Best Sliver Stocks To Buy For 2014

��s U.S. politicians of both political parties are still shuffling back and forth between the White House and the Capitol Hill without striking a viable deal to bring normality to the body politic they brag about, it is perhaps a good time for the befuddled world to start considering building a de-Americanized world,��writes Liu Chang in Xinhua, China�� official news outlet. But can China build a de-Americanized world? Can China lead the global economy?

As we wrote in previous pieces, the answer is most likely not, as China lacks four conditions that make its economic growth sustainable.

First, China doesn�� have an ��nfinite��world market frontier for its manufacturing products, as its genuine expansion to world markets comes at a time when capitalism is already approaching its last frontier, having conquered almost every market around the world.

This means that China is pushing against capitalism�� last frontier, and, therefore, it has little room to maneuver before clashing with other world market players that are already well positioned in the global market.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Watch Right Now: Basf SE (BASFY.PK)

BASF SE is a chemical company. The Company operates in six segments: Chemicals, Plastics, Performance Products, Functional Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. Chemicals segment offers products in the chemical, electronic, construction, textile, automotive, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. Plastics segment offers a range of products, system solutions and services. Performance Products help its customers to improve their products and processes. Functional Solutions segment bundles system solutions and products for customers and industries. The Company�� Agricultural Solutions segment includes crop protection products, which guard against fungal diseases, insects and weeds. Its Oil & gas segment is a producer of oil and gas. On April 9, 2009, the Company acquired Ciba Holding AG. In April 2010, Intertek Group plc acquired the Regulatory and Safety Testing businesses of Ciba Expert Services (Ciba ES) from the Company. In December 2010, the Company completed its acquisition of Cognis Holding GmbH from Cognis Holding Luxembourg S.a r.l.

Chemicals

The Company�� Chemicals segment portfolio ranges from basic chemicals, glues and electronic chemicals for the semiconductor and flat panel display industry, to solvents and plasticizers, as well as starting materials for detergents, plastics, textile fibers, paints, coatings and pharmaceuticals. This segment is organized into three divisions: Inorganics, Petrochemicals and Intermediates. The important basic products of the Inorganics division are ammonia, methanol, sodium hydroxide, chlorine, as well as sulfuric and nitric acid. The Petrochemicals division produces products, such as ethylene, propylene, butadiene and benzene, which are produced in steam crackers from naphtha or natural gas. In further processing stages, it produces alcohols, solvents and plasticizers for the chemicals and plastics industries. BASF SE�� Intermediates division develops, produces and markets a range of intermediates of all produc! ers worldwide. The product lines include amines, diols, polyalcohols, acids and specialties. They serve as starting materials for products, such as coatings, plastics, pharmaceuticals, textile fibers, crop protection products, as well as detergents and cleaners.

Plastics

BASF�� Plastics segment is organized into two divisions: Performance Polymers and Polyurethanes. The Performance Polymers division is a supplier of engineering plastics, polyamides and polyamide intermediates, foams and specialty plastics. The Company offers its customers a portfolio of engineering plastics based on polyamide 6 and polyamide 6,6. This is complemented by products Ultradur, Ultraform and Ultrason. For the packaging, textile and food industries, it offers Ultramid, a base product for the manufacturing of fibers and foils. BASF SE�� product range also includes Ecoflex and Ecovio, biodegradable specialty plastics for the packaging industry. Styropor and its refinement Neopor are styrene-based precursors for foams used in insulating material for construction and packaging. The Polyurethanes division is a supplier of basic products, systems and specialties. The Company offers polyurethane products for numerous customer applications. Under brand names, such as Elastoflex and Elastopor, polyurethanes are used, as rigid or flexible foams in construction for furniture and household appliances.

Performance Products

The Performance Products segment consists of the Acrylics & Dispersions, Care Chemicals and Performance Chemicals divisions. Acrylics & Dispersions produces acrylic acid, as well as its derivatives superabsorbents and polymer dispersions. Superabsorbents are used particularly in diapers. Polymer dispersions are used in the production of glues, coatings, nonwoven materials and construction chemicals. The Company�� product portfolio for the paper industry consists of binders, process chemicals and kaolin pigments. Its Care Chemicals portfolio consists of products f! or cleani! ng, care, cosmetics and hygiene. Performance Chemicals pools specialties for various customer industries. The product portfolio consists of antioxidants, pigments, light stabilizers and specialty additives. The division also makes chemicals for the production and finishing of leather and textiles.

Functional Solutions

The Functional Solutions segment consists of the Catalysts, Construction Chemicals and Coatings divisions. The Catalysts division develops catalysts and adsorbents. It produces catalysts that transform pollutants in the exhaust flows of vehicles into harmless chemical and plastics. The Construction Chemicals division is engaged in development of concrete admixtures, such as concrete plasticizers, deferrers and curing agents. It also produces and markets construction systems. The Coatings division is a provider of coatings solutions for automotive and industrial applications. Its brands Glasurit and R-M are for the car refinish business.

Agricultural Solutions

The Agricultural Solutions segment consists of the Crop Protection division. The Company develops and produces active ingredients and formulations for the improvement of crop health and yields, and markets them worldwide. Its portfolio includes fungicides, insecticides, herbicides and seed treatments. Its product Headline contains the active ingredient F500, which is not only used for corn and soybean, but also for numerous other crops.

Oil & Gas

BASF�� oil and gas activities are bundled in the Wintershall Group. Wintershall and its subsidiaries operate in the business sectors exploration and production, and natural gas trading. In the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, the Company focuses on oil and gas regions in Europe, North Africa and South America, as well as Russia and the Caspian Sea region. The Mittelplate oil field in the North Sea tidal flats is the cornerstone of the Company�� oil production in Germany. Wintershall and RWE-D! EA each h! old a 50% interest in this field. During the year ended December 31, 2009, it acquired 25% interest in Cuxhaven concession. It operates 26 offshore platforms in Mittelplate region, of which 19 are actually controlled. In Libya, Wintershall operates eight onshore oil fields in the concessions 96 and 97 and exploits the associated gas released during crude oil production in a gas utilization plant for the local demand. In Mauritania, it operates two onshore exploration blocks. In 2008, Wintershall acquired stakes of 50% each in two exploration areas in the Canadon Asfalto Basin. It supplies Germany and several other European countries. The gas pipeline network operated by WINGAS TRANSPORT connects the markets in Western Europe with a natural gas infrastructure that runs through Eastern Europe and the Russian Federation all the way to the gas fields in Siberia. Other components portfolio include natural gas storage facility in Western Europe, in Rehdn, Germany, and the natural gas storage facility in Haidach, Austria.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Markus Aarnio]

  BioAmber expects its advanced bio-based specialty chemicals to compete with petrochemical equivalents that are proven in the market and manufactured by established companies, such as Gadiv Petrochemical Industries, Kawasaki Kasei, DSM (RDSMY.PK) and numerous small Chinese producers including Anqing Hexing Chemical, and Anhui Sunsing Chemicals. In addition, BioAmber's products will compete against other companies in the bio-based specialty chemical industry, both early stage companies, such as Genomatica (for bio-based 1,4 BDO) and Myriant Corporation (for bio-succinic acid), and established companies, such as a collaborative venture between DSM and Roquette Frères S.A. and a collaborative venture between BASF (BASFY.PK) and Purac (both for bio-succinic acid).

Best Sliver Stocks To Buy For 2014: Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc. (DWA)

DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. engages in the development, production, and exploitation of animated feature films and characters worldwide. It provides animated feature films and characters for the theatrical, home entertainment, television, and merchandising and licensing markets. The company also offers television specials and series, live entertainment properties, online virtual worlds, and related consumer products. It has approximately 21 animated feature films, including Shrek the Third, Shrek 2, and Madagascar. The company has strategic alliances with McDonald?s, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, and Samsung. DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Glendale, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  That stock was DreamWorks Animation (DWA).

  Now, when I check DreamWorks�� 52-week low ��I�� told it was $16.34 a share. I actually don�� remember it trading there. So, I probably couldn�� have gotten it there even if I�� wanted to. But I do remember it trading just under $17 a share several times. It was at one of those times ��I think it was October, that I decided I�� buy DreamWorks. So, I put in a buy order at $15 a share.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  DreamWorks Animation's (NASDAQ: DWA  ) Turbo was a box office dud over the weekend, and that has far-reaching implications for Netflix. Come December, Turbo F.A.S.T. -- a DreamWorks Animation series based on the movie -- will be available exclusively through Netflix's popular streaming platform. If kids don't watch the movie now, they aren't likely to be clamoring for the show come December.

• [By Charley Blaine]

  Among the week's winners: Dreamworks Animation (NASDAQ: DWA), up 20.39 percent; Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO), up 15.9 percent; and United Airlines parent United Continental Holdings (NYSE: UAL) up 14.02 percent. AMR (OTC: AAMRQ) added 27.01 percent.

• [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

  AP/Netflix, Melinda Sue GordonKevin Spacey as U.S. Rep. Frank Underwood in "House of Cards." One of the things that sets Netflix (NFLX) apart is its decision to offer entire seasons of original content at once. When the second season of "House of Cards" becomes available on Valentine's Day, fans of the award-winning political drama will be able to watch the entire season in one sitting if they so choose. Netflix calls it binge viewing, and it's a far cry from the traditional release platform where networks offer episodes in weekly installments with lulls for reruns along the way. Netflix has championed this approach since it broke into the market of offering first-run serialized dramas two years ago with the introduction of "Lilyhammer." At the time it was unconventional, but now that Netflix has followed suit with "House of Cards," "Orange is the New Black" and the "Arrested Development" revival it is something that viewers have come to expect out of the leading video service. Binge viewing is the new normal, but that doesn't mean that catering to it is the right approach. Streaming Against the Current It's been two years since Netflix decided to cater to binge viewers, but its rivals don't seem particularly ready to play along. Amazon.com (AMZN) broke into original programming by letting its users vote on several pilots. The first two shows to make the cut -- "Alpha House" and "Betas" -- made their season debuts in November. As Netflix's closest rival in the streaming business, the market was naturally going to keep an eye on how the leading online retailer would dispense the episodes. Would it follow Netflix or would it give a nod to traditional release schedules? Amazon chose to carve its own path. When "Alpha House" and "Betas" debuted, it made the first three episodes of each available immediately. However, the balance of the seasons were dispensed in weekly doses. It seemed as if Netflix was going to retreat from its binge viewing mantra a mont

Best Sliver Stocks To Buy For 2014: Enerplus Corporation (ERF)

Enerplus Corporation, together with subsidiaries, engages in the exploration and development of crude oil and natural gas in United States and Canada. As of December 31, 2011, it had 322 MMBOE of proved plus probable reserves. The company also held a portfolio of approximately 380,000 net acres of land comprised of 75,000 net acres at Fort Berthold targeting the Bakken and Three Forks; 65,000 net acres in the Duvernay; 33,000 net acres in the Montney; 67,000 net acres in the Stacked Mannville; 30,000 net acres in the Cardium and other emerging oil plays in Canada; and 110,000 net acres in the Marcellus. In addition, it had 120 gross producing wells. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By RichardCox]

  The first to look at is the Enerplus Resources Fund (ERF), which places most of its focus on Western Canadian properties in the mature development stage and is the largest oil and natural gas income fund in North America. For the second quarter, the company's annual production levels rose by 10%, and its diversified portfolio of high-quality growth resources puts Enerplus in a strong position to benefit from demographic trends and rising oil prices. Year-to-date, ERF has seen rallies of nearly 30% but the latest pullback in market valuations offers a new opportunity for investors to get long and gain exposure to energy markets without the added risks of companies that could be vulnerable to trade route disruptions in the Middle East (for example, in the all-important Suez Canal). With its $3.4 billion market cap and 6.4% dividend yield, Enerplus offers a stable alternative for playing energy markets and recent weakness in both commodities and the stock price itself should be viewed as a buying opportunity.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Canadian oil and gas producer Enerplus (NYSE: ERF  ) announced today its August monthly dividend of $0.09 Canadian per share, which is equivalent to $0.09 U.S. per share at an exchange rate of 0.9674.

Best Sliver Stocks To Buy For 2014: Investors Bancorp Inc.(ISBC)

Investors Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Investors Savings Bank that provides a range of banking services in the United States. The company accepts deposits and originates loans. Its deposit products include savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company offers commercial real estate, construction, multi-family, and commercial and industrial loans; and consumer loans, including home equity loans and home equity lines of credit, as well as mortgage loans secured by one-to four-family residential real estate. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 82 full-service branch offices located in Essex, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Union, and Warren Counties, New Jersey; Nassau and Queens, New York; and Massachusetts. The company was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Short Hills, New Jersey. Investors Bancorp, Inc. is a subsidiary of Investors Bancorp, MHC.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  He also pointed out that the approaching completion of Roma Financial (ROMA) and Investors Bancorp (ISBC) has some interesting implications for bank stock investors. Both are mutual holding companies, and the newly formed bank is expected to complete the process and do a second-step conversion offering. That will be a fairly large deal, much larger than most second-step offerings, as the combined banks should be somewhere around $3 billion in market cap. There will be larger investment banks involved, complete with road shows and institutional meetings to promote the deal. The attention could well cause a revaluation of the mutual holding company and converted thrift sector of the banking market.

• [By Jim Royal]

  I'm about to buy shares in Investors Bancorp (NASDAQ: ISBC  ) , a soon-to-demutualize thrift that is undervalued. The thrift has quickly grown assets since it went public in 2005 and, with improving credit metrics and a solid return on equity, the bank is ready to make the final leap to full public ownership. So my Special Situations portfolio will acquire shares shortly. Here's why I like the stock.

Best Sliver Stocks To Buy For 2014: Mueller Water Products Inc (MWA)

Mueller Water Products, Inc., incorporated on September 22, 2005, is a manufacturer and marketer of products and services used in the transmission, distribution and measurement of water. The Company�� product portfolio includes engineered valves, fire hydrants, pipe fittings, water meters, leak detection and pipe condition assessment which are used by municipalities, as well as the residential and non-residential construction industries. The Company operates in two segments: Mueller Co. and Anvil. Mueller Co. The Company�� valve or fire hydrant products are specified for use in the 100 metropolitan areas in the United States.

Mueller Co.

Mueller Co. manufactures valves for water and gas systems, including iron gate, butterfly, tapping, check, plug and ball valves, as well as dry-barrel and wet-barrel fire hydrants and a of pipe repair products, such as clamps and couplings used to repair leaks. The Company offers residential and commercial metering products and systems and leak detection and pipe condition assessment products and services. Mueller Co. products are sold through waterworks distributors.

The Company�� fire hydrants consist of an upper barrel and nozzle section and a lower barrel and valve section that connects to a water main. In dry-barrel hydrants, the valve connecting the barrel of the hydrant to the water main is located below ground at or below the frost line, which keeps the hydrant upper barrel dry. It sells dry-barrel fire hydrants with the Mueller and U.S. Pipe Valve and Hydrant brand names in the United States and the Mueller and Canada Valve brand names in Canada. The Company also makes wet-barrel hydrants, where the valves are located in the hydrant nozzles and the barrel contains water at all times. It also makes wet-barrel hydrants, where the valves are located in the hydrant nozzles and the barrel contains water at all times.

Mueller Co. manufactures a variety of intelligent water technology products under the Mue! ller Systems and Hersey Meters brand names that are designed to help water providers accurately measure water usage. These products include water meters, advanced metering infrastructure systems and automated meter reading products, have the capability to measure water usage ranging from small residential flows to large commercial and industrial applications.

Mueller Co. offers leak detection and pipe condition assessment products and services under the Echologics brand name. Other products include pipe repair products, such as clamps and couplings used to repair leaks and municipal castings, such as manhole covers and street drain grates. It sells these products under the Mueller and Jones brand names.

The Company competes with McWane, Inc., American Cast Iron Pipe Company, The Ford Meter Box Company, Inc., A.Y. McDonald Mfg, Sensus, Neptune Technology Group, Inc., Badger Meter, Inc., Aclara LLC and Itron, Inc.

Anvil

Anvil manufactures and sources a range of products, includes fittings, couplings, hangers, valves and related products for use in many non-residential constructions for HVAC, fire protection, energy and oil and gas applications. Anvil's products are sold through distributors who then sell the products to a variety of end users. These distributors are serviced primarily through Anvil's distribution centers.

Fittings and Couplings manufactures threaded and grooved pipe fittings and couplings. Pipe fittings and couplings join two pieces of pipe together. The five categories of pipe fittings and couplings are cast iron fittings, malleable iron fittings and unions, grooved fittings, couplings and valves, threaded steel pipe coupling and nipples. Hangers, manufacture an array of pipe hangers and supports. Standard pipe hangers and supports are used in fire protection sprinkler systems and HVAC applications where the objective is to provide rigid support from the building structure.

The Company competes with Ward Man! ufacturin! g L.L.C., malleable iron fittings, Victaulic Company, Tyco International Ltd., ERICO International Corporation, Cooper Industries plc and Carpenter & Paterson, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE: MWA  ) jumped as much as 17% today after the company released earnings.

  So what: Fiscal-second-quarter revenue jumped 12.6% to $283.1 million and net income was $6.2 million, or $0.05 per share. Analysts only expected revenue to be $270.8 million and earnings of $0.02 per share so this was well ahead of estimates. �

Best Sliver Stocks To Buy For 2014: First Trust Global Wind Energy (FAN)

First Trust ISE Global Wind Energy Index Fund is an exchange-traded fund. The investment objective of the Fund is to seek investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield, of an equity index called the ISE Global Wind Energy Index. The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in common stocks that comprise the Index or in depositary receipts that may include American depositary receipts (ADRs), global depositary receipts (GDRs), European depositary receipts (EDRs) or other depositary receipts (collectively, Depositary Receipts) representing securities in the Index. The Fund invests in sectors, which include Consumer Discretionary, Energy, Industrials, Materials and Utilities. First Trust Advisors L.P. (First Trust) is the Investment Advisor of the Fund. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap wind stock Broadwind Energy Inc (NASDAQ: BWEN) is up 203.7% since the start of the year, but investors might want to contain their excitement when they look closer at the�stock and�consider its�long term performance along with the performance of other wind investments like First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF (NYSEARCA: FAN) and wind energy stocks Vestas Wind Systems (OTCMKTS: VWDRY) and China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Ltd (NYSE: MY) to see whether BWEN is just blowing more hot air.