Kiichiro Sato/AP WASHINGTON -- U.S. consumer confidence fell slightly in February on concern about the near-term outlook for business conditions and jobs. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its confidence index slipped to 78.1 this month, down from 79.4 in January. "Consumers believe the economy has improved, but they do not foresee it gaining considerable momentum in the months ahead," said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board. Consumer sentiment is closely watched for indications about how it will impact consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity. Views about current conditions increased for the fourth consecutive month and now stand at the highest level in almost six years. But the index that tracks consumer expectations dipped slightly, pulling the overall reading down. In the expectations category, consumer views about the labor market was a bit more pessimistic than it has been, possibly reflecting two months of weak job gains. Employers added a tepid 113,000 jobs in January after a lackluster gain of 75,000 in December. That was far below last year's monthly average of 194,000. There was solid hiring in manufacturing and construction last month and that has contributed to optimism that the weaker job growth was a temporary lull and not the start of another swoon for the economy. The Federal Reserve at its December and January meetings have trimmed its monthly bond purchases and indicated that it feels the economy is gaining momentum. Many private analysts are forecasting that the overall economy will grow at around 3 percent this year, up a full percentage point from 2013 growth. The federal government is expected to be less of a drag on activity this year. Tax increases and across-the-board spending cuts trimmed growth by an estimated 1.75 percentage points in 2013.
Top 5 Logistics Companies To Watch In Right Now: Waste Management Inc.(WM)
Waste Management, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides waste management services to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in North America. It offers collection, transfer, recycling, and disposal services. The company also owns, develops, and operates waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. Its collection services involves in picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility, or disposal site; and recycling operations include collection and materials processing, plastics materials recycling, and commodities recycling. In addition, it provides recycling brokerage, which includes managing the marketing of recyclable materials for third parties; and electronic recycling services, such as collection, sorting, and disassembling of discarded computers, communications equipment, and other electronic equipment. Further, the company e ngages in renting and servicing portable restroom facilities to municipalities and commercial customers under the Port-o-Let name; and involves in landfill gas-to-energy operations comprising recovering and processing the methane gas produced naturally by landfills into a renewable energy source, as well as provides street and parking lot sweeping services. Additionally, it offers portable self-storage, fluorescent lamp recycling, and medical waste services for healthcare facilities, pharmacies, and individuals, as well as provides services on behalf of third parties to construct waste facilities. The company was formerly known as USA Waste Services, Inc. and changed its name to Waste Management, Inc. in 1998. Waste Management, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lauren Pollock]
Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Tuesday’s session are Forest Laboratories Inc.(FRX), Coca-Cola Co.(KO) and Waste Management Inc.(WM)
- [By Sean Williams]
Today, I plan to introduce the first of 10 selections to the Basic Needs Portfolio: Waste Management (NYSE: WM ) .
How it fits in with our theme
Waste Management fits the theme of the portfolio in actually more ways than one. Obviously, trash collection is a basic necessity that's needed regardless of whether the economy is booming or in a recession. The amount of trash we generate may fluctuate slightly based on the health of the economy, but hauling it away remains a basic need that creates consistent cash flow for Waste Management. - [By Damian Illia]
During 2008, Republic Services and Allied Waste merged to create a strong company which could compete with number-one waste management company Waste Management Inc. (WM). It is true this industry has a rather constant nature, as trash volume increases with population growth, urban construction, industrial production and commercial activity. Still, the macroeconomic context during 2008 affected the recently-merged company, having to deal with lower waste volumes and intense price competition. Nevertheless, after this bumpy beginning, the company reached a good profitability. And, although it came to sustain average growth on both gross and operating margins, this tendency has recently decelerated with this margins underperforming in 2012 and 2013.
Hot Growth Companies To Invest In Right Now: Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc.(EIHI)
Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides workers compensation insurance and reinsurance products in the United States. The company?s Workers Compensation Insurance segment provides traditional workers compensation insurance coverage products, including guaranteed cost policies, policyholder dividend policies, retrospectively-rated policies, deductible policies, and alternative market products to employers. This segment distributes its workers? compensation products and services through its independent insurance agents primarily in Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, Maryland, Indiana, and Virginia. Its Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance segment offers alternative market workers compensation solutions comprising program design, fronting, claims administration, risk management, segregated portfolio cell rental, asset management, and segregated portfolio management services to individual companies, groups, and associations. Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lauren Pollock]
ProAssurance Corp.(PRA) agreed to acquire Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc.(EIHI) for about $205 million, expanding the insurance company’s casualty insurance offerings. Eastern Insurance is a domestic casualty insurance group specializing in workers’ compensation products and services, among other things. ProAssurance plans to pay $24.50 in cash for each outstanding Eastern share, a 16% premium over Monday’s closing price.
Hot Growth Companies To Invest In Right Now: Delphi Financial Group Inc. (DFG)
Delphi Financial Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated employee benefit services. The company operates in two segments, Group Employee Benefit Products and Asset Accumulation Products. The Group Employee Benefit Products segment provides disability, group life, and excess workers? compensation insurance products to small and mid-sized employers. It also offers travel accident, voluntary accidental death and dismemberment, group dental, and limited benefit health insurance products, as well as assumed workers? compensation and casualty reinsurance. This segment markets its group products to employer-employee groups and associations in various industries primarily through independent brokers and agents. The Asset Accumulation Products segment primarily offers fixed annuities, such as single premium deferred annuities, flexible premium annuities, and multi-year interest guarantee products to individuals through networks of independent insurance agen ts. The company also provides integrated disability and absence management services, including event reporting, leave of absence management, claims and case management, and return to work management. Delphi Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is based in Wilmington, Delaware.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Holly LaFon]
Some of Elliott Management�� top equity positions in the first quarter 2012 are Brocade Communications Systems (BRCD), Delphi Automotive (DFG), Iron Mountain (IRM) and News Corp. (NWS).
Hot Growth Companies To Invest In Right Now: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets da Vinci surgical systems for various surgical procedures, including urologic, gynecologic, cardiothoracic, general, and head and neck surgeries. Its da Vinci surgical system consists of a surgeon?s console or consoles, a patient-side cart, a 3-D vision system, and proprietary ?wristed? instruments. The company?s da Vinci surgical system translates the surgeon?s natural hand movements on instrument controls at the console into corresponding micro-movements of instruments positioned inside the patient through small puncture incisions, or ports. It also manufactures a range of EndoWrist instruments, which incorporate wrist joints for natural dexterity for various surgical procedures. Its EndoWrist instruments consist of forceps, scissors, electrocautery, scalpels, and other surgical tools. In addition, it sells various vision and accessory products for use in conjunction with the da Vinci Surgical System as surgical procedures are performed. The company?s accessory products include sterile drapes used to ensure a sterile field during surgery; vision products, such as replacement 3-D stereo endoscopes, camera heads, light guides, and other items. It markets its products through sales representatives in the United States, and through sales representatives and distributors in international markets. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Selena Maranjian]
Among holdings in which Lone Pine Capital increased its stake are Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG ) and Ulta Salon (NASDAQ: ULTA ) . Intuitive Surgical, specializing in robotic surgical equipment, has had a bumpy year, thanks to bearish comments from a research company and questions about the efficacy of its systems. Some legal worries were eased recently, with a victory in court. While some wonder whether the company's growth prospects are slowing down, others love the company's competitive advantages and dominance in its promising market.
- [By Rick Munarriz]
1. Intuitive Surgical will close higher on the week
One of the more intriguing companies reporting this week will be Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG ) . The company behind the da Vinci surgical robotics system took a hit a few days ago, after revealing soft sales in its latest quarter. Posting revenue and earnings growth in the single digits is not the norm for Intuitive Surgical, and the news even included a decline in the sale of the actual systems. - [By Steve Symington]
In March, fellow Fool Brenton Flynn wondered aloud whether the onus for recent robotic surgery errors should really fall on�Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG ) .
Hot Growth Companies To Invest In Right Now: TrueBlue Inc.(TBI)
TrueBlue, Inc. provides temporary blue-collar staffing services in the United States. It supplies on demand general labor to various industries under the Labor Ready brand; skilled labor to manufacturing and logistics industries under the Spartan Staffing brand; and trades people for commercial, industrial, and residential construction, and building and plant maintenance industries under the CLP Resources brand. The company also provides mechanics and technicians to the aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul, aerospace manufacturing, and assembly industries, as well as to other transportation industries under the Plane Techs brand; and temporary drivers to the transportation and distribution industries under the Centerline brand. It primarily serves small and medium-size businesses. The company was formerly known as Labor Ready, Inc. and changed its name to TrueBlue, Inc. in December 2007. TrueBlue, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Travis Hoium]
What: Shares of staffing agency TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI ) jumped 10% today after the company reported earnings.
So what: Revenue jumped 19%, to $422.3 million, and beat estimates of $420.2 million from Wall Street. Adjusted earnings per share were also up 19%, to $0.31, outpacing estimates by $0.05.�
- [By Jonathan Yates]
When looking at small cap stocks, it is useful to compare the company with others that have expanded in both share price and size. For those considering investing in the $100 billion staffing industry, the growth of TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI) shows what could be the potential path for Labor SMART (OTCBB: LTNC), as both operate in the $29 billion demand labor sector. Other firms have done well in the staffing industry include Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) and ManPower Group (NYSE: MAN).
- [By Jonathan Yates]
For those looking to invest in real estate stocks, highly recommended is the Dr. Housing Bubble blog. In a recent posting, the "Dr." pointed out that there was a "Lost Generation" when it came to household income. That has not happened for those investing in staffing industry stocks such as Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX), Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI), TrueBlue, Inc. (NYSE: TBI), and Labor SMART (OTCBB: LTNC).
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