 Casey Rogers/Walmart via APWalmart chief communications officer David Tovar resigned his post last week. Walmart Stores' chief spokesman David Tovar resigned after the company allegedly found that he had lied about his academic record in his resume, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. While conducting a due-diligence screening, Walmart (WMT) discovered that Tovar had lied about receiving a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Delaware in 1996, the report said. An academic-records official from the University of Delaware confirmed to Bloomberg that Tovar never received the diploma. Tovar, who announced his resignation last week, couldn't be reached by phone and didn't respond to an email seeking comment. Walmart was also not immediately available for comment outside regular U.S. business hours. More from Reuters
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 Platts NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Investors were keeping calm over Iraq Friday as President Barack Obama signaled the U.S. won't take immediate military action to help the Iraqi army respond to attacks by Sunni militants in the country's north, while Iranian forces joined the Baghdad government's efforts to combat insurgent advances. Financial markets are seeing only modest fallout from the conflict, though strategists say investors should be braced for potential volatility in oil prices. Here's what you need to know: What is happening? Brent surges Obama said he would review military options "in the days ahead" but that any military response must be "careful." He pressed Iraq Prime Minister Kamal al-Maliki to take steps to better balance political power between Shiites and Sunnis. Iran has already jumped to help fellow Shiites in Iraq's government against the threat, deploying Revolutionary Guard units to the country. Iraq was on the brink of civil war after Kurdish forces took control of Kirkuk, a provincial capital city and oil-production hub in northern Iraq while Sunni militias swept through other cities in the north and threatened Baghdad. Why is Iraq important? Iraq is the world's eighth-largest producer of oil and ranks No. 2 in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, behind Saudi Arabia. The country exports around 2.5 million barrels of oil a day. Losing that supply would be quite disruptive and could propel oil prices higher by another $15 to $20 a barrel, analysts say. "Although the situation is some distance from the oil fields, the reality is that a $20 a barrel spike in crude prices could well prove sufficient to derail the global economic recovery," said Joao Monteiro, an analyst at Valutrades in London. Iraq's oil production has been on the comeback trail since the height of the Iraq war. Production hit 3.6 million barrels a day in February, its highest level in more than 30 years. It has since fallen back, slipping to 3.3 million barrels a day in May, analysts say. Iraq's production growth has been a welcome development for oil consumers as Libya struggles to return online amid persistent violence and turmoil. But the fighting casts big doubts over the government's aim to boost output to 4 million barrels a day by the end of this year and to 7 million barrels a day by 2016, note economists at Capital Economics. What's the threat? An underlying fear in the oil market is that the fighting will spread to Iraq's main oil-producing areas in the south. Meanwhile, Iraq's biggest refinery at Baijii in the north remains under government control , Iraqi oil minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi said Thursday, according to Reuters. Luaibi said Iraqi crude exports from its southern terminal at Basra were running at an average of 2.6 million to 2.7 million barrels a day on Wednesday. "The northern oil fields have been taken yet that area of the country was not really active. There had been damaged pipelines due to sabotage," said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group. "Basra in the south of Iraq seems to be operating normally and any attack on Baghdad may be met with much tougher resistance."  Capital Economics
Stocks ended mixed yesterday. Today, the major indexes all look to be heading lower.  AP S&P 500 futures have dropped 0.2%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures have dipped 0.1%. Nasdaq Composite futures are off 0.2%. Macy’s (M) blamed the cold weather for a slide in sales but has risen 1.2% to $58.55 thanks to a better-than-forecast profit of 60 cents a share. URS Corp. (URS) has plunged 7.1% to $43.85 after its profit of 37 cents a share missed the Street consensus by 30 cents. Plug Power (PLUG) has dropped 3.7% to $3.94 after it reported a loss of 6 cents a share, missing analyst estimates for a loss of 5 cents. Sears Holdings (SHLD) has gained 1.6% to $44.15 after it said it could sell its 51% stake in Sears Canada. Deere (DE) has fallen 1.5% to $92.25 after beating earnings forecasts but lowering its full-year sales guidance. SodaStream (SODA) has declined 3.6% to $39.65 after it reported a profit of 8 cents a share, ahead of forecasts for 1 cent. It said earnings would grow 3% in 2014.
 Alamy All you need to do your taxes is a little bit of time over one weekend to gather what you need, get organized and file your return. Friday Evening: Collect the Documentation On Friday evening, devote an hour or two to collect the necessary documents. If your documents are scattered, use a checklist to make sure you grab all the important stuff. Here's what most people will need: Last year's tax return. The Social Security number -- or tax ID number, if applicable -- and birthdate for you and everyone in your household. Income information for employees: W2s. Income information for self-employed individuals: W9s, 1099s and Schedule K-1s. Report all income, even if you did not receive a 1099 from a client. Income information from investments: 1099s reflecting interest earned, dividends, retirement funds and son on. Proof of income adjustments: 1098s. Receipts: If you are itemizing, they should be added for health expenses, donations and other key categories. Tip for next tax season: If you had to run around to find these forms and documents or you had to dig through a box of old receipts, now is a good time to create better habits to make tax time less stressful next year. For instance, you can upload your receipts and paper clutter to a cloud-based, accessible-from-anywhere storage system with Shoeboxed. Saturday: Use Software or Take Everything to a Preparer On Saturday, you are ready to fire up tax software or bring your information in to a tax preparer. Which you choose is a matter of personal preference and how complicated your tax situation is. If you do your taxes with the help of a tax software, double- and triple-check all the information you entered. The software will do the math, but it can't tell you if you have typos. The added cost of a tax professional may be worth it if you have your own small business, unique tax situation or simply don't feel comfortable handling this information on your own. It's OK to ask for help. Tip for this season: If you make less than $52,000, you could qualify for free tax help at a Volunteer Income Tax Assistant Program near you. Sunday: Make One Last Check Sunday is time to think about your taxes. Take an hour to carefully review your return and check for errors. If a mistake was made, don't panic. Don't cross your fingers and hope the Internal Revenue Service won't notice, either. Erroneous reporting can trigger an audit, which is stressful for most taxpayers. Instead, take pre-emptive action and file a 1040X form to point out the mistake. This will help you avoid penalties, since you reported the error. Tax season isn't fun, but this plan will make it go more smoothly. And if you invest extra time, you'll set yourself up for a less stressful and faster experience next year.
Consumer confidence rose in January, reinforcing December's rebound. The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index rose to 80.7, vs. up from 77.5 in December. The index started at 100 in 1985. The independent business membership and research association's index also showed increasingly optimistic assessments of current and future conditions. "All in all, confidence appears to be back on track and rising expectations suggest the economy may pick up some momentum in the months ahead," said said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. STOCKS TUESDAY: How markets are doing The Conference Board's index is based on a monthly survey by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was January 16. According to the survey, respondents who said business conditions are "good" increased to 21.5% in January from 20.2% in December. People who said business conditions were bad fell slightly, to 22.8%, from 23.2%. And consumers were slightly more optimistic about the job market, with 12.7% saying jobs were plentiful, vs 11.9 percent in December. Still, 32.6% said jobs are hard downs slightly from 32.9% Looking into the future, consumers were somewhat more muted. Those expecting better business conditions the next six months remained unchanged at 17.4%, but those who thought things would get worse fell to 12.1% from 13.9%. Because nearly two-thirds of the economy depends on consumer spending, the Conference Board's monthly survey is an important indicator of future economic activity. One hopeful sign: 15.8% of those surveyed expected their incomes to rise in the months ahead, vs. 13.9% in December. "Given the increased optimism on the part of consumers about future earnings, the momentum behind the stronger consumer spending observed in the fourth quarter of last year looks like it can be maintained in the new year," Wells Fargo senior economist! Mark Vitner said in a letter to clients. He warned, however, that consumer confidence is extremely sensitive to political unrest in Washington -- and the looming fight over raising the federal debt ceiling could rattle consumers next month.
 Credit Suisse wants junior bankers in the Americas to cut down on weekend working hours. LONDON (CNNMoney) Credit Suisse has joined the ranks of investment banks attempting to lighten the load for junior staff as the industry faces scrutiny over grueling working conditions. The internal memo sent Monday and obtained by CNNMoney said analysts and associate level staff should not be in the office from 6 p.m. Friday to 10 a.m. Sunday unless they are working on a live deal. A live deal is one "that is actively being put together," according to the bank. The number of such deals underway at any time fluctuates. The guidance, which applies to staff in the Americas, was issued by the global head of investment banking Jim Amine. Amine said junior bankers should not be called in for weekend work on non-live deals without management approval. The working policy also said that junior staff are "expected to reply to e-mails in a timely manner throughout the weekend." Several investment banks have moved to relax working conditions for junior staff following the death of a former Bank of America intern in London last year. An inquest into the death of the 21-year old German, Moritz Erhardt, revealed a culture of heavy workloads for junior investment bankers. The inquest found that Erhardt, who suffered from epilepsy, died of natural causes, though fatigue could have been a factor.  Why big banks are too big to jail This week, Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) recommended that its junior staff take at leas! t 4 weekend days off a month. In October, Goldman Sachs (GSPRC) also encouraged its junior bankers to take weekends off. Goldman's Zurich office was investigated in 2013 by Swiss labor authorities after a complaint lodged by an employee group suggested the firm had run afoul of strict local labor laws related to tracking workers' hours. 
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Treasury prices gained on Thursday after a strong auction of $13 billion in inflation-protected securities and a mixed round of economic data. The benchmark 10-year note (10_YEAR) yield, which rises as prices fall, traded down 1.5 basis point on the day at 2.789%, after climbing as high as 2.841% in morning trade. The 5-year note (5_YEAR) yield fell 1 basis point to 1.370%, and the 30-year bond (30_YEAR) yield traded down 2.5 basis points at 3.890%.   Enlarge Image Ten-year Treasury inflation-protected securities, or TIPS, yielded 0.574%, down about 3 basis points on the day, after a sale of the debt, according to Tradeweb. TIPS, unlike nominal Treasurys, protect against inflation by increasing principal alongside rising costs, though the sector has underperformed this year as inflation remains muted. However, the auction saw strong demand Thursday, with the debt selling at 0.560%, well below where the broader market was trading at the time. The ratio of bids to the amount of debt sold was 2.59 times, higher than the average of 2.55 times in the last six sales. Direct bidders, which include domestic money managers, purchased a relatively large share of the debt, taking down 21.5% of the notes, compared to a recent average of 8.1%. Indirect bidders, including foreign central banks that often buy real yields, took down another 46.7%, compared to the recent average of 53.5%. The recent move higher in TIPS yields helped set up the auction for a strong result, according to Gemma Wright-Casparius, senior portfolio manager at Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities Funds. "Forward real yields have normalized toward pre-crisis levels. Much of that has to do with the positive slope of the yield curve," she said. Nomura Securities gave the auction a grade of A+. Treasurys had bounced around in morning trading as mixed economic data were released. Weekly jobless claims, a gauge of people applying for unemployment benefits, dropped by the most in nearly three months, beating Wall Street expectations. Claims fell by 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted rate of 323,000 last week. However, the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index slowed to 6.5 in November from 19.8 in October, missing economists' expectations of 14.5. Treasurys weakened after the report on jobless claims but recovered after the Philly Fed data. Investors also digested the Markit manufacturing PMI index, which rose to 54.3 in November from 51.8 in October, as well as a 0.2% drop in wholesale prices. Click to Play  China's baby bump to open investment opportunities The rising middle class in China is welcoming the government's easing of the one-child policy. Shao Yu of Oriental Securities tells the WSJ's Wei Gu what sectors of the economy will get a boost from the potential baby boomlet. The yield differential between shorter-term and longer-term Treasurys has widened in recent days in what's known as a steepening yield curve. The gap between the 5-year note yield and the 10-year note yield hit its highest level in over two years on Wednesday at 1.43 percentage points, although it retreated from those highs Thursday, according to Tradeweb. The yield curve steepened Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's meeting in October disclosed discussion among Fed officials about how to shift the market's focus from its asset purchase program to short-term rates, which are likely to remain low well into the future. "The markets were setting up for thinking that [the Fed] will start tapering sooner, but they'll push out the guidance as low and long as possible to pull the markets back from the ledge," said Michael Collins, senior investment officer at Prudential Fixed Income.
 Jeffrey D. Saut “The Boys Are Back in Town” Guess who just got back today? Them wild-eyed boys that had been away Haven't changed, haven't much to say But man, I still think them cats are crazy They were asking if you were around How you was, where you could be found Told them you were living downtown Driving all the old men crazy The boys are back in town The boys are back in town ... Thin Lizzy (1976) The boys are indeed back in town as Washington D.C. opened its doors for business as usual last week following a contentious debt ceiling debate and a 16-day shutdown of the government. This outcome had been anticipated in these letters for often-stated reasons, and just like when the ”fiscal cliff” was averted, I now expect the media to turn its focus to the next Armageddon. While the self-inflicted crisis took the amateurish rollout of Obamacare out of the headlines, it will likely have a de minimis effect on the economy (maybe shave 0.03 – 0.04% off of the official GDP figures). The good news is that except for this week's delayed September employment report, I doubt investors will pay much attention to any of the other economic reports between now and Christmas due to the recent Beltway consternations and their expectation about the potential impact on the economy. As for the impact on the stock market, it was profound with the S&P 500 (SPX/1744.50), the mid-cap S&P 400, and the small-cap Russell 2000 trading to new all-time highs. While there were some upside non-confirmations (most notably the D-J Industrial Average), the majority of indications confirmed the move higher. For example, the Advance/Decline Line climbed to a new bull market high, the Selling Pressure Index fell to a new reaction low, the short-term “buy signal” I spoke of on October 15th remains in force (when the 14-day Stochastic crossed above its moving average), the Short-Term Trading Index confirms that “buy signal,” the number of new highs on the NYSE expanded, and the list goes on. Such metrics caused the “godfather of technical analysis,” namely Ralph Acampora, t! o abandon his bearish “call” of last summer. Recall that like me, Ralph was looking for a short/intermediate-term stock market peak in the mid-July through mid-August timeframe. At the time I was expecting a decline of roughly 10%. And, we were about halfway into that 10% pullback when Vladimir Putin pulled our President out of a tight spot with Putin's Syrian solution. At that point I mainly gave up on my downside “call” and recommended recommitting 15% of the cash that was raised in June. Since then, while the equity markets have been choppy, they have refused to surrender much ground. As stated in last Thursday's Morning Tack, “With the debt ceiling debates behind us, the markets can focus on earnings, economics, and the Federal Reserve.” To that trifecta, the story is pretty good. On the earnings front, the bottom up operating earnings estimate for the SPX is currently $107.58, leaving the SPX's P/E ratio at almost 16x. Next year's estimate is $121.66. If the SPX continues to trade at that P/E multiple it renders a price target of 1946. Moreover, so far of the 190 companies that have reported earnings, 60.5% of those companies have beaten estimates and 50.9% have beaten revenue estimates. As far as economics, as stated the numbers are probably going to be ignored for a few months because of the shutdown. However, I believe GDP growth will accelerate to 3% in 2014 driven by a capital expenditure cycle because companies like GM are running their plants flat out 24/7 and the equipment is wearing out. Finally, with Janet Yellen at the helm of the Fed it should be steady as you go. That implies no tapering and plenty of liquidity. And, a number of other things are going right in this country. While the politicians do not want to broadcast it, the latest monthly CBO report shows tax revenues up 13% year/year and individual income tax payments up an amazing 15.8%. Further, payroll taxes are better by 11.6%, all of which have cut the CBO's 2013 estimate of the deficit! to $642 ! billion. Part of the reason for that deficit reduction is because median family annual incomes have stabilized for the first time since the recession to an inflation-adjusted $51,017. Another reason is that the U.S. is on track to overtake Russia as the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas. Of course the reason for that energy leap is the technologies of fracking and horizontal drilling. Interestingly, the research firm IHS Global Insights notes fracking has added the equivalent of $1,200 to real household disposable income on average in 2012 and estimates that figure will grow to $3,500 by 2025. Further, fracking added $283 billion to economic growth last year and is expected to add $533 billion in 2025 with an attendant federal/state tax payment of $138 billion. The relative resulting “cheap” energy estimates are causing foreign companies to invest, or are planning to invest, billions of dollars in plants that would churn out chemicals, fertilizers, plastics, metals, etc. Obviously, the American Industrial Renaissance (AIR) is happening. A few of the ways to participate in this renaissance is through Rich Bernstein and either of the mutual funds he manages for Eaton Vance, Richard Bernstein Equity Strategy Fund (ERBAX/$13.62) and the Richard Bernstein All Asset Strategy Fund (EARAX/$12.24). As for a pure play (100%) on AIR, there is First Trust's Richard Bernstein TS American Industrial Renaissance ETF (FWRVLX/$10.17). Another theme we have embraced for the past two years has been the recovery in housing. Recently many investors have cooled on this theme due to the rise in mortgage rates. However, mortgage rates have declined over the past few weeks. A second derivative way to get at the burgeoning housing theme is via Strong Buy-rated Weyerhaeuser (WY/$30.11). As our fundamental analyst writes in the commentary for our Analysts' Current Favorites product, released earlier today: We believe: 1) the embedded value of Weyerhaeuser's homebuilding platform is underappreciate! d relativ! e to other public builder valuations (most notably, the 17,700 lots it controls in California); 2) the recent underperformance of WY shares has created a buying opportunity; and 3) in the context of our REIT coverage, there are relatively few opportunities to find similar long-term earnings/cash flow growth stories. In our view, Weyerhaeuser's homebuilding platform (one of the 20 largest in the country), significant wood products business, and immense timberland portfolio position it as a compelling alternative to pure-play homebuilders in this housing recovery. Weyerhaeuser is targeting a payout of 75% of FAD over the cycle and is well positioned to raise its dividend as the housing recovery gains momentum. The company has already boosted its dividend by 33% since October (WY shares currently yield ~3%). The call for this week: According to the weight of the evidence, the primary stock market trend remains “up!” Indeed, last Thursday's gain, while not a 90% Upside Day, was indeed an 80% Upside Day as the market breadth, and total points gained, were decidedly positive. Manifestly, since 1940 there have only been 45 other days when 80% of issues and volume were positive and the SPX closed at a new 52-week high (like happened last week). Of those, only seven occurred two days in a row. According to the must have SentimenTrader folks, “To get more precedents, let's look for any time that both the percentage of up issues and volume were both above 75%, with the last one occurring on a day the S&P closed at a new high. In 73 years, there have been 17 precedents. A week later, there were only three negative returns, and two of those were less than -0.5%. Three months later, there was essentially only one negative return, as was the case six months later was well. Average returns were about double what a random return was during the study period.” Verily, the only current negatives are the short-term overbought condition and the upside non-confirmations. Jeffrey D. Saut is managing! director! at Raymond James & Associates. This commentary originally appeared on the firm's website. Like what yo
If there is a fad or a trend then you know there is serious money to be made from it. Zombies have grown and grown in popularity over the last decade, and the Season 4 premiere of The Walking Dead was a another record-setter. AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCX) has released its figures showing that the series had the highest ratings of any episode in series history. It was just about two years ago that 24/7 Wall St. evaluated what zombies meant in economic spending to the real world economy and that was a figure of about $5 billion. It would be much more today as you will see by these figures and then when you add on even more Resident Evil franchise sales, TV sales, books, costumes from two more Halloweens and more. A whopping 16.1 million total viewers watched The Walking Dead’s first episode of season four. Some 10.4 million of those were adults aged 18 to 49. This premiere outperformed all programs including primetime NFL football. It was also said that if you count a time-shifted playback, the fourth season premiere should exceed 20 million viewers. The previous record for an episode of The Walking Dead was 12.4 million total viewers and 8.1 million viewers 18-49 for the season three finale. Following the 9 pm premiere of The Walking Dead, AMC premiered the third season of Talking Dead at 10 pm, it became the most viewed premiere in series history with 5.1 million viewers, including 3.3 million adults aged 18-49. AMC President Charlie Collier’s quote even included the snippet, “the dead have never been more alive." He might have well said, “Cha-Ching!”
The markets initial reaction to the FOMC decision was clear, but MoneyShow's Jim Jubak says investors now must try and decide whether it will have a lasting impact. For the week ahead, the big question is going to be what the market reaction is in slightly longer term to the fed's decision not to begin a taper on September 18. The immediate reaction was pretty clear. The market was surprised. Stocks rally S&P hit an all-time high, bond yields went down, as bond prices went up, so bonds that were close to the ten-year yield before this, like on September 6 or so, was all the way up to 3.05. Before this, we were down to 2.87, or even lower than that. A big move away from the 3% danger zone. The dollar is weaker today, gold is up. This is the immediate reaction. The question is going forward, "What happens?" A lot of that depends on how quickly people go from being kind of elated that the fed was going to continue to pump the whole $85,000,000,000 into the market that they've been pumping in each month, to a situation where people start to worry about the US budget, and the deadlock over that, and the possibility we're going to shut down the government, the battle over the debt ceiling. How quickly do we shift gears? I can make an argument at this point either way, so it's going to be-I mean, I don't know, so I'm telling you that either we can go to a situation where people say, "Oh S&P all-time high, so I'm going to take profits," and I think that would be one legitimate reaction to this sort of fiscal uncertainty coming up, or you can say, "Oh, okay, so we're off and running. I really don't believe that those people in congress are really as dumb as they want, or that the shutdown is going to be as meaningful as it could be, in just a few days. It's really a bump and I'm going to go with the cash." I think those are our two possibilities at this point. It's very hard, at this point, to guess. My basic feeling, in terms of risk-reward, is I'd probably take profits here because we are at an all-time high and I really don't like the risk of fiscal action in congress, but I can't guarantee us the way this market is going to go. I think that's the way the balance of risk-reward puts you, but as we say, we'll see in the week ahead. This is Jim Jubak for the Moneyshow.com Video Network.
As a rational investor, we always want to invest in those instruments from where we get maximum returns with minimum risk. Unfortunately there is no such instrument available in the world, that is why we get attracted to risky instrument like equity to get maximum returns. Actually to earn maximum returns with maximum risk doesn�t mean you win all the time and earn that return. As risk attached with such an instrument is risk of default, which is the biggest risk as compared to the returns we earned. So now what is the solution to this problem? Does it mean that we should avoid such good return instruments? Hold on��I know we all are anxious to know the answer! Of course it is not a good idea to avoid such risk associated instruments because ultimately they may give good returns. Hence to over come this situation and get the best returns, you can invest in such instruments by the way of SIP (Systematic Investment Plans) in Mutual Funds. It does not mean that with SIP in Mutual Funds you win all the time or SIP gives me more return than direct equity. Wait��Definitely SIP may not give higher returns as happens in case of direct equity, but certainly SIP will give returns and you will not lose money. Lets see how. So my advice to you is that don�t play with your hard earned money because though at the time of investing we accept the risk, but it is upsetting to lose money when it actually happens. This way even SIP may not give us absolute highest return but as compared to the risk (we are taking through SIP) returns are good, provided you choose good Mutual Fund and your holding period is for the long-term. So it is like if you want healthy investment then you must complete the full dose of SIP ( your entire tenure ) to reduce the symptoms of market fluctuations. Our in-house research at Apnapaisa for Nifty reveals that if we have invested in Nifty through monthly SIP for 10 years at any time between January 1995 to November 2011, the lowest return was 9.02% and for Mutual Fund the lowest return was 16.98%. So does it mean we can earn this much return? No, we may earn more return than that because for Nifty�s 10 year monthly SIP average is 17.97% and for Mutual Fund it is 27%. We may earn such handsome returns in long-term provided that while choosing Mutual Fund we have taken professional advice and have got it reviewed by a professional. So what is the advantage of investing long term? Investment should be made for a longer tenure only because we do not know index will move in which direction. Every economy goes through its ups and downs and markets move accordingly, and it is not a short term phenomenon. To overcome such market movements, our investment cycle should be long term. This way like for our body�s fitness, regular exercise is important and not just exercising once in a while. For youngsters, heavy exercise instruments like equity Mutual Funds may work well but for not so young yoga like instruments say Debt Mutual Funds, MIP and FMP are good. Still if you want to invest through direct equity for higher returns then �Best of Luck� but if you start investing through SIP then Party to banti hai dost! The author is a research analyst at Apnapaisa.com. ApnaPaisa is India's leading price comparison site for financial products such as loans, credit cards and insurance plans. Author can be reached at www.facebook.com/apnapaisa
 The 2015 Chrysler 200 was one of 33 models to earn a Top Safety Pick Plus award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Despite stricter requirements and tough new crash tests more vehicles earned top marks from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. This year, 71 vehicles earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Top Safety Pick awards compared to 39 last year. That number includes vehicles winning the Institute's stringent Top Safety Pick Plus award, a feat managed by 33 vehicles this year, 11 more than last year. The Insurance Institute, a private group financed by auto insurers, puts vehicles through various crash tests to measure how well they protect occupants. These tests are different from those performed by the federal government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Insurance Institute reports its crash test results on a four-step scale: Poor, Marginal, Acceptable and Good. To qualify for the Top Safety Pick Award a vehicle must get at least an Acceptable rating in the Institute's challenging Small Overlap Crash test and a Good rating in the Institute's other tests. The other tests measure performance in front impacts, side impacts, rollover crashes and, for whiplash protection, in rear-end collisions. The Small Overlap test was added to the regimen only in 2012. In it, the vehicle hits a barrier at 40 miles per hour with just one-quarter of its front bumper. The impact occurs on the left side, just in front of the driver's seat. This concentrates crash forces in a small area that's outside of the strong crash safety structures built into most new vehicles.  Minivans fail IIHS crash test Some vehicles had to be significantly re-engineered to perform well in the Small Overlap test. For instance, the Toyota Prius v had originally been one of the worst performers in this test. Toyota made some changes to the car, including lengthening side curtain airbags, and the 2015 model year Prius v performed well. To earn a Top Safety Pick Plus award a vehicle must meet Top Safety Pick requirements but must also have an automatic braking system to help prevent or at least reduce impacts. That's a tougher standar! d than the Institute used last year when a vehicle only had to have a front collision warning system. Automatic braking was not required then. Consumer Reports' Most Reliable Cars "Although forward collision warning on its own is a valuable feature, we decided to tighten our criteria to encourage manufacturers to offer autobrake," Insurance Institute president Adrian Lund said in a statement. "Systems that don't require a driver response to avoid or mitigate a cash have the most potential for reducing crashes." Asian brands dominate these awards. Toyota (TM), including its Lexus and Scion brands, had the most vehicles -- 12 in all -- winning at least a Top Safety Pick Award. Honda (HMC), including its Acura luxury brand, had the second most award winners with a total or 10.
Renowned value investor, hedge fund manager Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio) just reported his third quarter portfolio. Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio) buys Cheniere Energy Inc, Ocwen Financial Corp, Antero Resources Corp, Veritiv Corp, Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc, eBay Inc, PBF Energy Inc, Forward Pharma AS, PBF Energy Inc, Atara Biotherapeutics Inc, sells Boyd Gaming Corporation, Theravance Inc, Syneron Medical Ltd during the 3-months ended 09/30/2014, according to the most recent filings of his investment company, The Baupost Group. As of 09/30/2014, The Baupost Group owns 27 stocks with a total value of $5.7 billion. These are the details of the buys and sells.New Purchases: OCN, AR, VRTV, FWP, ATRA,Added Positions: LNG, KERX, EBAY, PBF, PBF,Reduced Positions: BYD, THRX, ELOS,For the details of Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio)'s stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=Seth+KlarmanThis is the sector weightings of his portfolio: | Technology | 48.6% | | Energy | 22.1% | | Healthcare | 13.8% | | Consumer Cyclical | 8.3% | | Financial Services | 3.2% | | Basic Materials | 1.2% | | Consumer Defensive | 0.2% |
These are the top 5 holdings of Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio)1. Micron Technology Inc (MU) - 51,655,434 shares, 30.8% of the total portfolio.2. Cheniere Energy Inc (LNG) - 11,199,030 shares, 15.6% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 87.03%3. Viasat Inc (VSAT) - 11,533,137 shares, 11.1% of the total portfolio.4. eBay Inc (EBAY) - 6,096,707 shares, 6.0% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 37.43%5. Theravance Inc (THRX) - 19,815,983 shares, 5.9% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 2.84%New Purchase: Ocwen Financial Corp (OCN)Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio) initiated holdings in Ocwen Financial Corp. His purchase prices were between $25.16 and $37.13, with an estimated average price of ! $29.99. The impact to his portfolio due to this purchase was 3.2%. His holdings were 7,001,700 shares as of 09/30/2014.New Purchase: Antero Resources Corp (AR)Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio) initiated holdings in Antero Resources Corp. His purchase prices were between $54.52 and $65.71, with an estimated average price of $57.97. The impact to his portfolio due to this purchase was 2.6%. His holdings were 2,759,510 shares as of 09/30/2014.New Purchase: Veritiv Corp (VRTV)Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio) initiated holdings in Veritiv Corp. His purchase prices were between $32.5 and $50.22, with an estimated average price of $42.42. The impact to his portfolio due to this purchase was 2.1%. His holdings were 2,362,885 shares as of 09/30/2014.New Purchase: Forward Pharma AS (FWP)Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio) initiated holdings in Forward Pharma AS. The impact to his portfolio due to this purchase was 2.03%. His holdings were 5,367,300 shares as of 09/30/2014.New Purchase: Atara Biotherapeutics Inc (ATRA)Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio) initiated holdings in Atara Biotherapeutics Inc. The impact to his portfolio due to this purchase was 1.07%. His holdings were 2,495,913 shares as of 09/30/2014.Added: Cheniere Energy Inc (LNG)Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio) added to his holdings in Cheniere Energy Inc by 87.03%. His purchase prices were between $70.2 and $84.46, with an estimated average price of $76.24. The impact to his portfolio due to this purchase was 7.26%. His holdings were 11,199,030 shares as of 09/30/2014.Added: Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc (KERX)Seth Klarman (Trades,
Take heart, Spidey fans. Your favorite web-slinging superhero may still be in line to receive the proper big-screen treatment he deserves. In this case, that could be a huge catalyst for investors in both Sony (NYSE: SNE ) and The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS ) . Despite the fact Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion in 2009, Sony still holds the film rights to Spider-Man. And it's no mystery Sony Pictures has made a bundle in its attempts to capitalize on those rights, generating nearly $4 billion in gross box office receipts from five separate films featuring the character since 2002. Sony's predicament
Unfortunately, all is not well in Sony's neck of the woods. Despite estimates pegging The Amazing Spider-Man 2's production budget at an enormous $255 million, Sony's most recent effort received not only the franchise's worst critical response with a painful 53% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but also the lowest worldwide box office gross of any Spider-Man film, at $709 million. Most notably, last year's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 failed to capture the important hearts of domestic audiences; waning stateside interest in Spidey resulted in the addition of a modest $202.9 million to that total. It's unsettling that the largest box-office market in the world couldn't seem to care less about Sony's cinematic vision of this formerly bankable character: (Hover over chart to see exact dollar figures), Data source: Box Office Mojo. Following Sony's widely publicized hacking debacle, The Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog reported on leaked emails which revealed that executives from both Sony Pictures and Disney had been communicating as late as Oct. 30, 2014, regarding a number of mutually beneficial Spider-Man crossovers. Most notably, the WSJ noted that Disney and Marvel had wanted to include Spider-Man in 2016's Captain America: Civil War -- which makes sense considering Spider-Man plays a key role in the corresponding Civil War narrative in the comics. But those talks broke down when Sony Pictures learned such a deal would involve granting complete creative control to Marvel -- and it wanted to essentially start from scratch with its own version of the web slinger. According to a more recent report from Latino-Review, a source said the proposed deal previously on the table was a co-production agreement under which Marvel would assume creative control, and also finance 60% of the cost of future Spider-Man films, with Sony shouldering the remaining 40%. This isn't over yet
Everything changed following the hack. Specifically, Latino-Review says, the higher-ups at Sony Pictures parent Sony Japan not only view their subordinates' handling of Spider-Man as "disappointing," but also want Sony Pictures to return to the negotiating table with Disney regardless of whether it involves giving up creative control. And why not? There are literally dozens of superhero movies already planned during the next several years that pull from the vast character universes controlled by both Disney's Marvel and Time Warner's DC. It's not hard, then, to envision the moviegoing public continuing to sweep Sony's less-compelling Spider-Man universe under the rug in favor of Disney's and Time Warner's more-established, more-cohesive franchises. Disney, in particular, has arguably set an impossibly high standard with regard to confluent storylines, leaving Sony in the unenviable position of trying to keep pace. In short, if Sony can't beat Disney, why not join forces and share in its success? It seems doubtful Sony can make such a deal happen in time to include Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War. We already know Marvel has Black Panther effectively filling Spidey's original role in the film, which should segue nicely into Black Panther's own planned late-2017 movie. With so many other Marvel movies already in the works, from Doctor Strange in late-2016 to Captain Marvel, Inhumans, and Avengers: Infinity War Part I in 2018, something tells me it wouldn't be too difficult for Disney to make room for a new Spider-Man somewhere in the mix. If that happens, it's hard to imagine any scenario in which it wouldn't have massive positive implications for the financial performance of whichever film Marvel chooses.
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