment strategist at the wealth-management unit of Barclays Plc, which oversees about $217 billion worldwide, said from Singapore today. "In the coming week, we see further inflows given appetite has stabilized quite significantly and tapering was postponed."

Taper Timing

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke first signaled on May 22 that policy makers could reduce the bond purchases, triggering capital outflows from emerging markets and a month-long selloff in global equities. More than $50 billion left global funds investing in developing-nation bonds and stocks, according to EPFR Global.

Bernanke said Sept. 18 that a decision on slowing the pace of asset purchases would depend on economic data, and that the Fed has no set timetable.

"It's hard to see the Fed start to taper at the next meeting in October," said Wiranto. "If they really want confirmation of a recovery, one or two data points won't do it for them."

The MSCI All-Country World Index slipped 0.1 percent to 389.77 at 4:58 p.m. Hong Kong time, paring a third straight weekly gain to 2.6 percent. The measure has added 15 percent this year and trades at about 14 times projected 12-month earnings, the highest level on a weekly basis since April 2010.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index also lost 0.1 percent, trimming this week's advance to 3.5 percent. The gauge has declined 3.3 percent this year and is valued at 11 times forecast profits, the highest level since March, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Investors wait for taper news from Fed

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Your move, Ben Bernanke.

The Federal Reserve will finally tell investors whether the central bank will cut back on its bond buying program in a statement at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Investors have been bracing for the Fed to cut back -- or taper -- its stimulus measures for some time. The Fed has been buying $85 billion in bonds and other securities a month.

Many experts are forecasting the Fed will make a small cut to these purchases since the overall economy has improved and the unemployment rate has fallen.

Click here for more on stocks, bonds, commodities and currencies

Fed chair Bernanke will offer more guidance on the central bank's longer-term plans at a 2:30 p.m. press conference.

The Dow, S&P and Nasdaq barely moved in early trading as investors waited for the Fed announcement. Analysts expect swings in both the stock and bond markets to come after the Fed statement.

What housing starts? Investors received one disappointing reading on the health of the economy before the Fed meeting though. The Census Bureau's monthly reports on housing starts and building permits came in below expectations.

But corporate news was better. FedEx (FDX, Fortune 500) reported an increase in quarterly sales and net income, compared to a year-ago. Earnings topped forecasts and shares rose on the news. FedEx is often viewed as an economic bellwether given the nature of its business and its global footprint.

Soccer club Manchester United (MANU) reported a jump in quarterly revenue, compared to the prior year, and a surge in net profit, compared to the year-earlier loss. The stock was up modestly.

Adobe Systems (ADBE) shares rose after the software maker reported strong subscription growth for its "Creative Cloud" service on Tuesday.

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U.S. stocks finished higher Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all ended the day with gains. The S&P closed within just five points of a record high.

European markets were mixed! in midday trading. Asian markets were also mixed. Japan's Nikkei rallied by 1.4% but the main Chinese indexes were relatively unchanged.

August Farm Prices Take Sharp Drop

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its preliminary report on August farm prices on Friday afternoon. The August all-products price index dropped by 12 points (6%) to 188 month-over-month, with the crop index down 7.4% and the livestock index down 1%. The preliminary all-products index is down 5% year-over-year. The index uses prices from 1990-1992 as its base value (100).

The USDA noted that increased sales of cattle, barley, and calves offset lower sales of wheat, corn, and soybeans.

Farm costs, measured by the prices paid index rose 1% month-over-month to 221, and that's 5% higher than August of 2012. Higher prices for feeder cattle and LP gas, among other things, offset lower prices for nitrogen fertilizer, feed grains, and other fertilizers.

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Prices received by farmers rose the most for commercial vegetables (up 13% from July) and fruits and nuts (up 1.6%). Oilseeds, cotton, feed grains and hay, and food grains were all lower month-over-month. Compared with August 2012, commercial vegetables prices are a whopping 30% higher than a year ago.

Meat prices are up 5.1% year-over-year, with hogs up about 13% and beef cattle up about 5.7%.

Gray Science: 4 Lessons From LTCI Research

Many Americans who could buy long-term care insurance (LTCI) don't. Why?

Are the decisions a matter of taste, the result of confusion -- or, perhaps, the result of a lack of understanding that LTCI exists?

The SCAN Foundation, a think tank that aims to study and improve senior care, recently tried to get answers by working with Gary Langer, the former ABC director of polling, to do a survey with a little more depth than many other long-term care (LTC) planning surveys.

The foundation commissioned a telephone survey of 1,019 U.S. adults ages 40 and older, then had Langer do a study that included a sometimes-biting review of other LTC planning survey efforts and a more detailed set of questions than insurers, insurance trade groups or even government agencies typically use.

Langer found, for example, that high-income consumers with at least some college education were much more likely to own private LTCI than other consumers. 

Bruce Chernof (left), the president of the foundation and the chair of the federal Commission on Long-Term Care, took time recently to talk about what the study says about four things we know, and don't know, about LTC planning.

1. Confidence.

Langer and the foundation survey team thought hard about consumer confidence while doing and writing up the survey.

The researchers found, for example, that confidence may correlate with education and income but also seems to have a separate, positive influence on the likelihood that people will buy LTCI coverage.

Lack of confidence shaped the actions of two of the five groups the researchers came up with.

Some consumers were unaware of the need for LTC planning, and others were too busy to plan. Some had already bought private LTCI or made other arrangements for taking care of LTC needs.

But one group that was affected by lack of confidence consisted of people at a crossroads: "People who think they might need long-term care in the future, but are unsure."

Another group affected was pessimistic people: People who think it's too late to plan for Medicare and think that making plans is futile. "They are counting on Medicare to cover their costs," Langer said in the report.

In the interview, Chernof said confidence is an important independent variable that correlates with good performance, Chernof said. 

"Confidence equates with planning," Chernof said. "Not just planning, but effective planning." 

2. Awareness.

In the survey report, Langer noted that 65 percent of Americans ages 40 and older said they'd done little or no LTC planning, and that barely half were confident that they knew where to go for LTC planning information.

That lack of awareness suggests that simply giving people confidence about knowing where to go for information could help, Langer said. "The process of gaining information may produce greater awareness that, in turn, bolsters support for fresh approaches to long-term care policies and programs," he added.

Chernof said LTCI agents should recognize that simply helping people become aware enough that they know they ought to plan could help.

People "don't generally think this will happen to them," Chernof said. "The reality is that this is a common thing."

3. Words.

Chernof thinks, based on separate focus group research the foundation is conducting, that many people may be missing out on public and private LTC planning resources because the developers of the resources use the wrong words.

People like words like "independence," "choice" and "dignity" more then they like "nursing home," Chernof said. 

The foundation created a "word cloud" based on the words used during the focus group discussions, and words like "active," "community" and "secure" were much more visible than most words having to do with medical care.

4. Products.

Chernof said he thinks one area for further research is how LTCI products and other LTC planning products could be made more attractive to consumers.

Cost may be one factor, but it's not clear that that's the only factor, he said.

See also:

Did Verizon Make A Smart Move?

The recent purchase of Vodafone's remaining interest in Verizon Communications creates an interesting opportunity says Jim Jubak, but it probably is not the one you think.

I normally don't like to buy stocks that are predicated on a company not executing its strategy, but I think if you're looking at the recent deal between Vodafone and Verizon—over the Verizon wireless partnership, that's exactly what you see when you look at Vodafone. So Verizon and Vodafone had a partnership that controlled Verizon wireless. Verizon has spent $172 billion, some ungodly amount of money, to go out and buy the stake in Verizon wireless that it didn't have, so it gets the whole thing.

What Vodafone gets is a lot of cash, and what Vodafone has said looking around is, "Uh-oh, if we have a lot of cash and if we don't put it to work, we become an acquisition candidate ourselves." Because we've got a lot of cash, we've got some decent assets, and, in fact, right now, it looks like we're a pretty good pure play on Europe for a company like AT&T, that wants to build up its market share in the Euro zone.

So, the strategy that Vodafone is going to pursue to try to avoid becoming an acquisition candidate itself is to go out and make small acquisitions. There aren't a whole lot of acquisitions, you can buy a few players in Europe, you can buy some players in the emerging markets. The idea is that they'll be able to spend down their cash, at least the cash that remains after they have paid their dividend, and Verizon is also going to pay part of those prices in stock, so they won't have all cash, but basically, the idea is that you spend enough money so that you don't have a lot of cash sitting there, so that an acquirer can't use your cash to basically acquire you, and that's the strategy.

Now, I'm hoping that once the dust is cleared, that Vodafone is reasonably priced enough, so that I might actually be able to put some money on the hope that this strategy doesn't succeed, because I think Vodafone, as an acquirer of other small wireless companies is a whole lot less interesting as an investment, than Vodafone as a company that's going to be acquired. The likely acquirer, looking at markets, you know, looking at the size of the companies and various sundry pieces of who owns pieces of what, is AT&T. So, what I'm looking for is Vodafone being able to spend $5 billion, $6, $7, $8 billion, but still having a lot of cash, being a very attractive candidate, and there being some bid from AT&T for those assets in Europe. That, I think, would be the best thing that would happen if you're an investor in Vodafone is for Vodafone's strategy not to work.

This is Jim Jubak for the MoneyShow.com video network.

As U.S. Energy Boom Begins, Is Exxon a Good Buy?

Just two years ago, Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) vied with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) for the title of the world's most valuable company. Apple has surpassed Exxon in terms of market capitalization, but Exxon remains a corporate powerhouse. It has the second highest market capitalization in the world at $407.51 billion. With that being said, we will use our CHEAT SHEET framework to decide whether Exxon is an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY. Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

Catalysts

There is no time like the present for American oil and gas companies. As of May 31, the United States is producing more oil than it imports—an occurrence that it has not experienced in sixteen years. The big guns in the oil and gas industry stand poised to gain from America's burgeoning energy independence.

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Exxon Mobil is the largest publicly traded oil and gas company. It is an international powerhouse for oil production and distribution, manufacturing 3 percent of the world's oil. Quarterly revenues have been mostly positive over the past three years. Exxon has benefitted from rising oil prices and new technological developments in oil production: fracking and horizontal drilling. Two key decisions coming from Washington in the coming months could provide a surge in company profits if they go Exxon's way. Shareholders and potential investors should keep a close eye on developments concerning the Keystone XL pipeline and the decision as to whether US oil companies will be able to export natural gas. If both of these decisions play out in Exxon's favor the company should see unprecedented growth in profits.

The sharp increase in domestic oil production benefits the United States' balance of trade, but we have yet to see if the increased supply of domestic oil will put downward pressure on prices. A fall in oil prices will clearly hurt Exxon's profits. Additionally, because of the lingering weak macroeconomic conditions from the financial crisis, worldwide demand for oil has been subdued.

Let's use some fundamental analysis to help determine whether Exxon is an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY.

Fundamentals

Despite a slight decline in operating cash flow growth over the past several quarters, Exxon's balance sheet is strong. The company is sitting on around $10 billion in cash — enough to cover its yearly dividend payout four times over. The company generates a lot of cash without much debt; its debt-to-equity ratio is 0.08, which is low relative to its competitors. Moreover, Exxon's debt is rated AAA suggesting that the possibility of default is close to zero.

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Last year, Exxon Mobil's return on capital was 25 percent, the best in the industry. This metric is especially important to consider when analyzing oil and gas companies because the industry is very capital-intensive. Exxon's dividend yield is 2.88 percent, low by some standards. However, the company stresses dividend growth, so investors can expect to see larger dividends in the future.

Insider trading activity can provide helpful information to investors about the current valuation of a stock price and whether the stock is poised for growth. Generally, insiders buy stock when they think the share price is undervalued or they see exciting growth prospects in the company. With this being said, Exxon's Vice President Patrick Mulva recently bought $979,000 worth of Exxon stock, so we can infer that the vice president believes either that the share price will rise or the stock is undervalued.

Technicals Are Mixed

At Friday's close of $90.58, Exxon is currently trading slightly below its 50-day moving average of $90.73 but above its 200-day moving average of $89.35. Generally, when a stock trades above its 200-day moving average, the stock is experiencing an uptrend. Investors should keep an eye on the share price in relation to the 50-day moving average. If the stock price breaks through the 50-day moving average, Exxon may be beginning an uptrend.

Conclusion

While Exxon has been in the news recently for disasters that you would think would lower the stock price (the state of Arkansas sued Exxon today for a March pipeline spill), these events are unavoidable occurrences in the industry and do not do much to affect the company's stability in the long run. What will affect Exxon's future profitability is its ability to withstand potentially sharp declines in the price of oil. Exxon is based in the United States but is a huge multinational corporation, supplying 3 percent of the world's oil. Even if oil prices fall in the States or demand falters in emerging markets, Exxon is so large and diversified that these events are unlikely to affect their long-term profitability. With its strong free cash flow growth, minimal debt, a history of selecting profitable oil exploration projects, and an attractive dividend growth rate for investors, Exxon looks poised to cash in on the energy renaissance emerging in the United States. If you are looking to add a low risk oil giant to your portfolio, Exxon Mobil is an OUTPERFORM.

Will Qualcomm Surge Higher?

With shares of Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) trading around $65, is QCOM 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

Qualcomm is engaged in design and manufacture of digital communications products and services. The company operates in four segments: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies; Qualcomm Technology Licensing; Qualcomm Wireless & Internet; and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives. It develops and supplies integrated circuits and system software based on CDMA, OFDMA, and other technologies for uses in voice and data communications, networking, application processing, multimedia, and global positioning system products. The mobile industry has been hot in recent years and looks to continue as countries worldwide keep developing. As an increasing number of consumers and companies operate through mobile devices, look for Qualcomm to be a leading provider of essential products for many years.

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T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Mixed

Qualcomm stock has seen a consistent uptrend over the last several years. The stock has just recently pulled back from multi-year highs and looks to be consolidating at these prices. 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, Qualcomm is trading around its rising key averages, which signal neutral price action in the near-term.

(Source: Thinkorswim)

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

	Top Penny Stocks To Buy For 2014 Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
Qualcomm Options	18.04%	6%	7%

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

	Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
June Options	Flat	Average
July Options	Flat	Average

As of today, there is an average demand from call buyers or sellers and low demand by put buyers or high demand by put sellers, all neutral to bullish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a minimal amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral to bullish 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 Qualcomm’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for Qualcomm look like, and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

	2013 Q1	2012 Q4	2012 Q3	2012 Q2
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	-17.19%	34.57%	19.67%	13.11%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	23.89%	28.56%	18.34%	27.68%
Earnings Reaction	-5.39%	3.91%	4.38%	4.26%

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

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P = Average Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has Qualcomm stock done relative to its peers, Broadcom (NASDAQ:BRCM), Nokia (NYSE:NOK), Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN), and sector?

	Qualcomm	Broadcom	Nokia	Texas Instruments	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	5.59%	10.12%	-7.85%	18.19%	1.88%

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

Conclusion

Qualcomm provides essential products to a growing mobile communications industry around the world. The stock has been trending higher over the last several years but is now taking a break just below multi-year highs. Earnings and revenue figures have generally been increasing, which has kept investors upbeat throughout most quarters. Relative to its peers and sector, Qualcomm has been an average year-to-date performer. WAIT AND SEE what Qualcomm does this coming quarter.

It Is Time For Copper Bulls To Consider Northern Dynasty Minerals

This article is about Northern Dynasty Minerals (NAK). Northern Dynasty Minerals has a market capitalization of $190 million. It is a 50% owner of the Pebble Mine in Alaska.

(click to enlarge)

Pebble is one of the largest mineral deposits in the world. It contains mostly copper with some gold, molybdenum, and other metals. Assuming that it goes into production it will be an incredibly large and profitable producer that will enrich Northern Dynasty Minerals' shareholders.

Why, then, does the company have a valuation of just $190 million? The answer is that environmental groups world wide vehemently oppose the project. They are concerned that the mine will disrupt the salmon fishing industry to a point of devastation, and that it will pollute Iliamna Lake and Bristol Bay. As a result investors have become fairly convinced that the Pebble Beach mine will not be built, and the stock is down 90% from its 2011 peak.

But a longer term chart of Northern Dynasty Minerals suggests that a contrarian position might be warranted: the stock failed to make a new low recently, having bounced without breaching the 2008 trough.

(click to enlarge)

Also, the shares have also made a series of higher lows (2002, 2008, 2013), and higher highs (2007, and 2011).

While this certainly does not imply anything about the future of the Pebble Project, it does suggest that behind all of the negativity there are investors who believe that the project is worth betting on at the current valuation. An analysis of the Pebble Project that pushes all environmental and political concerns aside for a moment will reveal why this is the case.

The Pebble Project

The P! ebble Project is an enormous potential mine in Alaska containing mostly copper, and some gold and molybdenum. The project is owned by the Pebble Partnership, of which Northern Dynasty Minerals owns half, while Anglo American (AAUKY.PK) owns the other half.

A: Resources

The resource base at the Pebble Project is enormous: it is one of the largest projects (developed or undeveloped) in the world. If we assume a 0.3% copper equivalent cutoff grade then the company has the following resources (note that the cutoff grade uses $1.85/lb. for copper, but $902/ounce for gold, which means that the company's copper equivalents are lower than the data it provides, but the economics of the project are ultimately more favorable):

55 billion pounds of measured and indicated copper resources at 0.42%25.6 billion pounds of inferred copper resources at 0.24%66.9 million ounces of measured and indicated gold resources at 0.35 grams per tonne40.4 million ounces of inferred gold resources at 0.26 grams per tonne3.28 billion pounds of measured and indicated molybdenum resources at 250 parts per million2.29 billion pounds of inferred molybdenum resources at 215 ppm

This information, along with data for higher cutoff grades, is provided on the following chart.

(click to enlarge)

B: Production

From this resource data it is evident that the Pebble Project will be able to produce an enormous amount of metal for several decades. In fact the most conservative scenario that the company has released estimates that it will produce for more than 20 years. Assuming rosier scenarios, this figure can increase to over 70 years. I will look at the company's third, "middle ground" scenario (aka "the reference case"), in which it can produce for 45 years.

Annual production figures are as follows:

678 million pounds of copper (339 million attr! ibutable ! to Northern Dynasty Minerals)673,000 ounces of gold (336,500 attributable)32 million pounds of molybdenum (16 million attributable)3 million ounces of silver (1.5 million attributable)

Gross annual sales from these figures at current metal prices (roughly $3.20/lb. for copper, $1,400/ounce for gold, $10/lb. for molybdenum, and $24/ounce for silver), would exceed $1.7 billion.

Of course building a mine of this size takes time and capital. Current estimates are for $4.7 billion. But Anglo American is financing $1 billion of this, and it is paying for half of the remaining as a 50% partner, and so Northern Dynasty Minerals is on the hook for $1.85 million. Once the proper permits are received it should take about four years to bring the project into production.

Production costs are relatively low, so that the mine would be comfortably profitable at today's metal prices. On a co-product basis the company estimates that cash costs will be $1.04 per equivalent pound of copper. Conservatively, if we incorporate taxes, administrative expenses, mine repairs, and interest payments, this figure should reach around $2.00/lb, although it will likely be a little lower than this.

At current metal prices the company's 50% stake in the mine should give it about 525 million pounds of annual copper equivalent production. With a conservative $2/lb. all in production costs, the following chart estimates its cash flow at various copper prices.

Copper Price	Northern Dynasty Minerals' Cash Flow
$2.50/lb.	$262.5 million
$3/lb.	$525 million ($630 million at the current copper price of $3.20/lb.)
$3.50/lb.	$787.5 million
$4/lb.	$1,050 million
$5/lb.	$1,575 million
$6/lb.	$2,100 million

Even if we assume that the company will simply dilute shareholders t! o raise t! he capital it needs ($1.85 billion), it still trades at slightly more than 3 times its projected cash flow at current metal prices. However, once it gets permitting, given the size and profit margin of the Pebble Project, Northern Dynasty Minerals will almost certainly be able to get funding. While this will increase its production costs slightly as we have to add in additional interest payments, it is conceivable that dilution will be minimal, and that the company's market capitalization is the same as, or potentially lower than, its future cash flow.

This is very inexpensive when compared to other mining companies with large projects in the permitting stage. But Northern Dynasty Minerals is hardly comparable to these companies. The company estimates that it will take three to four years to get its permits, although permitting has been going on already for the better part of a decade, and so we really don't know how long permitting will take. As I've mentioned already, construction is estimated to take four years according to the company's NI 43-101. Thus the earliest that the company will see this cash flow is 2020, but it may take much longer.

Risks To Northern Dynasty Minerals' Shareholders

There is no shortage of risk in this stock, which is why it is so inexpensive relative to its potential cash-flow.

A: Environmental Concerns

Environmental groups, native Alaskan tribes, politicians, and more generally concerned citizens argue that the EPA should disallow the project, claiming that it can do so under the Clean Water Act's section 404(c). The EPA's fact sheet says the following:

Section 404(c) [...] authorizes EPA to

restrict, prohibit, deny, or withdraw the use of an

area as a disposal site for dredged or fill material

if the discharge will have unacceptable adverse

effects on municipal water supplies, shellfish

beds and fishery areas, wildlife, or recreational

areas.

While this is an authority that the EPA rarely uses, ! it is und! er a lot of pressure to do so to prevent mining at Pebble. Opponents of the mine argue that it will contaminate Iliamna Lake and the Bristol Bay Watershed, which are pictured on the map in proximity to the proposed mine below.

(click to enlarge)

In addition to this, opponents of the mine are also concerned that it will harm the salmon that live in these waters, and that it will also hurt the salmon fishing industry, which is an important part of southwestern Alaska's economy.

The EPA confirms this with its studies. While it hasn't officially denied The Pebble Partnership the right to mine at Pebble, many investors believe that its current stance implies that it will.

Naturally the Pebble Partnership and Northern Dynasty Minerals are fighting back. In a recent news release the latter claims that it believes that the scientific merit of anti-Pebble studies is questionable, and that data has been intentionally misconstrued to manipulate public opinion.

We believe the Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment process to be a cynical effort to manipulate public perception about a project before it has been proposed or undergone federal and state permitting. And we believe the draft BBWA to be a fundamentally biased report that should have no bearing on the future of America's most important undeveloped mineral resource.

Northern Dynasty Minerals believes that it can use modern mining techniques that won't cause the environmental damage that is feared by so many. Investors are encouraged to look at the company's presentation, which provides the details.

Ultimately, from an investment standpoint the scientific debate doesn't matter that much. No matter which studies and data points are released this is really a political and legal issue (for a solid overview of this struggle take a look at this article). Opponents of the! mine wil! l not look at the Pebble Partnerships data without bias, and Northern Dynasty Minerals will continue to fight opposition regardless of the scientific merit of its opposition.

Ultimately the risk that the Pebble project will not be built is unquantifiable. But given this risk so many investors have simply looked elsewhere for opportunities, and as a result the shares have gotten incredibly inexpensive. Thus while this risk dominates investor perception of Northern Dynasty Minerals, it is almost certainly priced in.

B: The Price of Copper

As of late the price of copper has been in a downtrend given that Europe was in a recession and China's growth was slowing. The following chart of the iPath copper ETN (JJC) illustrates this downtrend.

(click to enlarge)

Now that Europe appears to be growing again, and China's growth appears to be picking up the price of copper is rising in sympathy. The value of the Pebble Project will be highly leveraged to the copper price. But the price of copper may not just determine the bulk of Northern Dynasty Minerals' potential cash-flow. A higher copper price will make it more likely that the company will be able to borrow the money it needs to develop the Pebble Project. Furthermore, a higher copper price makes the company's case against environmental groups more compelling, especially if the rise in price is due to a shortage, or some sort of emergency demand (e.g. war).

C: The Price of Gold

The price of gold has fallen precipitously recently, and Northern Dynasty Minerals' cash flow will be somewhat correlated to the gold price. So long as this downtrend remains intact, there is a reasonable possibility that the gold price will continue to fall in the short term.

(click to enlarge)

The price seems to have found a bottom around $1,200, which suggests that the downtrend in gold may come to an end. Still, it is intact, and lower gold prices will be reflected in Northern Dynasty Minerals' share price.

However, I do not believe that the downtrend will continue, as many gold mining companies cannot make a profit in the current gold price environment. A lower gold price will force companies with unprofitable or marginally profitable projects to shut them down, and this will put significant pressure on future supply. But while gold is barely economical to mine at $1,400/ounce, there is no reason that the price cannot remain at this level for some time.

D: The Price of Molybdenum

As a tertiary metal for Northern Dynasty Minerals, molybdenum is of some importance to its future cash flow.

The price of Molybdenum Oxide has languished ever since the 2008 financial crisis--beforehand the price was significantly higher.

(click to enlarge)

(This and the following chart are courtesy of General Moly's corporate presentation.)

Like with gold, many molybdenum producers cannot turn a profit at the current price. This suggests that a bottom may be in, or close, for molybdenum oxide prices. This thesis is supported by the rise in demand for molybdenum, which is illustrated in the following chart.

(click to enlarge)

With rising demand there is simply no way that the price of molybdenum oxide can remain below production costs for a sustainable period of time.

With these bullish fundamentals in mind, it is necessary to point out that the price of molybdenum oxid! e can stay! depressed for a sustained period of time. Furthermore, if there is an economic slowdown then the price can continue to languish.

E: Timeline Risk

As I mention above, even in a best case scenario the Pebble Project will likely not produce until 2020. But this date may be pushed back even further. While it is true that investors are being rewarded for waiting given the large amount of cash-flow that awaits them, for many investors 7 years is simply too long to wait. Too much can happen to adversely impact the company's fortunes.

F: Northern Dynasty Minerals' Capital Needs

Northern Dynasty Minerals needs about $1.85 billion to construct its share of the Pebble Project. This is more than nine times its current market valuation. Normally this would be a huge red flag. But I believe that the company will be able to borrow a lot of the money it needs. The size and economics of the project make it relatively low risk once the company gets the necessary permits. Also it has a large, well-funded partner in Anglo American, and the risk that the company will abandon the project is very low as a result. Still, the company's capital needs are large, and it has the following options to raise this capital:

It can issue stockIt can issue debtIt can sell a royalty or a streamIt can sell a portion of its stake in the property

Ultimately I think that it will use some combination of the first two with an emphasis on the latter.

G: Northern Dynasty Minerals' Size

Northern Dynasty Minerals only has its joint venture in the Pebble Project. If it cannot mine here the it is worth the cash on its balance sheet, which is about $23 million.

Conclusion

An investment in Northern Dynasty Minerals has more or less been equated to a bet on an EPA decision regarding the company's rights to mine its Pebble Project. While there is no doubt in my mind that this is a pressing issue for the company, I believe that the value of the property itself has been overlooked as a result. As we saw ! above, if! we ignore the environmental battle for a few moments and just take a look at the property, it is clear that it is incredibly valuable. If it goes into production it will be comfortably profitable and it will produce for decades. It also offers incredible leverage to the price of copper (and to a lesser extent gold and molybdenum).

Of course we cannot ignore the environmental issues surrounding the project, and there is a significant risk that the project will not be built, or that it will not be built for many years. In this sense Northern Dynasty Minerals is a deteriorating investment, and it is high risk, or even speculative. But every risk, at some level of reward, is worth taking. For copper and metal bulls I think this point has probably been reached. These investors have a unique opportunity to purchase shares in a company that a large group of investors simply want nothing to do with.

Ultimately an investment in Northern Dynasty Minerals offers a chance to potentially earn more annual cash flow than the current market capitalization, or even the market capitalization after some dilution. Investors who have the patience to wait several years, and who do not mind committing a small amount of their capital to an investment that may lose all of its value, should seriously consider an investment in Northern Dynasty Minerals.

Source: It Is Time For Copper Bulls To Consider Northern Dynasty Minerals

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)

Top Tech Stocks To Buy For 2014

Big-money managers must reveal their stock positions every quarter, giving small investors like you and me insight into the favorite stocks of money pros. In addition to running a multi-billion-dollar fund, Ken Fisher is a Forbes columnist, and has written several New York Times best-selling books on investing. Sound like a guy to pay attention to? You bet.

Under the hood of Fisher's top stock picks
Based on Fisher Asset Management's 13F SEC filing for Q2 2013, Fisher's holdings include a diversified mix of stocks that span all sectors, with the most significant weightings in the financial services, technology, and health-care sectors.�

Health-care conglomerate Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ  ) represents Fisher's largest individual stock holding and makes up 2.27% of his portfolio. Mitigating the risk of possible decline in any one business segment, the company boasts leading positions in pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostic, and consumer health areas. No more than 12% of revenues are derived from any single company division. J&J's recently launched new products and late-stage pharmaceutical drug pipeline�provide opportunities for growth. Strong worldwide pharmaceutical sales buoyed Johnson & Johnson's second-quarter revenue and earnings.

Top Tech Stocks To Buy For 2014: Lam Research Corporation(LRCX)

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

Top Tech Stocks To Buy For 2014: Straco Corporation Limited (S85.SI)

Straco Corporation Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development and operation of tourism-related facilities in the People�s Republic of China. The company develops and operates cable car facilities, aquatic related facilities, dolphin and sea lion performance aquariums, and a restaurant, as well as engages in the supplementary retail of souvenir; provides management and consulting services, and project management services; and is involved in the production and management of shows, as well as provides creative and artistic content. In addition, it engages in investment holding, leisure, travel, and tour businesses. The company was incorporated in 2002 and is based in Singapore.

Top Stocks To Watch For 2014: Kingtone Wirelessinfo Solution Holding Ltd(KONE)

Kingtone Wirelessinfo Solution Holding Ltd operates as a software and solutions developer focusing on wirelessly enabling businesses and government agencies. The company develops and provides mobile enterprise solutions, which allow company personnel whose work function requires mobility to be connected with enterprise information technology systems, including enterprise asset management, enterprise resource planning, supply chain management, and customer relationship management. It develops and implements mobile enterprise solutions for customers in various sectors and industries to enhance efficiencies by enabling information management in wireless environments. The company?s software enables such systems to get extended to personnel in the field using wireless devices, such as smart phones, PDAs, cameras, barcode scanners, portable printers, GPS devices, and tablet computers. Its mobile enterprise solutions are built on its proprietary core middleware platform consisti ng of standardized modules. The company was formerly known as ReiZii Capital Management Ltd. and changed its name to Kingtone Wirelessinfo Solution Holding Ltd in December 2009. Kingtone Wirelessinfo Solution Holding was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Xi?an, China.

Top Tech Stocks To Buy For 2014: Iron Mountain Incorporated(IRM)

Iron Mountain Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, provides information management services primarily in North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers records management services, including records management program development and implementation based on best-practices to help customers comply with specific regulatory requirements; implementation of policy-based programs that feature storage for various media comprising paper; flexible retrieval access and retention management; hybrid services to help organizations gain control over their paper records; and specialized services for vital records and regulated industries, such as healthcare, energy, government, and financial services. It also provides data protection and recovery services, such as disaster preparedness; off-site vaulting of data backup media for data recovery in the event of a disaster, human error, or virus; online backup and recovery solutions for desktop and la ptop computers, and remote servers; and technology escrow services to protect and manage source code and other proprietary information. In addition, the company offers information destruction services that primarily consist of physical secure shredding operations; and is involved in the shredding of sensitive documents to third-party recyclers. Further, it provides fulfillment services that assemble custom marketing packages and orders, as well as provide reporting on customer marketing literature inventories; and professional consulting services to develop and implement comprehensive records and information management programs. Iron Mountain Incorporated serves commercial, legal, banking, health care, accounting, insurance, entertainment, and government organizations. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Goodwin]

  In Q3 2010, Buffett sold his entire holding of 8 million shares at an average price of $22.33.

  In 2010, revenues inched up by 3.78% to $3.12 billion, but GAAP EPS fell into negative territory to -$0.27. However, the profit margin improved to 59.90% from 57.82%. With a net margin of -1.6%, IRM is less profitable than the Commercial Services & Supplies industry median. The next earnings release is on April 25. For Q1 2011, analysts estimate IRM will earn $0.27 per share, an increase of 116.43% over the prior year first quarter results. For the first quarter 2011, analysts estimate IRM will generate revenues of $790.3 million, an increase of 1.77% over the prior year first quarter results. IRM shares trade well above our fair value estimates, and it should be near trading no more than $30 per share. Also, the company will continue to be hurt by the lackadaisical global economy.

  Iron Mountain Incorporated provides information management services that help organizations lower the costs, risks and inefficiencies of managing their physical and digital data.. Founded in 1951, Iron Mountain manages billions of information assets, including business records, electronic files, medical data, emails and more for organizations around the world.