Top 10 Prefered Companies To Invest In 2014

Onyx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ONXX  ) is having a garage sale, but it doesn't appear that Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN  ) has been invited.

The promising cancer developer confirmed over the weekend that Amgen had made an offer to acquire Onyx for $120 per share, a 38.2% premium above Friday's close. Onyx certainly didn't waste any time rejecting the bid, commenting that it "significantly undervalued Onyx and its prospects, and was not in the best interest of Onyx or its shareholders." That hasn't, however, stopped Onyx from actively engaging in additional acquisition chatter with other interested parties outside of Amgen.

The interest in Onyx will come down to two big questions: How much is it worth considering that it only receives a percentage of net sales on two of its three cancer drugs? And who might the buyer be?

How Onyx makes its money
The first question, as I've noted, is quite tricky.

Nexavar, the company's most mature cancer drug, is currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat the most common forms of kidney and liver cancer. Aside from Japan, though, it splits the profits of Nexavar with licensing partner Bayer�down the middle. There's also a strong possibility that Nexavar could be in line for an added indication in treating thyroid cancer based on the extended progression-free survival it delivered relative to the placebo in a late-stage trial.

Hot High Dividend Companies To Watch In Right Now: Ishares Msci Italy Index Fund (EWI)

iShares MSCI Italy Index Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded securities in the aggregate in the Italian market, as measured by the MSCI Italy Index (the Index). The Index seeks to measure the performance of the Italian equity market. The Index is a capitalization-weighted index that aims to capture 85% of the (publicly available) total market capitalization. Component companies are adjusted for available float and must meet objective criteria for inclusion in the Index. The Index is reviewed quarterly.

The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Aspray]

  This is quite a bit better than the 9.2% gain of the iShares MSCI Italy (EWI) or the 8.9% rise in the iShares MSCI Austria (EWO). All three have done significantly better than the Spyder Trust (SPY), which is up 3.6%. The French and German country ETFs have not yet moved above their late 2013 highs.

Top 10 Prefered Companies To Invest In 2014: iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF (IJS)

The iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Value Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Standard & Poor�� SmallCap 600/Citigroup Value Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the small-capitalization value sector of the United States equity market. The Index is a subset of the S&P SmallCap 600 Index and consists of those companies exhibiting the strongest value characteristics within the S&P SmallCap 600 Index.

The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. Barclays Global Fund Advisors (BGFA) acts as the investment advisor of the Fund.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Gary Gordon]

  On behalf of most of my clients in 2013, I chose to overweight tech and health care. However, I did so with areas that are traditionally less volatile. I continue to own Powershares Pharmaceuticals (PJP) and/or SPDR Select Healthcare (XLV). I’ve been a proponent of “old tech” with the attractive prices and dividends; First Trust NASDAQ Tech Dividend (TDIV) fits the bill. Additionally, I have remained faithful to iShares Small Cap Value (IJS) for small-cap exposure, rather than hop on the IWO express.

Top 10 Prefered Companies To Invest In 2014: Global X China Financials ETF (CHIX)

Global X China Financials ETF (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the S-BOX China Financials Index (the Underlying Index). The Underlying Index is a free float adjusted, liquidity tested and market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure performance of the investable universe of companies in the Financials sector of the Chinese economy, as defined by Structured Solutions AG. Global X Management Company, LLC serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By pamatlarge]

  Investors looking to short a particular sector can choose from several Global X long ETFs. The Global X China Consumer ETF (CHIQ) concentrates its investments in consumer cyclical goods and consumer defense goods. The Global X China Energy ETF (CHIE) primarily holds stocks in coal, oil and utility companies. The Global X China Financials ETF (CHIX) only invests in financial services companies and real estate companies. The Global X China Industrials ETF (CHII) holds stocks in industrial companies and basic materials companies. The Global X China Materials ETF (CHIM) invests in basic materials stocks. The Global X China Technology ETF (CHIB) holds technology stocks as the core of its investments. All of these ETFs are particularly sensitive to sector downturns and general economic contractions.

Top 10 Prefered Companies To Invest In 2014: Denbury Resources Inc (DNR)

Denbury Resources Inc., incorporated in 1951, is an independent oil and natural gas company. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had 461.9 million barrel of oil equivalent of proved oil and natural gas reserves, of which 77% was oil. The Company�� oil and natural gas properties are concentrated in the Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountain regions in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, the Company's properties with proved and producing reserves in the Gulf Coast region were situated in Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana and Alabama, and in the Rocky Mountain region were primarily situated in Montana, North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. In April 2012, it sold certain non-operated assets in the Greater Aneth Field in the Paradox Basin of Utah to Resolute Energy Corporation and the Navajo Nation Oil and Gas Company. In December 2012, the Company closed its first phase of its previously announced Bakken sale and asset exchange with Exxon Mobil Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiary XTO Energy Inc. In March 2013, it announced the closing of acquisition of producing property interests in the Cedar Creek Anticline (CCA) of Montana and North Dakota.

The Company�� CO2 source, Jackson Dome is located near Jackson, Mississipp. In addition to the proved reserves, it has an additional 2.5 trillion cubic feet of probable CO2 reserves at Jackson Dome. As of December 31, 2011, there have been 13 structures drilled within the Jackson Dome area and only one has not been productive. In addition to using CO2 for the Company�� Gulf Coast tertiary operations, it sells CO2 to third-party industrial users under long-term contracts and has three CO2 volumetric production payment contracts (VPPs). Approximately 91% of its average daily CO2 production during the year ended December 31, 2011 was used in its tertiary recovery operations on its own behalf and on behalf of other working interest owners in recovery fields, with the balance delivered to third-party industrial users. During 2011, the Company sold an av! erage of 89 million cubic feet per day of CO2 to commercial users, and the Company used an average of 920 million cubic feet per day for its tertiary activities.

In Eastern Mississippi properties, the Company has four tertiary operations (Soso, Martinville, Eucutta and Heidelberg Fields). The majority of the conventional oil production at Heidelberg is from waterflood units that produce from the Eutaw formation (at approximately 4,400 feet). The Company has converted all of the waterflood units in West Heidelberg to CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR). As of December 31, 2011, the Company either owned, or controlled through long-term financing leases, approximately 864 miles of CO2 pipelines in the Gulf Coast region. In addition to the NEJD CO2pipeline, the major pipelines are the Free State Pipeline (90 miles), the Delta Pipeline (110 miles) and the Green Pipeline (325 miles).

The Company�� primary Rocky Mountain CO2 source, Riley Ridge is located in southwestern Wyoming. The gas composition from Riley Ridge is approximately 65% CO2, 19% natural gas, 5% hydrogen sulfide (H2S), 0.6% helium, and the remainder other gases. As of December 31, 2011, its interest in Riley Ridge and minor surrounding acreage contained net proved reserves of 415 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 2.2 trillion cubic feet of CO2 reserves. Bell Creek Field is located in southeast Montana. Cedar Creek Anticline (CCA) is primarily located in Montana. CCA is a series of 10 producing oil units. During 2011, the Company fracture stimulated 31 operated wells in the Bakken and four wells in the Selma Chalk utilizing water-based fluids.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  Certainly, some of these moves will hurt certain parts of the oil and gas industry harder than others. For example, Denbury Resources (NYSE: DNR  ) is an Enhanced Oil Recovery specialist, so the EOR tax credit would hurt it much more so than others. Another example is a shortening of primary lease terms for federally auctioned land. This would shorten the time an exploration and production company has to start producing from federal lands before the lease expires. A move like this would certainly hurt companies with lots of undeveloped land on their books (Chesapeake Energy, anyone?).

• [By Claudia Assis]

  Denbury Resources Inc. (DNR) �declined 5.5%.

Top 10 Prefered Companies To Invest In 2014: Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX)

Express Scripts Holding Company, incorporated in 2011, provides healthcare management and administration services on behalf of its clients, which include health maintenance organizations (HMOs), health insurers, third-party administrators, employers, union-sponsored benefit plans, workers compensation plans, and government health programs. The Company operates in two segments: Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) and Emerging Markets (EM). PBM services include network claims processing, home delivery services, patient care and direct specialty and fertility home delivery to patients, benefit plan design consultation, drug utilization review, formulary management, drug data analysis services, distribution of injectable drugs to patients homes and physicians offices, bio-pharma services, and fulfillment of prescriptions to low-income patients through manufacturer-sponsored patient assistance programs. EM segment provides distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to providers and clinics, healthcare account administration and implementation of consumer-directed healthcare solutions. In September 2013, it announced the acquisition of the SmartD Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (PDP).

On July 20, 2011, Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI) entered into a merger agreement (the Merger Agreement) with Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (Medco). During the year ended December 31, 2011, it reorganized its FreedomFP line of business from its EM segment into its PBM segment. On April 2, 2012, the Company completed the Merger Agreement, and after which ESI and Medco became the wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company. The Company�� customers include HMOs, health insurers, third-party administrators, employers, union-sponsored benefit plans, government health programs, office-based oncologists, renal dialysis clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, primary care physicians, retina specialists and others.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX  ) , the nation's largest pharmacy benefits manager, or PBM, announced its second-quarter financial results after the market closed on Monday. Here are three things you need to know from the company's update.

Top 10 Prefered Companies To Invest In 2014: British/Swiss Franc(UN)

UNILEVER N.V. operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. It offers personal care products, including skin care and hair care products, deodorants, and oral care products under the brand names of Axe, Brylcreem, Dove, Fissan, Lifebuoy, Lux, Pond's, Radox, Rexona, Signal & Close Up, Simple, St Ives, Sunsilk, TRESemm� Vaseline, and VO5. The company also provides home care products comprising laundry tablets, powders and liquids, soap bars, and various cleaning products under the Cif, Comfort, Domestos, Omo, Radiant, Sunlight, and Surf brand names. In addition, it offers food products consisting of soups, bouillons, sauces, snacks, mayonnaise, salad dressings, margarines and spreads, as well as cooking products, such as liquid margarines. The company markets its food products under the brand names of Becel/Flora, Bertolli, Blue Band, Rama, Hellmann?s, Amora, and Knorr. Further, it provides refreshment products, which include ice cream, tea-based beverages, weight-management products, and nutritionally enhanced staples under the brand names of Heartbrand, Lipton, and Slim?Fast. UNILEVER N.V. sells its products through its own sales force, as well as through independent brokers, agents, and distributors to chain, wholesale, co-operative and independent grocery accounts, food service distributors, and institutions. The company, formerly known as Naamlooze Vennootschap Margarine Unie, was founded in 1927 and is based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Unilever N.V. is a subsidiary of The Unilever Group.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MONEYMORNING]

  Own a giant, global player in consumer goods that has a diversified array of household brand-name products that are sold all over the world and that pays a fat dividend. Unilever N.V. (ADR) (NYSE: UN) is one.

• [By Reuters]

  Toby Talbot/AP NEW YORK -- A voluntary effort by the world's largest food and beverage companies to remove billions of calories from the products they sell in the United States to help combat the nation's obesity epidemic has far exceeded its five-year goal, according to an independent evaluation released Thursday. In May 2010, 16 of the nation's biggest food and beverage companies, from Coca-Cola (KO) to Kraft Foods Group (KRFT), pledged to remove 1 trillion calories from the U.S. marketplace by 2012 and 1.5 trillion by 2015, compared with a 2007 baseline. In fact, as of 2012 they sold 6.4 trillion fewer calories, found an analysis by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "Reports like this, and the fact that they exceeded their commitment by fourfold, really shows that you can make progress in giving American families more healthy options," said Larry Soler, president of the Partnership for a Healthier America, a non-profit chaired by first lady Michelle Obama. The group was formed in 2010 to work with the private sector on anti-obesity strategies. At the time, critics said the Partnership relied too heavily on the good will of the industry and couldn't replace the role of tighter regulation on how food is manufactured and marketed. Such voluntary efforts by industry "are not a magic bullet," said Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America's Health, a non-profit policy group. "Particularly with kids, there is a role for regulation" in reducing demand for unhealthy, high-calorie fare. It isn't clear yet how the companies accomplished the dramatic calorie reduction, said UNC public health researcher Barry Popkin, who led the analysis funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation's largest public health philanthropy. Some of the decline may have come from the recession, as financially strapped families cut back on junk food. When the pledge was announced, companies said they would substitute lower-calorie pro

Top 10 Prefered Companies To Invest In 2014: IGI Laboratories Inc. (IG)

IGI Laboratories, Inc. engages in developing, manufacturing, filling, and packaging topical semi-solid and liquid products for cosmetic, cosmeceutical, and pharmaceutical customers in the United States. The company�s products are used for various skin conditions, including the treatment of symptoms of dermatitis, acne, psoriasis, and eczema. It offers contract formulation and contract manufacturing services to a range of topical formulations, including creams, ointments, lotions, gels, and topical liquids. The company is also developing a portfolio of prescription generic formulations in topical dosage forms. IGI Laboratories, Inc., through its license agreement with Novavax, Inc., utilizes the Novasome lipid vesicle encapsulation and certain other technologies for applications in animal pharmaceuticals, biologicals, and other animal health products; foods, food applications, nutrients, and flavorings; cosmetics, consumer products, and dermatological over-the-counter and prescription products; fragrances; and chemicals, including herbicides, insecticides, pesticides, paints and coatings, photographic chemicals, and other specialty chemicals. The company was formerly known as IGI, Inc. and changed its name to IGI Laboratories, Inc. in May 2008. IGI Laboratories, Inc. was founded in 1977 and is based in Buena, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  The Barclays Aggregate Index rose by 0.57% in 3Q13, having stood at a loss of -0.36% the day before the FOMC's declaration to not slow QE. Despite the bounce, the Index remains in negative territory YTD and for the trailing 12-months at -1.77% and -1.68%, respectively. In stark contrast to 2Q13, Investment Grade (IG) corporate spreads tightened 10bps during 3Q13, producing a positive nominal return of 0.82% and an excess return of 0.92%. The respective YTD total returns in IG remain a disappointing -2.62%, but excess returns are still positive at 0.61% YTD. The 1-Yr results for IG Credit now fall to a nominal -1.58%, but 1.79% in excess of Treasuries.