Wolff: London, NYC mayors show stark contrast

Last week, London's mayor, Boris Johnson, in a speech meant to associate himself with Margaret Thatcher and launch his bid to be Britain's prime minister, opened a discussion perfectly timed to counter Bill de Blasio, who will take office as New York's mayor in a few weeks, and his vision of urban life.

Great cities have become the most obvious economic symbols of our time. They reward success. They have less and less room for failure. Johnson, in the most explicit terms possible, put himself on the side of success and the successful, going so far as to praise hedge-funders and to recall the 1980s Gordon Gekko credo that "greed is good," that success ultimately raises all boats.

De Blasio, as he takes over the world's richest city, is perhaps the clearest representative of the new ethos that success is problematic, that its rewards ought to be substantially scaled back, that it is fundamentally unfair in principle and that, however you cut it, profit to one person means loss to another.

The contrast here is even more stark, given that, in many ways, London and New York are the same city, or at least part of the same economic zone of international wealth and finance and of the monetization of brain power and market cunning.

London Mayor Boris Johnson Johnson offers praise for hedge-funders and has recalled the 1980s Gordon Gekko credo that "greed is good," that success ultimately raises all boats.(Photo: Leon Neal, AFP/Getty Images)

Johnson went so far as to specifically single out the gulf that separates the smarts, with their commercial acumen, from the stupids, who don't have the brain power and creativity to compete.

De Blasio, for his part, has tried to make outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg — prototype of ! the savviest businessmen of the age and an admirer of Johnson's — a symbol of market aggression and heartlessness.

In Johnson's view, the market meritocracy has created not just vast wealth but exponentially greater opportunities. The rich get richer, but, to a greater extent than ever before, so does a larger segment of everyone else.

In de Blasio's view, we have lost our way, and ought to reset at some better place in the past.

For Johnson, the terrible days of the 1970s, in a Britain beset by stagnation and union demands, are the enemy. The measure of the accomplishments of the new economic order is how far we have come from that.

For de Blasio, the 1970s seem to exist in a nostalgic haze; those days, even with the crime and near bankruptcy of the city, were more egalitarian and open.

Both men are, of course, exaggerating their cases.

London remains, and will continue to remain, a city committed to providing a vast social-services infrastructure — one that Johnson, as Thatcher before him, has done little to dismantle or alter. (His mayoral powers don't give him much leverage in that regard.)

De Blasio will need to curry as much or more favor among the rich and powerful as he will among the unions that helped elect him.

But their argument, as theoretical as it is, is surely more bracing and more significant than the one in Washington between a right-wing infrastructure representing an ever-diminishing constituency, and a liberal bloc without much of a point of view beyond being against the right-wing position. Or in Britain, between a left and a right that mostly strives to be like each other.

Johnson and de Blasio represent the alternative sides of yuppie consciousness, the aspirational urban demographic being the electoral currency of our time — in the U.S., Europe, and growing at a fast clip, in much of the rest of the urban world.

In each case, the argument is as much about how to make the argument.

Johnson, a political bad bo! y as well! as an enormously popular politician, is trying to say the unsayable: The reality of wealth creation is inequality. The more wealth you create, the more inequality there is. Hence, with a little critical interpretation, inequality is good. It just has to be managed. In Britain, the opposition is apoplectic, accusing him of being not necessarily wrong, but "unpleasant."

De Blasio, being quite possibly the most famous left-wing elected official in the U.S., is, in essence, saying the same thing, but with an opposite conclusion: New York is vastly inequitable, and we all, or at least those looking down from above — and everybody in New York looks down on somebody — ought to feel guilty about it.

Curiously, in a city where just about everybody voted for him — not just because there wasn't much of an alternative, but because we all regard ourselves in a public sense as liberal citizens — it is hard to find anybody who doesn't privately roll his or her eyes about him.

The great change in our lifetimes is that most of us live in cities — more and more, we are citizens of the urban experience rather than of individual nations. The exodus from cities was reversed, and now, from around the world, regardless of borders, more and more people, rich and poor, come to the major cities of the world every day. In some new and repurposed Dickensian fashion, we are all engaged in an existential struggle for accomplishment and self-improvement, demeaning and rewarding, transformative and frightening.

We deserve both Boris Johnson and Bill de Blasio.

Indian Gold Buyers Listen to America's Central Banker Rather Than Their Finance Minister

For almost two years, P. Chidambaram, the Finance Minister of India, has done much to make gold as unappealing as possible to buyers in his country. Speeches have been given. Tariffs have been raised. But purchasing by Indians continues at a pace to set a record next year for gold.

That is very bullish for companies in the gold sector such as Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX), Goldcorp (NYSE: GG), Wishbone Gold (OTC: WISHY) and Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY).

Overall, Indian imports of gold are expected to reach 350–400 tons for the April to June 2013 period, according to Sharps Pixley, a broker in London. That is 200 percent higher than a year ago. For 2013, Sharps Pixley predicts that the demand for gold in India will reach a record 1,000 tons.

While the Indian Finance Minister has been making the case against gold, America's next central banker just made a strong case for it.

In testimony before Congress, Dr. Janet Yellen, the nominee to be the next Chair of the Federal Reserve, endorsed the continuation of Quantitative Easing III. That is a policy designed to keep interest rates low by having the Federal Reserve acquire $85 billion monthly in Treasury securities and mortgage-backed bonds through expanding its balance sheet.

Related: 3 Stocks to Profit from Emerging Consumer Markets

That should result in higher inflation in the future, as trillions in Greenbacks are being created without being backed by economic growth, as previously detailed.

When that happens, gold should rise in value.

Historically, gold rises in value along with inflation. Investors flee paper money for hard assets such as precious metals. From that, the price of gold and the shares of Barrick Gold, Wishbone Gold, Yamana Gold, Goldcorp and the exchange-traded fund for gold, SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) should all rise.

That has not happened in 2013, however.

For the year, SPDR gold shares have fallen more than 20 percent. But there is good news in the sector.

Barrick Gold is rumored to be the target of activist investors, according to an article in Barron's. Wishbone Gold just reported positive results for its holdings in Australia. Both China and India, the world's two largest consumers of gold, are buying. That and more inflation should lead to higher prices in the future for gold.

Posted-In: P. Chidambaram Sharps PixleyLong Ideas Sector ETFs Emerging Markets Commodities Federal Reserve Markets Trading Ideas ETFs Best of Benzinga

(c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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CEO Closeup: Go big, says Towers Watson’s Haley

John Haley decided to take up running in the mid-2000s. Within months, he was a triathlete, who convinced his college-aged daughter to run, bike and swim in races with him.

"If you're going to do something, go big," he says.

It's an approach the CEO of Towers Watson has applied to his stewardship of the human resources consulting firm. When he took the reins of what was then the The Wyatt Co. in 1999, it was a privately-held company with a market value of about $120 million. Today, after a few acquisitions and a merger with consulting firm Towers Perrin in 2010, it's a publicly-traded consulting powerhouse with a market capitalization of about $8.1 billion.

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While Extend Health was in the middle of going public last year, Towers Watson acquired it, creating Towers Watson Exchange Solutions, which is poised to soar with its focus on private insurance exchanges. These exchanges allow big companies to largely get out of the business of insuring their employees by giving them money to buy insurance on their own exchanges, which are similar but entirely separate from the new federal and state insurance exchanges required under the Affordable Care Act.

"I'd have to say he's highly competitive," says O'Boyle. "He doesn't do anything halfway."

The company's stock has risen 113% to $114.17 over the past 12 months. Earnings were up 23% to $319 million for the fiscal year ended in June.

It's all business as usual for a man who got into insurance as a lark while trying to raise money to ride his motorcycle to New Orleans after college. The plan was to be a math professor, but he wound up at Prudential insurance, where he spent a few years as a life and health insurance actuary, before joining the company he'd stay at for the next 36 years ... and counting. Those who know him well say he has a gift for motivating people using personality in a field known for anything but.

"He's an atypical actuary," says Michael O'Boyle! , a longtime colleague of Haley's who is now the company treasurer. "He's brilliant and highly numerate, but is just as comfortable talking about the World Series as he is an actuarial formula."

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While sports -- from college hockey to Major League Baseball -- may be a personal passion, employee benefits and retention are what have propelled him professionally. And in the years since he's gone from actuary to the corner office, benefits are something that's become far more important to employees when they're job hunting, even as many employers chip away at them.

"There's an interesting thing that happened with the global financial crisis -- there was a shift of employees to be more concerned with their security" than with their actual salary, Haley says. "As we think about attraction and retention, benefits play more of a role."

And affordable health care is not only topping news feeds these days, it's also at the top of many people's benefits wish lists. So it stands to reason that Towers Watson's health care consulting business is the company's growth engine. Benefits — including pensions and health care — makes up about 55% of Towers Watson's consulting work. The company also works for pension plans and insurance companies on risk and actuarial calculations and with companies of all types on talent recruitment and retention.

"If you're an employer who wants to be an employer of choice, it's important that you know how your benefits packages stack up according to what other organizations are doing," says Nevin Adams, education director at the Employee Benefit Research Institute. "Somebody who can tell you what's going on...and tip you off to some things that have not taken hold in your industry holds a lot of value to an employer."

Haley, who says he's not a "micromanager by any means," likes to "tell people where we want to head and how we want to get there." He travels the globe talking to th! e company! 's now-14,000 employees telling them what's going on in the market and what the company's values are.

When the company's consultants are brought in to work on a client's benefits, Towers Watson helps set the prices that employers will charge for different options and handle the enrollment and other administrative details. While some employers have to cut back benefits based on "what their financial realities are," the company helps them make the tough choices, he says. But that's a painful choice.

"We actually love benefits," says Haley. 'That's what we're helping employers deliver."

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Haley says he expects close to 10% of the employees in the U.S. with health coverage will be covered by a private exchange in the next five years. Companies including Walgreen's, Sears and IBM -- a Towers Watson client -- have recently announced plans to move employees to private exchanges.

"It's the single most exciting opportunity that I've seen in my lifetime," says Haley. "It's going to fundamentally change the way health care is delivered in the United States."

As he watches the glitch-ridden roll out of the state and federal insurance exchanges, Haley says he's determined to make employees' experiences with private exchanges "absolutely excellent."

That's Dad for you, Erin Haley says. While she was spending a semester abroad in Australia in 2006, her father proposed they each train to compete in a triathlon that summer and keep each other apprised of their progress. It was, she says, a way for the two novice runners to keep in touch and motivate each other.

"He's super goal oriented," says Erin Haley. "Make a plan and execute against it. That's pretty much his style."

When she was planning her 2011 wedding, her father didn't just want to take dance lessons, he wanted to make plans about "what we were going to do" while dancing to Daddy's Little Girl.

"And everything worked according to plan," says Erin H! aley.

Pioneer, QEP Resources boost energy stocks

SAN FRANCISCO — Energy stocks gained Tuesday, on a rebound unhindered by the budget impasse in Washington and the ensuing government shutdown.

Top gainers among energy companies on the S&P 500 index included Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) , with shares up 3.5%. QEP Resources Inc. (QEP)  shares advanced 2.7%.

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Major oil and gas companies were mixed, however. Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM)  rose 0.3%, while shares of ConocoPhillips (COP)  rose 1.2%. Shares of Chevron Corp. (CVX) , however, were flat.

Japanese utility Tohoku Electric Power Co. closed a 20-year deal to buy more liquefied natural gas from Australia from Chevron and its partner Wheatstone LNG.

Chevron has a 64.1% stake in the US$29 billion Wheatstone gas project, due to ship its first LNG in 2016. Minority partners include Apache Corp. (APA)  with 13% and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co. with 7%.

Shares of Apache advanced 1.6%.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC)  shares rose 1.3%.

Bloomberg Exxon Mobil station in New Jersey.

Moody's Investors Service on Monday raised its outlook on Anadarko's debt to positive, citing the oil and gas producer's strong operating performance and possible clarity on certain legal liabilities.

Moody's said the company's Baa3 rating, the lowest investment-grade level, is supported by a diversified U.S. property base and exposure to numerous overseas markets. Anadarko also benefits from having nearly half of its production from oil and natural gas liquids, offsetting weak natural-gas prices.

Among the few energy firms in the red Tuesday, refiners Tesoro Corp. (TSO)  and Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC)  declined 1.6% and 0.6%, respectively.

The SPDR Energy Select Sector (XLE) , an exchange-traded fund focused on energy names, advanced 0.8%.

SEC Pressured by Pols in IRS-Like Controversy: WSJ

Whether the scrum surrounding the alleged targeting of conservative groups by the IRS is the next Watergate or simply one of many “phony” scandals depends largely on one's political persuasion. Regardless, in an editorial on Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported on a new wrinkle that involves the SEC, and had a clear bias towards believing the charges.

“Senior Republicans on the House Oversight Committee recently wrote to new SEC Chairman Mary Jo White to report on disturbing events that occurred under her predecessor [Mary Schapiro], and to request agency documents,” the paper said.

Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.; Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; and Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., say that documents they already have "indicate that the SEC has been under immense pressure from elected officials and special interest groups as part of a government-wide effort to stifle political speech." They further note that the pressure has largely succeeded in "moving the commission closer to using its authority to regulate public securities markets as a backdoor way to limit the political speech of the same types of groups targeted by the IRS."

One way to discourage groups critical of the government is for the IRS to sit on their applications for tax-exempt status while applying the normal review process to groups friendly to the White House, The Journal noted.

Another way is to have the SEC discourage public companies from supporting independent organizations, "while applying no such regulation to labor unions.

“Corporations tend to support groups on both the left and the right, whereas unions are more reliably liberal. If businesses are limited in the public debate, it's a big win for Democrats.”

Last year, politicians like then-Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and liberal tax-exempt groups like Public Citizen were encouraging the SEC to demand more disclosure from public companies about the organizations they supported, according to The Journal. The staff for Frank specifically told the SEC that there was "particular interest in what the authority is for disclosure of 501(c)(4) contributions (political contributions)." Frank's staff also noted that the interest was coming from the House Democratic leadership.

A former Democratic congressman, unnamed in a memorandum accompanying the Issa letter, was asked by Schapiro why this wasn't a job for the Federal Election Commission. The former pol responded, "because the FEC is even more broken than you," according to a May 2012 email sent by the deputy director of the SEC's division of corporation finance.

The Journal said that the SEC staff “pushed back,” pointing out that it's not their job to regulate political speech. An SEC official cautioned in one email about "how well it goes when the securities laws are used for social and political causes." The staff also noted the difficulty of taking on a new discretionary campaign given all the mandated but still unfinished rules they were required to write under the Dodd-Frank and JOBS Acts. But Democratic SEC commissioners Luis Aguilar and Elisse Walter continued to advocate new rules on political activity, The Journal said.

“By the end of last year they had persuaded Ms. Schapiro to include the issue on the SEC's regulatory agenda," the paper concluded. "Ms. White, the current chairman, can go a long way toward restoring the reputation of the SEC as a serious and apolitical regulator by deep-sixing this political assault masquerading as transparency.”

---

Check out SEC, FINRA Enforcement: Ex-Marine Charged With Bilking Fellow Servicemembers on ThinkAdvisor.

How Good is the Q2 Earnings Season? - Ahead of Wall Street

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Another day of Bernanke testimony and a slew of earnings reports provide the backdrop for today's action. The Fed Chairman was largely reassuring in his Wednesday outing and will likely do the same in today's session. On the earnings front, we are seeing a repeat of what we saw in Q1 – no growth outside of Finance, a predominance of negative revenue surprises, and weak guidance. There may not be much earnings growth, but the overall level of total earnings remains fairly high, with Q2 on track to surpass Q1's all-time record quarterly earnings total.

Bernanke reiterated the Fed's position in his House testimony yesterday that the 'Taper' decision was data-dependent, not on some 'pre-set' timetable, and that the overall tone of monetary policy will need to remain accommodative for a very long time. We will likely see a replay of that position in his Senate testimony today.

The stock market appears to have reconciled to the higher interest rates resulting from the 'Taper' talk as long as they reflect an improved economic outlook along the lines of consensus expectations. The consensus view is that U.S. GDP growth will be better in the second half of the year from the first half and next year will be better than this year. The question is what happens to the stock market if the second half of the year turns to be no better than the first half in a backdrop of no Fed QE.

This better second-half expectation is reflected in earnings estimates as well, with consensus expectations for the back half of the year reflecting a material ramp up in the growth pace. We will know more about the second half earnings outlook as more companies provide guidance for Q3 and beyond in the ongoing Q2 earnings season. But the results we are seeing thus far don't inspire much confidence that current expectations for the second half of the year will hold up.

Q2 Earnings Season Update

Including this morning's reports from Verizon (VZ)! , Morgan Stanley (MS), UnitedHealth (UNH) and others, we now have 2013 Q2 reports from 76 S&P 500 companies that combined account for 23% of the index's total market capitalization. The Finance sector is heavily represented in these early reports, with Q2 results from 48.5% of the sector's total market capitalization already known.

Finance sector results have been very good, but the performance outside of Finance isn't that bad either. Looking at the results for the 23% of market capitalization that have come out as of this morning, a couple of things stand out. First, as was the case in Q1, revenues are weak, with few companies beating on the top lines. Second, the overall tone of management guidance remains on the weak side at this admittedly early stage, which means that estimates for Q3 (currently at +4.6%) will need to come down. Third, the overall level of earnings is on track to surpass 2013 Q1's all-time record; we may not have much growth, but total earnings remain at record levels.

In terms of Q2 Scorecard, total earnings for the 76 S&P 500 companies that have reported results as of this morning are up +11.8% from the same period last year, with 63.2% beating earnings expectations. On the revenue side, we have a growth rate of +5% and 40.8% of the companies are coming ahead of top-line expectations. The earnings and revenue growth rates seen thus far are broadly in-line with what we have seen from the same group of 76 companies in recent quarters, though the revenue beat ratio is running a bit weaker than the first quarter's very low level.

There is not much growth outside of Finance, with the composite Q2 earnings growth rate for the S&P 500 (combining the 76 reports that have come out with the 424 still to come) currently at +1.6%. Excluding Finance, the composite Q2 earnings growth for the S&P 500 drops to a decline -3.5%. The Technology sector is a big drag on earnings growth, with total earnings for the sector expected to be down -7.8%. We! will kno! w more about the sector's earnings picture with today's results from Google (GOOG) and Microsoft (MSFT) after the close, though Wednesday's Intel (INTC) report doesn't provide a reassuring read-through for Microsoft.

Sheraz Mian
Director of Research


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Aggreko Confirms Revenue Up 5%

LONDON -- The shares of Aggreko (LSE: AGK  ) have slid 2.1% as of 8:30 a.m. EDT after the plant-hire firm said its first-half revenue had gained 5%.

Within an update covering the six months to June 30, the FTSE 100 member claimed its performance had been "in line with expectations." Profit for the half year, though, was at a similar level to that of 2012.

Aggreko revealed that revenue in America and Europe had advanced 11% and 8%, respectively, while sales in Asia and Australia had slumped a combined 6%.

Prior to today, City boffins were expecting Aggreko's 2013 earnings to drop from 101 pence per share to 92 pence per share and support a near-term P/E of 19. Of course, whether today's update, the current share price, and the wider prospects for the plant-hire sector all still combine to make Aggreko a buy is something only you can decide.

However, if you currently own Aggreko shares and are looking for buying opportunities, this special market research reviews several attractive investment possibilities. Just click here for the report -- it's free.

JPMorgan Chase Sues FDIC for More Than $1 Billion

George Frey/Bloomberg via Getty Images JPMorgan is suing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to recover more than $1 billion tied to its purchase of Washington Mutual when that bank failed in 2008. In a federal court complaint, the biggest U.S. bank said that the FDIC failed to honor obligations under the Washington Mutual agreement, and that has subjected JPMorgan to massive liability. The FDIC became the receiver for Seattle-based Washington Mutual when it collapsed during the height of the financial crisis in September 2008. It was the largest bank failure in U.S. history. The FDIC brokered the sale of Washington Mutual's assets to JPMorgan for $1.9 billion. JPMorgan said the FDIC made promises to indemnify or protect the bank against liabilities if it stepped in. New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) said in a court filing Tuesday that the FDIC later declined to acknowledge that government and investors' claims against JPMorgan for sales of Washington Mutual's risky mortgage-backed securities should have been claims against the receivership, not the bank. Most of JPMorgan's mortgage-backed securities came from Washington Mutual and the investment bank Bear Stearns, which it also acquired in 2008. The FDIC didn't immediately return calls seeking comment from The Associated Press early Wednesday. The FDIC has said that JPMorgan should be responsible for any liabilities regarding the Washington Mutual acquisition. The Washington Mutual receivership's assets are about $2.75 billion, according to JPMorgan. JPMorgan has entered into a series of legal settlements over its sales of mortgage-backed securities in the years preceding the financial crisis. As the housing market collapsed between 2006 and 2008, millions of homeowners defaulted on high-risk mortgages. That led to billions of dollars in losses for investors who bought securities created from bundles of mortgages. Last month, the bank agreed to pay $13 billion in a civil settlement with the Justice Department and state regulators over its sales of the mortgage-linked bonds. It was the largest settlement ever between the Justice Department and a corporation. In addition, JPMorgan reached a $4.5 billion settlement in November that covered 21 major institutional investors. The bank said in October that it set aside $9.2 billion in the July-September quarter to cover legal costs. Shares of JPMorgan rose 7 cents to $55.79 in trading Wednesday morning. The shares have climbed nearly 27 percent so far in 2013.

Swiss bank UBS blames a rogue trader at its London office for a $2.3 billion loss that is Britain's biggest-ever fraud at a bank. Kweku Adoboli, the 32 year old trader, is sentenced to seven years in prison. Britain's financial regulator fines UBS after finding its internal controls were inadequate and allowed Adoboli, a relatively inexperienced trader, to make vast and risky bets.

The Microvision Tide Just Turned... Even If It's Not Obvious (MVIS)

If the cash you have available is money you absolutely need to invest safely and wisely because you need it (and its appreciation) to love on in retirement, then let me stop you right now - the rest of what you're about to read probably isn't for you. On the other hand, if you and your qualified financial adviser agree you've got some money you can gamble with [i.e. if you lose it all, it won't matter], then may I direct your attention to Microvision, Inc. (NASDAQ:MVIS)? Long story made short, MVIS has dropped hints of a brewing rebound.

For those even modestly plugged into MVSL, you may be wondering what in the world I'm talking about. There's been little news from, or even about, Microvision of late, and the stock seems content to simply let itself sink deeper into the quicksand. In fact, MVIS managed to hit a new multi-year low yesterday.

Yes, I get all that, and I can't argue that there's a distinct lack of news regarding Microvision, Inc. right now. I'm telling you though, a couple of clues are subtly, quietly pointing in favor of the stock here.

One of them is the fact that MVIS has suddenly become one of the hot - well, one of the fairly warm - names within the message board community. While these tend to be amateur traders (and often pump and dump instigators, or those who fall prey to P&Ds), that doesn't mean the surge in interest isn't telling of something on the horizon - why the sudden interest when there was none before.

The biggest reason Microvision could be a good speculative buy here, however, is the chart.

Yes, MVIS hit new lows on Monday, and the theory is "buy new lows" (since they tend to keep coming). I'm telling you though, in my experience, I've seen it just as often that would-be owners are just waiting for a revisit to prior lows to use as an entry point... the "can't get any worse" theory.

Indeed, on the same day we hit new 52-week lows, Microvision, Inc. also - interestingly - popped back up to close at the high for the day. It was also a butterfly doji day, which suggests Monday was the day we flushed out all of the would-be sellers, and the environment turned to one of net bullishness. The volume spike for Monday (high volume, even of not huge volume) implies underscores how the session may have been a last gasp for the bears and a subsequent "ok, that's low enough" pivot for the bulls. See, high volume doji bars tend to mark turning points for stocks.

Yes, it's admittedly all a little fuzzy, which is why MVIS is most definitely a speculation here; today's lack of follow-through isn't exactly reassuring. It could take some time to get in a bullish groove after Monday's clues though. The clincher for the call is fairly simple... the first close above the 20-day moving average line (blue), which has been a nagging resistance level for weeks. It's at least worth adding to your watchlist in the meantime.

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Top 10 Safest Companies To Invest In Right Now

DETROIT ��UPS driver Tom Camp and his big, brown truck have done something no other UPS driver has accomplished: 51 years without an accident.

That's after an estimated 800,000 to 900,000 miles on the road in metro Detroit, ringing doorbells in Detroit and western Wayne County since 1962, according to the Detroit Free Press.

"Oh, sure I've had close calls," said Camp, 73, of Livonia, who began working for UPS after graduating from St. Francis de Sales High School in Detroit and serving three years in the Marines. "And 90% of it is paying attention. I drive so defensively now ��it's not just in my package truck, it's in my own car ��you can almost anticipate what other drivers are going to do."

The next-safest UPS driver retired in 2012 in Dayton, Ohio, after 50 years, the only other UPS driver to achieve 50 years accident-free. The company has 6,486 drivers out of 65,000 in the United States and 100,000 globally who have 25 years or more without an accident, earning them a plaque and a place in the UPS Circle of Honor. UPS spends $118 million annually on safety training.

Top 10 Safest Companies To Invest In Right Now: Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(The)

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

Top 10 Safest Companies To Invest In Right Now: Under Armour Inc.(UA)

Under Armour, Inc. develops, markets, and distributes performance apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and youth primarily in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers products made from moisture-wicking synthetic fabrics designed to regulate body temperature and enhance performance regardless of weather conditions. The company provides its products in three fit types: compression (tight fitting), fitted (athletic cut), and loose (relaxed) extending across the sporting goods, outdoor, and active lifestyle markets. Its footwear offerings comprise football, baseball, lacrosse, softball, and soccer cleats; slides; performance training footwear; and running footwear. The company also provides baseball batting, football, golf, and running gloves, as well as licenses bags, socks, headwear, custom-molded mouth guards, and eyewear that are designed to be used and worn before, during, and after competition. Under Armour sells its products through retai l stores, as well as directly to consumers through its own retail outlets and specialty stores, Website, and catalogs. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Teresa Rivas]

  In athletic apparel, lululemon (LULU) gained 4.7% and Under Armour (UA) lost 2.6% as Credit Suisse upgraded the former and downgraded the latter.

  Disney (DIS) also ended strong, building on yesterday�� gains on news it will meaningfully increase its share repurchase plan.

• [By Steve Symington]

  Shares of Under Armour� (NYSE: UA  ) are currently up more than 12% today after the apparel specialist announced its second-quarter earnings results.

Hot Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now: Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras(PBR)

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. primarily engages in oil and natural gas exploration and production, refining, trade, and transportation businesses. The company?s Exploration and Production segment involves in the exploration, production, development, and production of oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas in Brazil. This segment supplies its products to the refineries in Brazil, as well as sells surplus petroleum and byproducts in domestic and foreign markets. Its Supply segment engages in the refining, logistics, transportation, and trade of oil and oil products; export of ethanol; and extraction and processing of schist, as well as holds interests in companies of the petrochemical sector in Brazil. The Gas and Energy segment involves in the transportation and trade of natural gas produced in or imported into Brazil; transportation and trade of LNG; and generation and trade of electric power. In addition, the segment has interests in natural gas transportation and d istribution companies; and thermoelectric power stations in Brazil, as well engages in fertilizer business. The Distribution segment distributes oil products, ethanol, and compressed natural gas in Brazil. The International segment involves in the exploration and production of oil and gas, as well as in supplying, gas and energy, and distribution operations in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Further, the company involves in biofuel production business. Petroleo Brasileiro was founded in 1953 and is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aimee Duffy]

  Transocean is as good a bellwether as any, given it's the world's largest offshore driller. The company's most recent fleet status report shows that a number of rigs that were idle are now booked for work. Seadrill (NYSE: SDRL  ) is no slouch either, with its fleet of 61 drillships and rigs. It just inked a massive $2.7 billion contract with Brazil's state-owned oil company, Petrobras (NYSE: PBR  ) .

Top 10 Safest Companies To Invest In Right Now: Fluor Corporation(FLR)

Fluor Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, and project management services worldwide. Its Oil & Gas segment offers design, engineering, procurement, construction, and project management services to upstream oil and gas production, downstream refining, chemicals, and petrochemicals industries. This segment also provides consulting services comprising feasibility studies, process assessment, and project finance structuring and studies. The company?s Industrial & Infrastructure segment offers design, engineering, procurement, and construction services to the transportation, wind power, mining and metals, life sciences, manufacturing, commercial and institutional, telecommunications, microelectronics, and healthcare sectors. Its Government segment provides engineering, construction, logistics support, contingency response, management, and operations services to the United States government focusing on the Departme nt of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense. The company?s Global Services segment offers operations and maintenance, small capital project engineering and execution, site equipment and tool services, industrial fleet services, plant turnaround services, temporary staffing services, and supply chain solutions. Its Power segment provides engineering, procurement, construction, program management, start-up and commissioning, and operations and maintenance services to the gas fueled, solid fueled, plant betterment, renewables, nuclear, and power services markets. The company also offers unionized management and construction services in the United States and Canada. Fluor Corporation was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Louis Navellier]

  Fluor Corporation (FLR) is one of the world�� leading heavy construction and engineering firms. I don’t want to imply that this is a bad company because it is actually a very good one. However, Fluor has divisions including Oil & Gas, Industrial Infrastructure, Government, Global Services and Power. Virtually all of them are seeing limited spending as a result of the global slowdown and reduced government spending around the world. The stock is up more than 23% this year, but earnings are actually down on flat revenues. Analysts have been lowering their estimates for the rest of this year as well as 2014, and the stock is currently rated as a by Portfolio Grader. When the economy recovers, I expect will see this company’s fundamentals improve substantially … but until that happens investors should avoid the stock.

• [By The Energy Report]

  JH: One of the areas where the U.S. for decades has been the leading technological power is in small nuclear reactors. We've used them on our aircraft carriers and on our nuclear submarines safely and efficiently. The U.S. has an advantage in understanding small modular nuclear reactors. One of the companies that we have followed for a long time that's working on that is Babcock & Wilcox Co. (BWC). There's also Fluor Corp. (FLR), which is working on small modular nuclear reactors. President Obama and the Department of Energy are funding research on the implementation of small modular nuclear reactors.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  South America has become an unsettled region to mine in. Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM  ) had its Peruvian Conga project brought to a short stop over environmental concerns, while Vale (NYSE: VALE  ) recently abandoned an Argentinean project because of the country's policies.�Costs for Pascua-Lama have ballooned over the past decade and now stand at about $8.5 billion, putting it at risk of becoming an albatross around the miner's neck even before the court decision. Barrick even resorted to bringing in engineering specialist Fluor (NYSE: FLR  ) to expand the scope of its project management before the court order.

Hot Oil Companies To Own In Right Now

This just in: Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) is a serious option for income investors. Apple stock pays a 3% dividend yield right now thanks to a combination of flagging share prices and a modest policy boost in April's quarterly check.

AAPL Dividend data by YCharts.

If Apple were a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) , how would its stock stack up against its fellow income-generators? Let's find out.

Apple would boast an above-average yield among the current 30 Dow stocks, but not by a large margin. The average Dow dividend yields 2.7%. That's just below the median yield of 2.85% offered by oil giant ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM  ) . The iPhone maker would rank in 12th place among a hypothetical 31-member Dow.

How about ranking the Dow by dividend increases? Apple boosted its dividend by 15% with just more than a year of payout history under it's belt, which would be the eighth-most generous raise of the past year. The average one-year boost sits exactly at 15% but is heavily skewed by Cisco Systems' more than doubling of its payout policy. Remove the top and bottom boosts, as they do when counting style points in Olympic events, and the adjusted average would be just 12.9%.

Hot Oil Companies To Own In Right Now: EV Energy Partners LP (EVEP)

EV Energy Partners, L.P. (the Partnership) is engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas properties. As of December 31, 2011, the Company's properties were located in the Barnett Shale, the Appalachian Basin (which includes the Utica Shale), the Mid Continent areas in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas and Louisiana, the San Juan Basin, the Monroe Field in Northern Louisiana, the Permian Basin, Central and East Texas (which includes the Austin Chalk area), and Michigan. On November 1, 2011, the Company acquired oil and natural gas properties in the Mid Continent area. On December 1, 2011, the Company along with certain institutional partnerships managed by EnerVest, acquired oil and natural gas properties in the Barnett Shale. It acquired a 31.02% proportional interest in these properties. On December 20, 2011, the Company, along with certain institutional partnerships managed by EnerVest, acquired additional oil and natural gas properties in the Barnett Shale. It acquired a 31.63% proportional interest in these properties. On February 7, 2012, the Company along with certain institutional partnerships managed by EnerVest, had a second closing on the oil and natural gas properties, and acquired a 31.63% proportional interest in these properties.

Barnett Shale

The Barnett Shale properties are located in Denton, Parker, Tarrant and Wise counties in Northern Texas. Its portion of the estimated net proved reserves as of December 31, 2011, was 647.4 one billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe), 72% of which is natural gas. During 2011, the Company drilled 35 wells. EnerVest operates wells representing 100% of its estimated net proved reserves in this area, and the Company owns an average 29% working interest in 976 gross productive wells.

Appalachian Basin

The Company�� activities are concentrated in the Ohio and West Virginia areas of the Appalachian Basin. Its Ohio area properties are producing from the Knox and Clinton f! ormations and other Devonian age sands in 41 counties in Eastern Ohio and 11 counties in Western Pennsylvania. Its West Virginia area properties are producing from the Balltown, Benson and Big Injun formations in 23 counties in North Central West Virginia. Its estimated net proved reserves as of December 31, 2011, were 126.4 Bcfe, 76% of which is natural gas. During 2011, it drilled 33 grosswells, 26 of which were completed. EnerVest operates wells representing 92% of its estimated net proved reserves in this area, and it owns an average 41% working interest in 8,670 gross productive wells.

Mid-Continent Area

The properties are located in 47 counties in Oklahoma, 17 counties in Texas, four parishes in North Louisiana, one county in Kansas and six counties in Arkansas. The Company�� estimated net proved reserves as of December 31, 2011, were 81.2 Bcfe, 63% of which is natural gas. During 2011, it drilled 82 wells, all of which were completed. EnerVest operates wells representing 33% of its estimated net proved reserves in this area, and it owns an average 12% working interest in 1,864 gross productive wells.

San Juan Basin

The properties are located in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico and La Plata County in Colorado. The Company�� estimated net proved reserves as of December 31, 2011, 68.6 Bcfe, 59% of which is natural gas. During 2011, it drilled two wells, one of which were completed. EnerVest operates wells representing 94% of its estimated net proved reserves in this area, and it owns an average 71% working interest in 227 gross productive wells.

Monroe Field

The properties are located in two parishes in Northeast Louisiana. The Company�� estimated net proved reserves as of December 31, 2011, were 60.9 Bcfe, 100% of which is natural gas. During 2011, it drilled one well, which was completed. EnerVest operates wells representing 100% of its estimated net proved reserves in this area, and it owns an average 100% working i! nterest i! n 3,930 gross productive wells.

Permian Basin

The properties are located in the Yates, Seven Rivers, Queen, Morrow, Clear Fork and Wichita Albany formations in four counties in New Mexico and Texas. The Company�� estimated net proved reserves as of December 31, 2011, were 54.1Bcfe, 37% of which is natural gas. During 2011, it did not drill any wells. EnerVest operates wells representing 99% of its estimated net proved reserves in this area, and it owns an average 93% working interest in 160 gross productive wells.

Central and East Texas

The properties produce primarily from the Austin Chalk formation and are located in 30 counties in Central and East Texas. Its portion of the estimated net proved reserves as of December 31, 2011 was 60.9 Bcfe, 46% of which is natural gas. During 2011, the Company drilled 16 gross wells, 15 of which were completed. EnerVest operates wells representing 93% of its estimated net proved reserves in this area, and it owns an average 12% working interest in 1,829 gross productive wells.

Michigan

The properties are located in the Antrim Shale reservoir in Otsego and Montmorency counties in northern Michigan. The Company�� estimated net proved reserves as of December 31, 2011, were 44.9 Bcfe, 100% of which is natural gas. During 2011, it did not drill any wells. EnerVest operates wells representing 99% of its estimated net proved reserves in this area, and it has an average 84% working interest in 370 gross productive wells.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  The big problem is that there aren't a lot of buyers, which is the issue that�EV Energy Partners� (NASDAQ: EVEP  ) has run into with its own Utica sale. With major players like Chesapeake and Devon exiting, and foreign buyers like Sinopec already securing a foothold in the play, there are few buyers left that are willing to risk capital on a play that's no longer viewed as a sure thing. This has left EV Energy stuck with the 100,000 net acres it has been marketing since last year. The company has chosen to change its marketing strategy to sell the acreage in smaller packages to appeal to more buyers.�

Hot Oil Companies To Own In Right Now: National-Oilwell Inc.(NOV)

National Oilwell Varco, Inc. designs, constructs, manufactures, and sells systems, components, and products used in oil and gas drilling and production; provides oilfield services and supplies; and distributes products, and provides supply chain integration services to the upstream oil and gas industry worldwide. Its Rig Technology segment offers offshore and onshore drilling rigs; derricks; pipe lifting, racking, rotating, and assembly systems; rig instrumentation systems; coiled tubing equipment and pressure pumping units; well workover rigs; wireline winches; wireline trucks; cranes; and turret mooring systems and other products for floating production, storage and offloading vessels, and other offshore vessels and terminals. The company?s Petroleum Services & Supplies segment provides various consumable goods and services to drill, complete, remediate, and workover oil and gas wells and service pipelines, flowlines, and other oilfield tubular goods. It also manufacture s, rents, and sells products and equipment for drilling operations, including drill pipe, wired drill pipe, transfer pumps, solids control systems, drilling motors, drilling fluids, drill bits, reamers and other downhole tools, and mud pump consumables. In addition, this segment provides oilfield tubular services comprising the provision of inspection and internal coating services; equipment for drill pipe, line pipe, tubing, casing, and pipelines; and coiled tubing pipes and composite pipes. Its Distribution Services segment sells maintenance, repair and operating supplies, and spare parts to drill site and production locations. The company primarily serves drilling contractors, shipyards and other rig fabricators, well servicing companies, pressure pumping companies, oil and gas companies, supply stores, and pipe-running service providers. National Oilwell Varco, Inc. was founded in 1862 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Smith]

  In addition, Houston-based National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV  ) , a now sizable maker of equipment and components for drilling rigs, serves a crucial part of the energy business worldwide. Further, EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG  ) is one of the truly "oily" independent producers, with prolific operations in the Eagle Ford and Bakken, among other locations.

• [By Harlan Kessler]

  Whenever you see a company that is undervalued with plenty of competitive advantages and financial strength, you are looking at a winner. The company that meets these specifications in the energy business is National Oilwell Varco (NOV). The company supplies drillers and producers with anything they need ranging from rigs to drilling parts and also provides a range of services, whether it is piping inspection or the training of drilling crew in the use of sophisticated systems. It exerts such a profound influence that, according to a Morningstar estimate, it has a 60% share in the market for rig equipment and 90% of all rigs carry some of its equipment. It also operates in over 700 locations across the world. We should remember that the folks who made the real money in the Gold Rush were the suppliers of picks and shovels.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV  ) , a maker of oil and gas drilling and oilfield services equipment, doubled its quarterly dividend to $0.26 a share.

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  National Oilwell Varco
  Another potential winner is National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV  ) , the single largest supplier of rig equipment to the oil and gas industry. Through decades of smart acquisitions, it has grown to become the most dominant, low-cost provider of rig equipment for the world's largest drillers, commanding a whopping 60% market share. �

Top Undervalued Companies To Watch For 2014: Shell Refining Company (SHELL)

Shell Refining Company (Federation of Malaya) Berhad is principally engaged in refining and manufacturing of petroleum products. The Company operates primarily in Malaysia. Its operations also include the gas to liquids (GTL) plant of its kind in Bintulu, Sarawak, and a refinery in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan. Its upstream operations focus on the development and extraction of crude oil and natural gas offshore Sarawak and Sabah. In downstream its main activity is in refining, supply, trading and shipping of crude oil and petroleum products through the sales and marketing of transportation fuels, lubricants, specialty products and technical services. The Company is also a partner in two joint ventures that convert natural gas to liquefied natural gas. Royal Dutch Shell plc is its holding company.

Hot Oil Companies To Own In Right Now: Range Resources Corporation(RRC)

Range Resources Corporation, an independent natural gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of natural gas properties primarily in the Appalachian and southwestern regions of the United States. The company?s Appalachian region drilling and producing activities include tight-gas, shale, coal bed methane, and conventional natural gas and oil production in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, and West Virginia. It owns 4,969 net producing wells, approximately 2,750 miles of gas gathering lines, and approximately 1.8 million gross acres under lease. The company?s Southwestern drilling and producing activities cover the Barnett Shale of North Texas, the Permian Basin of West Texas and eastern New Mexico, the East Texas Basin, the Texas Panhandle, and the Anadarko Basin of Western Oklahoma. It owns 1,954 net producing wells, as well as approximately 886,000 gross acres under lease. As of December 31, 2010, Range Resources Corporation had had 4.4 Tcfe of pr oved reserves. It sells gas to utilities, marketing companies, and industrial users. The company was formerly known as Lomak Petroleum, Inc. and changed its name to Range Resources Corporation in 1998. Range Resources Corporation was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Finally, on the energy front, 2013 has been a reversal of fortune, with natural gas prices climbing but oil prices slumping. That trend has been good for more gas-concentrated companies Range Resources (NYSE: RRC  ) and Ultra Petroleum (NYSE: UPL  ) , but for many players that moved away from gas production to stress more lucrative oil, the new environment has them feeling whipsawed. Overall, better global growth will likely be necessary to drive energy prices higher.

Hot Oil Companies To Own In Right Now: MGM Resorts International(MGM)

MGM Resorts International, through its subsidiaries, primarily owns and operates casino resorts in the United States. The company?s resorts offer gaming, hotel, dining, entertainment, retail, and other resort amenities. It also owns and operates golf courses and a golf club. As of December 31, 2010, the company owned and operated 15 properties located in Nevada, Mississippi, and Michigan; and has 50% investments in 4 other casino resorts in Nevada, Illinois, and Macau. In addition, MGM Resorts International has an agreement with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which owns and operates a casino resort in Connecticut, to carry the ?MGM Grand? brand name. The company was formerly known as MGM MIRAGE and changed its name to MGM Resorts International in June 2010. MGM Resorts International was founded in 1986 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt Thalman]

  In the following video, Fool contributor Matt Thalman discusses why he believes MGM Resorts' (NYSE: MGM  ) recent move to partner with both Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV  ) and Hyatt Hotels (NYSE: H  ) will greatly benefit not only MGM but also its two new partners.

• [By M. Joy, Hayes]

  Industry trends
  Other businesses in the industry also have copious related-party transactions. In particular, founder-led businesses Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN  ) and Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD  ) �reported a large number of such transactions in their 2013 proxies, including employment of relatives, employee use of company services, and employee use of company-owned property. MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM  ) , on the other hand, didn't have to report any related-party transactions in its 2013 proxy.

Hot Oil Companies To Own In Right Now: Linn Energy LLC (LINE.O)

Linn Energy, LLC (LINN Energy) is an independent oil and natural gas company. The Company�� properties are located in the United States, primarily in the Mid-Continent, the Permian Basin, Michigan, California and the Williston Basin. Mid-Continent Deep includes the Texas Panhandle Deep Granite Wash formation and deep formations in Oklahoma and Kansas. Mid-Continent Shallow includes the Texas Panhandle Brown Dolomite formation and shallow formations in Oklahoma, Louisiana and Illinois. Permian Basin includes areas in West Texas and Southeast New Mexico. Michigan includes the Antrim Shale formation in the northern part of the state. California includes the Brea Olinda Field of the Los Angeles Basin. Williston Basin includes the Bakken formation in North Dakota. On December 15, 2011, the Company acquired certain oil and natural gas properties located primarily in the Granite Wash of Texas and Oklahoma from Plains Exploration & Production Company (Plains).

On November 1, 2011, and November 18, 2011, it completed two acquisitions of certain oil and natural gas properties located in the Permian Basin. On June 1, 2011, it acquired certain oil and natural gas properties in the Cleveland play, located in the Texas Panhandle, from Panther Energy Company, LLC and Red Willow Mid-Continent, LLC (collectively Panther). On May 2, 2011, and May 11, 2011, it completed two acquisitions of certain oil and natural gas properties located in the Williston Basin. On April 1, 2011, and April 5, 2011, the Company completed two acquisitions of certain oil and natural gas properties located in the Permian Basin. On March 31, 2011, it acquired certain oil and natural gas properties located in the Williston Basin from an affiliate of Concho Resources Inc. (Concho). During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company completed other smaller acquisitions of oil and natural gas properties located in its various operating regions. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated 7,759 or 69% of its 11,230 gross produc! ! tive wells.

Mid-Continent Deep

The Mid-Continent Deep region includes properties in the Deep Granite Wash formation in the Texas Panhandle, which produces at depths ranging from 10,000 feet to 16,000 feet, as well as properties in Oklahoma and Kansas, which produce at depths of more than 8,000 feet. Mid-Continent Deep proved reserves represented approximately 47% of total proved reserves, as of December 31, 2011, of which 49% were classified as proved developed reserves. The Company owns and operates a network of natural gas gathering systems consisting of approximately 285 miles of pipeline and associated compression and metering facilities that connect to numerous sales outlets in the Texas Panhandle.

Mid-Continent Shallow

The Mid-Continent Shallow region includes properties producing from the Brown Dolomite formation in the Texas Panhandle, which produces at depths of approximately 3,200 feet, as well as properties in Ok lahoma, Louisiana and Illinois, which produce at depths of less than 8,000 feet. Mid-Continent Shallow proved reserves represented approximately 20% of total proved reserves, as of December 31, 2011, of which 70% were classified as proved developed reserves. The Company owns and operates a network of natural gas gathering systems consisting of approximately 665 miles of pipeline and associated compression and metering facilities that connect to numerous sales outlets in the Texas Panhandle.

Permian Basin

The Permian Basin is an oil and natural gas basins in the United States. The Company�� properties are located in West Texas and Southeast New Mexico and produce at depths ranging from 2,000 feet to 12,000 feet. Permian Basin proved reserves represented approximately 16% of total proved reserves, as of December 31, 2011, of which 56% were classified as proved developed reserves.

Michigan

The Michigan region includes proper ties producing from the Antrim Shale formation in the no! rthe! rn ! part o! f the state, which produces at depths ranging from 600 feet to 2,200 feet. Michigan proved reserves represented approximately 9% of total proved reserves, as of December 31, 2011, of which 90% were classified as proved developed reserves.

California

The California region consists of the Brea Olinda Field of the Los Angeles Basin. California proved reserves represented approximately 6% of total proved reserves, as of December 31, 2011, of which 93% were classified as proved developed reserves.

Williston Basin

The Williston Basin is one of the premier oil basins in the United States. The Company�� properties are located in North Dakota and produce at depths ranging from 9,000 feet to 12,000 feet. Williston Basin proved reserves represented approximately 2% of total proved reserves, as of December 31, 2011, of which 48% were classified as proved developed reserves.

Hot Oil Companies To Own In Right Now: Carnival Corporation(CCL)

Carnival Corporation operates as a cruise and vacation company. It provides cruises to various vacation destinations with a portfolio of cruise brands comprising Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn in North America; and AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Ibero Cruises, and P&O Cruises in Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company also involves in operation of hotels, as well as offers tour and transportation services. It operates approximately 98 ships, as well as owns and operates 15 hotels or lodges that include 3,420 guest rooms; 395 motorcoaches; and 20 domed rail cars. The company sells its cruises through travel agents, including wholesalers and tour operators. Carnival Corporation was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  I should point out that this is a different issue than reported earnings vs. owner earnings. For example, Carnival (CCL) reports earnings that are high relative to owner earnings because of the way it accounts for depreciation. Basically, it owns long-lived tangible assets in a world with inflation so it does not depreciate these assets enough over their lives to account for the higher nominal replacement cost of the asset in the future. It�� a common problem for railroads, etc. But it doesn�� have to do with return on investment. It has to do with accounting.

Hot Oil Companies To Own In Right Now: San Juan Basin Royalty Trust (SJT)

San Juan Basin Royalty Trust (the Trust) is an express trust created by the San Juan Basin Royalty Trust Indenture, between Southland Royalty Company (Southland Royalty) and The Fort Worth National Bank. The Trustee of the Trust is Compass Bank. The function of the Trustee is to collect the net proceeds attributable to the Royalty (Royalty Income), to pay all expenses and charges of the Trust and distribute the remaining available income to the Unit Holders. The Royalty conveyed to the Trust was carved out of Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Company LP�� (Burlington) working interests and royalty interests in certain properties situated in the San Juan Basin in northwestern New Mexico.

Burlington is the principal operator of the Underlying Properties. A percentage of the Royalty Income is attributable to the production and sale by Burlington of natural gas from the Underlying Properties. The Underlying Properties are primarily gas producing properties. The Underlying Properties consist of working interests, royalty interests, overriding royalty interests and other contractual rights in 151,900 gross (119,000 net) producing acres in San Juan, Rio Arriba and Sandoval Counties of northwestern New Mexico and 4,015 gross (1,158.5 net) wells. Gas produced in the San Juan Basin is sold in both interstate and intrastate commerce. Gas production from the properties totaled 32,580,756 million cubic feet (Mcf), during the year ended December 31, 2012. Gas produced from the Underlying Properties is processed at one of the five plants: Chaco, Val Verde, Milagro, Ignacio, and Kutz, all located in the San Juan Basin. Gas produced from the Underlying Properties and processed at Kutz is being sold under three separate contracts with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Shell Energy North America (US), LP (Shell) and New Mexico Gas Company, Inc. (NMGC).

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  San Juan Basin Royalty Trust (NYSE: SJT  ) announced yesterday its July monthly distribution of $0.080643�per unit, based principally upon production during the month of April.

Best Vanguard Mutual Funds

Vanguard is best-known for its index funds. But 69% of its mutual funds—80 out of 116—are actively managed. And lately, many of them have outpaced their benchmarks. "I can't recall a better year for Vanguard's active funds," says Dan Newhall, a principal at Vanguard whose job it is to oversee the firm's funds. "It's striking to us how well they've done—and we have a healthy dose of skepticism" about active management. Indeed.

See Also: The Best Fidelity Mutual Funds

This year's crop of Vanguard's best actively managed funds includes a few from last year—three are members of the Kiplinger 25, the list of our favorite no-load mutual funds—as well as several new ones. (All returns are through December 10)

Vanguard Dividend Growth (VDIGX). This isn't your typical dividend fund, and that's why we like it. At Dividend Growth, a member of the Kiplinger 25, manager Don Kilbride prefers to invest in companies that consistently raise their dividends instead of firms that pay the highest yields. So while he owns a fair share of the usual suspects—Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola, to name a few—some not-so-usual dividend payers find a place in his portfolio, too. Take Nike, the sportswear apparel company. It yields just 1.1%, but it has raised its payout by an average of 10% annually over the past five years. Similarly, Diageo, the beverage and spirits company based in the U.K., and New Jersey-based payroll processor Automated Data Processing have each increased their payout 5% and 6% respectively a year, on average, over that time.

Over the past 12 months, Dividend Growth trailed the S&P 500 by 1.9 percentage point. But that doesn't surprise us. Dividend stocks outpaced the market in 2010 and 2011 as investors sought stability during a volatile period that was marked by worries about a global meltdown, a struggling U.S. economy and a credit-rating downgrade for U.S. debt. As those fears have subsided, investors have shifted their attention from the solid dividend payers to other pockets of the market.

Still, Kilbride does a solid job of homing in on quality companies. Over the past three years, his fund has been 28% less volatile than the S&P 500, and its three-year annualized return of 16.3% beats the index by an average of 0.5 percentage point per year.

Vanguard Explorer Value (VEVFX). Vanguard never had an actively managed fund that focused on small and midsize companies until it launched Explorer Value in March 2010. (The average market value of the fund's holdings is $2.2 billion.)

Three firms—Cardinal Capital Management, in Greenwich, Conn.; Frontier Capital Management, in Boston; and Sterling Capital Management, in Charlotte, N.C.,—each manage an equal share of the fund's assets. But there is little overlap in the portfolio among the three so-called sleeves. Of the 180 holdings in the fund, for example, only nine are held by more than one manager, and not one of the stocks is held by all three, says Vanguard's Newhall. That is because each firm has its own strategy for picking stocks.

Timothy Beyer and Eduardo Brea at Sterling are value managers with a focus on traditional measures, such as price to book value (assets minus liabilities) and price to earnings. Eugene Fox, Robert Kirkpatrick and Amy Minella at Cardinal combine quantitative measures with dig-down-deep analysis to find companies with strong balance sheets and growing earnings that are trading at a discount. And Frontier's Thomas Duncan and William Teichner favor companies that are growing but trading at reasonable prices. "Each manager screens for different characteristics, and that leads them to different kinds of companies," says Newhall, who also heads up the division that searches for good outside fund managers. "We think that's a good thing: You diversify the stock-selection risk."

So far, so good. The fund's three-year annualized return of 16.2% beats the small-company Russell 2000 index by an average of 1.7 percentage points per year, and the S&P 400 Midcap index by an average of 1.2 points per year. It was less volatile than the benchmark over that period, too. One caveat: To keep a lid on assets, you can only buy shares in this fund through Vanguard. Unlike most other Vanguard mutual funds, Explorer Value isn't available through other brokerage firms, such as Fidelity or Charles Schwab.

Vanguard International Growth (VWIGX). One of International Growth's five stewards left recently, but that shouldn't be a problem. That's because, as with Explorer, the fund is run by managers at three companies—and each firm works independently. Schroders (a U.K.-based investment bank that once managed the fund solely) manages about 35% of the fund's $22 billion in assets. The Edinburgh, Scotland, firm Baillie Gifford, which Vanguard added in 2003, controls a bit more than half of the fund's assets. And M&G Investment Management, a U.K.-based firm that joined in 2008, takes on 12%.

What's notable is that the manager who left held one of the longer tenures, Virginie Maisonneuve, formerly chief of global and international stocks at Schroders, had been a manager at International Growth since 2005. She left in October 2013 to join Pimco. But Simon Webber, her co-manager on the fund since 2009, remains at the fund.

Vanguard likes to parcel out portions of big funds to different firms. "It's a better way to build portfolios versus taking on the risk of a single manager," says Newhall. When we look at International Growth's year-by-year performances, we're inclined to agree with him. In five of the past seven years, including 2013, International Growth has ranked among the top 25% of its peer group—funds that focus on large, growing foreign companies.

Vanguard Selected Value (VASVX)Two firms share management duties at this midsize-company fund, which is a member of the Kiplinger 25. Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss, in Dallas, takes on three-fourths of the fund's assets. Jim Barrow has been a manager with Selected Value since 1999; Mark Giambrone has been a co-manager since 2002. Donald Smith and Richard Greenberg, of Donald Smith & Co., in New York City, who joined as managers in 2005, run the remaining 25%. Both firms troll for high-quality midsize companies that trade at bargain prices, but they go about it in different ways.

At Barrow, Hanley, the managers tilt toward out-of-favor companies with a catalyst that will turn the business around. But the stock has to trade at a bargain level as measured by price to earnings, price to book value (assets minus liabilities) and dividend yield. In the end, Barrow and Giambrone typically invest in highly profitable companies with strong balance sheets and good cash flow (earnings plus depreciation and other noncash charges).

Smith and Greenberg like high-quality companies, too. But they start with the universe of midsize firms—those with market values of $2 billion to $10 billion—that trade at the cheapest ratio of price to tangible book value. Smith believes tangible book value offers a clearer picture of a company's net worth than traditional book value. It takes into account book value but also subtracts intangible assets, such as goodwill, leases, franchises, and export and import permits.

When Barrow, Hanley has struggled, Donald Smith has done well, and vice versa, says Vanguard's Newhall (though results for each firm are not published). Together, they've outpaced their benchmark, the Russell Midcap Value index, albeit by the slimmest of margins. Since Smith and Greenberg joined the fund in 2005, Selected Value has returned 9.2% annualized, outpacing the Russell Midcap Value by an average of 0.4 percentage point per year.

Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade (VFSTX). This fund, a member of the Kiplinger 25, has a simple mandate: deliver a higher yield than cash and short-term government bonds. Cash offers basically nil, and one-year and five-year Treasury notes were yielding 0.13% and 1.47%, respectively, in early December. Short-Term Investment Grade currently yields 1.5%.

The fund holds a mix of short-term corporate bonds (60% of the fund's assets at last report), asset- and commercial-mortgage-backed securities (19%), foreign sovereign debt (8%) and Treasury notes (8%). The portfolio has an average maturity of three years, and its average duration is two years. That implies that if interest rates were to rise by one percentage point, the fund would lose about 2%. In the five-plus years since he took the helm in mid 2008, manager Greg Nassour has returned 3.6% annualized, which outpaces the typical short-term bond fund by an average of 1.1 percentage points per year.

Finally, a word about last year's winners. Several of them failed to make the cut this year, and here's why: Vanguard Wellington closed to new investors. And although they're still superb at what they are supposed to do, we dropped two Vanguard bond funds—GNMA (VFIIX) and Intermediate-Term Investment Grade (VFICX)—because they are sensitive to interest-rate hikes, which are on the horizon. For the same reason, we also dropped Vanguard Wellesley Income (VFINX), a balanced fund that tilts more toward bonds than to stocks.

Nokia Wants to Transfer Factory to Microsoft

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) is desperate to unload its manufacturing plant in Chennai, India.

How desperate? The phone maker is willing to pay Indian tax authorities $487 million in order to let Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) take over the plant, Bloomberg reported.

The transfer is designed to get Nokia out of a tax dispute with the Indian government and facilitate the transfer of Nokia's smart phone business to Microsoft. As it stands now, the factory is no good to Nokia; it's frozen because of tax dispute.

Nokia reportedly owes the Indian government $342 million in back taxes, so the government has frozen its assets until it can pay.

The plant is part of Nokia's handset unit. News reports indicate Microsoft won't be able to take over the factory until the tax dispute is settled. That might not be until next year because of the slow speed at which Indian courts move.

There's no word on what Microsoft plans to do with the factory after the dispute ends.

News of the transfer deal did not help Nokia's dismal share price at all. Nokia's shares fell by .88 percent or 7¢ in trading on Tuesday. The Finnish smartphone giant is in terrible shape; its year to year revenue growth fell by 18.31 percent in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. Microsoft's shares also fell by 1.51 percent or 58¢ on Dec. 10.

Posted-In: Chennai factory India tax dispute telecommunicationsLong Ideas News Emerging Markets Short Ideas Politics Psychology Markets Tech Media Trading Ideas General

(c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Bernanke mentor could be Fed’s next No. 2

Stanley Fischer, an internationally-respected economist who most recently led Israel's central bank, is President Obama's top candidate to become the next vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, according to people familiar with the process.

A formal nomination is not yet scheduled, these people say.

If chosen and confirmed by the Senate, Fischer, 70, would succeed Janet Yellen who has been nominated to replace Ben Bernanke next year as Fed chairman.

An economist with broad experience as a policymaker, Fischer resigned as governor of the Bank of Israel in June.

He also has close ties to Bernanke, having taught the current Fed chairman when he was a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

And Fischer has banking industry experience. He was vice chairman of Citigroup from 2002 to 2005.

Fischer has been the World Bank's chief economist and a deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund. He also has taught at MIT and headed the Public Sector Group, a management consulting firm.

During Yellen's tenure, the position of vice chair has become more prominent at the Fed. Yellen has been a key advocate of Fed policies to increase the Fed's communication with the public and adopt policies to stimulate economic growth.

Fischer would become Yellen's top lieutenant during a critical period as the Fed prepares to wind down the massive monetary stimulus it has injected into the economy. He has generally supported such growth-boosting policies. As head of the Bank of Israel, he led its bold steps to respond to the global financial crisis, including the purchase of bonds to lower interest rates, a move that also was the centerpiece of the Fed's strategy at the time.

But at least one of his positions has raised eyebrows among some economists. For example, he has criticized "forward guidance," which the Fed has relied on extensively to signal to markets how long it will maintain low interest rates.

In a Wall Street Journal intervi! ew in September, Fischer said, "You can't expect the Fed to spell out what it's going to do. Why? Because it doesn't know. It's a mistake to try and get too precise." He added, "If you give too much forward guidance you do take away flexibility."

Barclays Capital economist Michael Gapen said he interprets his remarks "as reflecting a pragmatic view" to "communicate what you know and can credibly commit to" but avoid confusing investors and "maintain discretion to allow policy to adapt to changing circumstances."

At the Close: Stocks Edge Higher, Look Ahead to 2014

Like the little engine that could, stocks are chug, chug, chugging higher, even if they have to work hard for their gains.

Bloomberg

The S&P 500 gained 0.2% to 1,808.37 today, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished little changed (some 0.03% higher, if you must know) at 16,025.53.

The S&P 500 got a lift from Sysco (SYY), which gained 10% to $37.62 after purchasing a competitor,  Davita HealthCare Partners (DVA), which rose 6.7% to $62.17, and Cabot Oil & Gas (COG), which reported stronger than expected production in the Marcellus region. Big losers include Newfield Exploration (NFX), which dropped 8% to $24.33 after offering disappointing production guidance, and Edwards Lifesciences (EW), which fell 5.4% to $62.73 after releasing disappointing earnings guidance.

Still, investors appear to be looking past December and into 2014. Strategists, in particular, are predicting a solid, though muted year-to-come. Just eyeballing the reports that have been rolling in, the consensus appears to be for the S&P 500 to close somewhere between 1,900 and 2,000 by the end of 2014, good for a 5.1% to 11% gain. That’s right in line with the 5.5% gain in the S&P 500 in the 23 years following 20%+ gains since 1927, according to this Wall Street Journal story, but the average misses the point: the S&P 500 has dropped eight times after a 20% gain, but has gained 20% or more six times. So maybe those predicting a lukewarm 2014 will be right, but the odds suggest it could be another year of extremes–good or bad.

Barclays’ Barry Knapp recommends investors shift into safer sectors. In a note released on Friday, he writes:

While the fundamental improvement seems to point to a favorable environment for equities in 1H14, given the persistent drop in the equity risk premium in cyclical stocks and unfavorable mix of S&P 500 mid-cycle valuation and earnings growth, even if our earnings forecast does prove correct, the risk of a period of digestion of this year's gains are fairly high…

We upgrade Staples to Overweight to reduce portfolio beta and downgrade Utilities to Underweight to decrease interest rate sensitivity; reducing total portfolio cyclical exposure.

Knapp, by the way, is one of those predicting a 1,900 S&P 500 at the end of 2014.

ING wins fixed-annuity deal as Allstate narrows focus

Bloomberg News

ING U.S. Inc. will begin selling fixed annuities through Allstate Corp. agencies as the largest publicly traded U.S. auto and home insurer ceases to offer its own brand of the retirement products.

The deal gives ING U.S. access to one of the biggest insurance customer bases in the country, while furthering a strategy by Allstate chief executive Tom Wilson to scale back from a business that has proven less profitable amid low interest rates. Terms weren't disclosed in a statement released Monday announcing the agreement.

Mr. Wilson has refashioned his company's life insurance division by winding down sales of retirement products and focusing on Allstate-branded agencies. The insurer sold a variable-annuity business to Prudential Financial Inc. in 2006 and in July said it would halt fixed- annuity sales at the end of this year. Allstate also agreed to divest Lincoln Benefit Life Co., which provided life and retirement products through independent agents.

The deal with ING U.S. is “the next step that will move us toward what we've been trying to accomplish for the last several years,” Don Civgin, CEO of the life division, said in an interview.

Allstate will still sell life policies through its agencies. Returns on those products are “pretty good” and an area that the insurer would like to expand, Mr. Civgin said.

INTEREST RATES

Operating return on equity for life insurance was 9% last year, compared with 6.5% for annuities and institutional products, according to data on Allstate's website. Life insurers have faced pressure in recent years as record-low interest rates narrow the spread between what they can earn on investments and guarantees made to clients.

“This interest-rate environment has made it challenging for everybody, not just Allstate,” Civgin sai

Survey: Gen Y wants self-driving car features

If you're wondering why automakers seem so hellbent all of a sudden on developing driverless car, blame Gen Y.

The technologies that Gen Y consumers want the most in a new car are the same safety systems that would be found in driverless cars, a new survey by Accenture consulting finds. The survey covered 14,000 drivers in 12 countries, including the U.S.

Here are some of the features they favored:

•82% want automatic braking systems that stops the car in an emergency.

•76% want automatic breaking systems that prevent hitting an object.

•72% are most interested in collision-warning systems.

•71% percent want fully automatic parking,

•48% want lane-keeping systems.

At present, Millennials make up about a third of all U.S. drivers. They are the rising generation of car buyers that the industry craves the most. They outranked those of their parent's generation, Boomers, in the survey when it came desire for autonomous driving technologies.

How Apple Will Benefit From Twitter's Firehose

Last week, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) acquired social media data analytics firm Topsy for a reported $200 million. Topsy specializes in analyzing Twitter data, and is one of the customers of Twitter's data licensing business, where it sells access to its "Firehose." Apple has failed it almost all of its attempts to be social, so it's leaving social media to the experts.

While Apple usually tends to acquire small companies that may help add features to future devices, this acquisition is clearly geared toward data. Compared to some of its heavyweight rivals, Apple has fewer ways to gather valuable customer data. Apple knows a lot about content trends thanks to iTunes, but this acquisition can broaden its view of what's trending. That information can be used to bolster Siri, iAd, iTunes, and a slew of other services.

In this segment of Tech Teardown, Erin Kennedy discusses Apple's latest acquisition with Evan Niu, CFA, our tech and telecom bureau chief.

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Two key industries boost November job gains

Significant job gains last month in two economic bellwethers, construction and manufacturing, are raising expectations for continued strong payroll growth and a strengthening recovery next year.

Together those industries contributed 44,000 new jobs to the overall economy's better-than-expected gain of 203,000, the Labor Department said Friday. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to a five-year low of 7% from 7.3% in October.

The unemployment rate fell to a five-year low of 7% from 7.3%, the Labor Department said Friday, as federal employees furloughed during October's government shutdown returned to work. . Un employment rose in October because the federal government furloughed about 450,000 workers during the 16-day shutdown. The jobless rate, in turn, was expected to fall in November as those employees were back at work.

JOBS: Falling jobless rate, solid job gains show economy's strength

While the total job advances capped four months of 200,000-plus average gains, economists were especially encouraged by a burgeoning rebound in the bedrock goods-producing sectors. Manufacturers added 27,000 jobs last month — the most since March 2012 — and 66,000 since August after cutting 40,000 the previous five months.

Chad Moutray, chief economist of the National Association of Manufacturers, says producers are responding to a pickup in industrial output as Europe climbs out of recession and the effects of federal budget cuts and tax increases fade.

Construction companies, meanwhile, added 17,000 jobs last month and 60,000 since June after shedding positions in the spring. As the housing recovery and energy boom spread to more states, contractors can no longer meet demand by simply piling more hours on existing workers, says Ken Simonson, chief economist of Associated General Contractors.

MORE: November job gains easily beat economists' forecasts

Manufacturing and construction, which each shed more than 2 million jobs in the recession, are projected to ha! ve breakout years in 2014, adding 180,000 and 300,000 jobs, respectively, Moutray and Simonson estimate.

That could be a boon for the economy because a pickup in both industries ripples through the economy as home building means more furniture sales and production, as well as the need for more services to cater to busier manufacturers.

Manufacturing and construction provide the type of middle-wage jobs that have been shrinking in recent decades. Employees in the sector tend to spend what they earn, says economist Michelle Meyer of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "It's a bit more of a stimulus to the economy," she says.

ANALYSIS: Rates are heading higher, but are still pretty low

November's solid jobs report is sure to add to speculation about whether the Federal Reserve will begin to taper its economy-boosting program of monthly bond purchases at its Dec. 17-18 meeting. Pat O'Keefe, director of economic research at CohnReznick, believes the Fed will hold off, noting much of the unemployment rate decline since September is a result of Americans dropping out of the labor force rather than job growth. Also, another budget standoff in Congress looms in a few weeks.

Still, the economy and labor market are picking up despite nerve-jangling spending showdowns in Washington. Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics says the November report "gives the Fed all the evidence it needs to begin tapering" this month.

Businesses added 196,000 jobs last month. Federal, state and local governments added 7,000. Strong gains in transportation and warehousing, health care and manufacturing led the job growth.

Job gains for September and October were revised up by a total 8,000. September's were revised to 175,000 from 163,000 and October's to 200,000 from 204,000.

The economy has gained more than 2 million jobs so far this year, the most since January-November, 2005. Payroll additions in the past four months now average 204,000.

Other barometers of the labor market last month! were als! o encouraging. The average workweek rose to 34.5 hours from 34.4 hours. Employers often pile more hours on existing workers before adding new ones. And average hourly earnings rose four cents to $24.15.

Another possible signal of future hiring is that the number of temporary employees increased by 16,000. Companies typically bring on contingent workers before adding to permanent staff.

And a broader measure of joblessness called the underemployment rate — which includes part-time employees who prefer full-time jobs and those who've given up looking for work, as well as the unemployed —fell to 13.2% from 13.8%. Much of that decline was likely due to the return of furloughed federal workers.

The economy and labor market have proved resilient lately despite the shutdown and the prospect of another Washington budget battle over the next month.

This week, the government revised up its estimate for third-quarter economic growth to an annual rate of 3.6% from 2.8% and measures of recent manufacturing activity and home sales both picked up more than anticipated.

In November, education and health services led job gains with 40,000. Professional and business services added 35,000, transportation and warehousing, 30,000 and retailers, 22,000. Manufacturing and construction, both key sources of middle-income jobs that laid off millions of workers in the recession, are showing signs of strength. Manufacturers added 27,000 jobs as the effects of the European recession and federal spending cuts ease. And construction firms added 17,000 jobs amid a continuing housing recovery.