Top US Companies For 2014

3M (NYSE: MMM  ) has gained 33% over the past year, when including dividends, and for the company to continue that strong performance investors will expect more growth than we've seen recently. Organic growth was just 2.9% in the first quarter, which isn't impressive, but the good news is that the company is investing more in R&D to fuel growth. Motley Fool contributor Travis Hoium covers what investors should be watching for regarding 3M's stock.�

Companies such as 3M have leveraged low costs in China to expand margins, but these days it's all about speed in R&D and manufacturing. 3M is one of thousands of companies using new technology to turn products into reality almost in real-time, changing everything we thought we knew about manufacturing. Read all about�the biggest industry disrupters since the personal computer in "3 Stocks to Own for the New Industrial Revolution". Just�click here to learn more.

Top 10 Life Sciences Stocks To Watch For 2015: iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG)

iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (the Trust), formerly iShares GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust, issues units of beneficial interest, called Shares, representing fractional undivided beneficial interests in its net assets. Substantially all of the assets of the Trust consist of interests in the iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Investing Pool LLC (the Investing Pool). The investment objective of the Trust is to seek investment results, through its investment in the Investing Pool, which correspond generally to the performance of the S&P GSCI Total Return Index (the Index). The Investing Pool is a limited liability company. The Investing Pool holds long positions in CERFs, which are futures contracts listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which have a term of approximately five years after listing and whose settlement at expiration is based on the value of the S&P GSCI Excess Return Index, or S&P GSCI-ER, at that time.

The Index is intended to reflect the performance of a diversified group of commodities. The Index reflects the value of an investment in the S&P GSCI-ER together with a Treasury bill return. The S&P GSCI-ER reflects the returns that are potentially available through a rolling uncollateralized investment in the contracts comprising the S&P GSCI. Barclays Global Investors International, Inc. is the sponsor of the Trust and the manager of the Investing Pool. Barclays Global Investors, N.A. is the trustee of the Trust.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Adam J. Wiederman]

  Getty Images Bitcoin made headlines last year when the value of all outstanding pieces of the electronic currency reached nearly $10 billion. It's not just speculators drawn to the new currency. Many businesses are also attempting to cash in on this growth: Several public companies, including Zynga (ZNGA) and Overstock.com (OSTK), accept Bitcoins as a form of payment. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen's firm has invested nearly $50 million in Bitcoin-related ventures, and it is looking to invest even more. And the Winklevoss twins -- who notoriously accused Facebook's (FB) Mark Zuckerberg of stealing their idea -- have been "in dialogue" with the SEC about opening the first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, according to Bloomberg. Yet a new survey from TheStreet.com (TST) reveals that 76 percent of consumers are not familiar with Bitcoin -- and 79 percent would never consider owning a currency like it. Does this signal opportunity for savvy investors? Or is this a fad you'd be wise to avoid? The Basics of Bitcoin Bitcoin is a completely unregulated form of currency developed by an anonymous Japanese programmer (according to some apocryphal claims) as a completely digital, peer-to-peer payment system that is independent of national currencies (which, Bitcoin users argue, are all subject to the riskiness of the underlying country). Bitcoins are rewarded throughout the day to a "Bitcoin miner" whose computer solves a series of algorithms quicker than other miners. The puzzles become more difficult over time, so the calculations take longer and the computations require more computing power. There will eventually be a total of 21 million Bitcoins (12.4 million are in circulation today) and we won't reach the point that they are effectively "mined out" until 2040. The value of a Bitcoin is supposed to be market-driven, meaning they're worth whatever the two parties in a transaction value them as. For example, in one of the original Bitcoin transactions, a "mi

• [By Charles Sizemore]

  But things have changed over the past decade; correlations between commodities have increased. As commodity mutual funds and ETFs such as the PIMCO Commodity Real Return Fund (PCRDX) and iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG) have become popular, commodities that once traded largely independently of each other now get lumped together and bought and sold as a group. Also, the financialization of commodities has caused their correlation to stocks to rise as well.

Top US Companies For 2014: News Corporation(NWSA)

News Corporation operates as a diversified media company worldwide. Its Cable Network Programming segment produces and licenses news, business news, sports, general entertainment, and movie programming for distribution through cable television systems and direct broadcast satellite operators primarily in the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. The company?s Filmed Entertainment segment produces and acquires live-action and animated motion pictures for distribution and licensing in entertainment media, as well as produces and licenses television programming worldwide. Its Television segment operates 27 broadcast television stations in the United States. The company?s Direct Broadcast Satellite Television segment distributes programming services via satellite and broadband directly to subscribers in Italy. Its Publishing segment provides newspapers and information services, such as publishing national newspapers in the United Kingdom, approximately 146 newspapers in Australia, and a metropolitan and a national newspaper in the United States; book publishing services, including the publishing of English language books worldwide; and integrated marketing services comprising the publishing of free-standing inserts, which are marketing booklets containing coupons, rebates, and other consumer offers, as well as provides in-store marketing products and services, primarily to consumer packaged goods manufacturers in the United States and Canada. The company also sells advertising, sponsorships, and subscription services on the company?s various digital media properties and outdoor advertising space on various media primarily in Russia and eastern Europe; and provides data systems and professional services that enable teachers to use data to assess student progress and deliver individualized instructions. News Corporation was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  News Corp. is a media and information services company that has recently spun-off of its very profitable entertainment segment. The company’s�Chief Executive Lex Fenwick,�has left the company after two years in the job. The stock has been trading sideways over the last couple of months and is currently pulling back. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenues have been on the rise. However, investors have had mixed feelings about recent earnings announcements. Relative to its peers and sector, News Corp. has been a weak year-to-date performer. WAIT AND SEE what News Corp. does this quarter.

Top US Companies For 2014: Old Republic International Corporation(ORI)

Old Republic International Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides various insurance and mortgage guaranty products in North America. The company operates in three segments: General Insurance, Mortgage Guaranty, and Title Insurance. The General Insurance segment provides liability insurance coverages to businesses, government, and other institutions in commercial construction, forest products, energy, general manufacturing, and financial services industries; and transportation, including trucking and general aviation industries. It provides various insurance products, such as automobile extended warranty, aviation, commercial automobile insurance, general liability, home warranty, inland marine, travel accident, and workers? compensation, as well as liability coverage for claims arising from the acts of owners or employees, and protection for the physical assets of businesses. This segment also offers financial indemnity products, such as consumer credit indemnity , errors and omissions/directors and officers, guaranteed asset protection, and surety, as well as bonds that cover the exposures for losses of monies, or debt and equity securities due to acts of employee dishonesty. The Mortgage Guaranty segment insures first mortgage loans, primarily on residential properties incorporating one-to-four family dwelling units to mortgage bankers, brokers, commercial banks, and savings institutions. The Title Insurance segment provides lenders' and owners' title insurance policies to real estate purchasers and investors based upon searches of the public records. It also provides escrow closing and construction disbursement services; and real estate information products, national default management services, and services related to real estate transfers and loan transactions. Old Republic International Corporation markets its products directly, as well as through insurance agents and brokers. The company was founded in 1887 and is based in Chi cago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Insurance underwriting company Old Republic (ORI) raised its quarterly dividend 5.8% to 18 cents per share, payable on Dec. 16 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 4.
  ORI Dividend Yield: 4.28%

• [By Fredrik Arnold]

  Ten Champion dogs that promised the biggest dividend yields into July included firms representing five of nine market sectors. The top stocks were three of five from the financial sector: Universal Health Realty Trust (UHT); Mercury General Corp. (MCY); Old Republic Int'l (ORI). The other two financial firms, HCP Inc., and United Bankshares Inc. (UBSI), placed sixth and eighth.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Prem Watsa is renowned for his long track record of outstanding returns using Buffett-style value investing through his worldwide insurance and reinsurance company, Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings. His five-year cumulative is 176.4%, compared to 12.2% for the S&P 500. Most recently, he made headlines for making a large contrarian bet on Research In Motion (RIMM) and joining its board in his first activist investing foray. In the fourth quarter, he added to this position. He also added to his positions in Citigroup Inc. (C), Old Republic Corp. (ORI) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and dramatically reduced one of his largest holdings, Dell (DELL). As a Ben Graham devotee, Watsa looks past short-term fluctuations in price to the underlying strength of a business. His stance on the economy, as of September and October 2011, was that he believed the U.S. was showing Depression-level interest rates and deficits, but he still liked some stocks and would hedge his exposure, he told CFA Institute Magazine.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Its big day has also boosted other insurers. Radian Group (RDN) has risen 7.2% to $14.39, while Old Republic International (ORI) has advanced 2.1% to $15.24, Genworth Financial (GNW) is up 3.6% at $13.41 and MBIA Inc. (MBI) has jumped 4.3% to $10.76.

Top US Companies For 2014: URS Corporation(URS)

URS Corporation provides engineering, construction, and technical services to the power, infrastructure, federal, and industrial and commercial market sectors in the United States and internationally. Its services for power sector include planning, designing, engineering, constructing, retrofitting, and maintaining a range of power-generating facilities; and the systems that transmit and distribute electricity, as well as the development and installation of clean air technologies that reduce emissions at fossil fuel power plants. The company?s services for infrastructure sector comprise program management, planning, architect, engineering, general contracting, construction, and construction management for surface, air, and rail transportation networks; ports and harbors; and water supply, and treatment and conveyance systems. Its services for federal sector consist of program management; planning, design, and engineering; systems engineering and technical assistance to con struction and construction management; operations and maintenance; and decommissioning and closure primarily for the United States federal government and national governments of other countries. URS Corporation?s services for industrial and commercial sector include front-end studies, engineering and process design, procurement, construction and construction management, facility management, and operations and maintenance, as well as due diligence, permitting, compliance, environmental management, pollution control, health and safety, waste management, and hazardous waste remediation. The company was formerly known as Broadview Research Corporation and changed its name to URS Corporation in 1976. URS Corporation was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  The U.S. Department of Defense awarded nine new contracts on Monday worth some $1.121 billion in aggregate. While one single IT contract claimed the bulk of the awards, there were other, smaller winners as well. Here are a few of them:

Top US Companies For 2014: Eyes on The Go Inc (AXCG)

Eyes on the Go, Inc., incorporated on August 26, 2010, designs, implements, and provides services for the remote real-time monitoring of, and the control of equipment and devices located at, businesses and other facilities via computers, wireless handheld devices and television equipment using the Internet, through its Website, www.eyesonthego.com, or internal communications. As of May 1, 2011, the Company entered into a Plan and Agreement of Merger by and among the Company, Eyes Enterprises, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, and EOTG, under which Enterprises was merged with and into EOTG, with EOTG being the surviving entity. As a result of this merger, the Company changed its name to Eyes on the Go, Inc. and EOTG changed its corporate name to Eyes Enterprises, Inc. On May 11, 2011 the Company completed a Plan and Agreement of Merger with Mutual Exchange Corp. The Company was considered to be the accounting acquirer, and the merger was accounted for as a reverse merger, whereby the Company being the accounting survivor.

Users of the Company�� services can view monitored facilities from video cameras, as well as receive temperature and other data; can remotely control devices, such as thermostats, lights and locks, and can receive e-mail-based alerts of door entries and other events with video clips and of equipment failures and deviations from temperature and other parameters. Its system can also store images and data for review. The Company markets primarily to business owners and managers in the hospitality industry.

The Company competes with Control4 Corporation, SVAT Electronics, Motorola, Inc., iControl Networks, Inc., Mi Casa Verde, Inc. and ADT Security Services, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Eyes on The Go Inc (OTCMKTS: AXCG), Quadrant 4 Systems Corp (OTCMKTS: QFOR) and Cloud Security Corp (OTCMKTS: CLDS) were getting attention last week, but all three stocks trended downward on Monday. It should be mentioned that none of these stocks have been overly or heavily paid promotions. So what will these three small cap stocks do on the last trading day of the year and for the rest of this week? Here is a closer look:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Last Friday, small cap stocks Kiwibox.com Inc (OTCMKTS: KIWB), Eyes on The Go Inc (OTCMKTS: AXCG) and Green Endeavors Inc (OTCMKTS: GRNE) were sinking 37.5%, 28.57% and 23.9%, respectively. Moreover, it should be mentioned that all three small cap stocks have been the subject of recent paid promotions or investor relation campaigns which have gotten them mentions in various investment newsletters or investor alerts. So are the promotional or investor relation campaigns over with for these three small caps? Here is a quick look to help you decide:

Top US Companies For 2014: United States 12 Month Oil Fund LP (USL)

The United States 12 Month Oil Fund, LP (US12OF) is a commodity pool that issues limited partnership interests traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Arca, Inc. (the NYSE Arca). The investment objective of US12OF is for the daily changes in percentage terms of its units per unit net asset value (NAV) to reflect the daily changes in percentage terms of the spot price of light, sweet crude oil delivered to Cushing, Oklahoma, as measured by the changes in the average of the prices of 12 futures contracts for light, sweet crude oil traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (the NYMEX) consisting of the near month contract to expire and the contracts for 11 months, for a total of 12 consecutive months contracts, except when the near month contract is within two weeks of expiration, in which case it is measured by the futures contract that is the next month contract to expire and the contracts for 11 consecutive months (the Benchmark Oil Futures Contracts). The Company is managed and controlled by its general partner, United States Commodity Funds LLC (the General Partner). The General Partner is the general partner of US12OF and is responsible for the management of US12OF.

The net assets of US12OF consist primarily of investments in futures contracts for light, sweet crude oil, other types of crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, natural gas, and other petroleum-based fuels that are traded on the NYMEX, ICE Futures or other United States and foreign exchanges (collectively, Oil Futures Contracts). It also invests in other oil interests, such as cash-settled options on Oil Futures Contracts, forward contracts for oil, cleared swap contracts and non-exchange traded (over-the-counter) transactions that are based on the price of oil, other petroleum-based fuels, Oil Futures Contracts and indices based on the foregoing (collectively, Other Oil-Related Investments). For convenience and unless otherwise specified, Oil Futures Contracts and Other Oil-Related Investments collectively are referred to! as oil Interests.

US12OF invests in Oil Interests to the fullest extent possible without being leveraged or unable to satisfy its current or potential margin or collateral obligations with respect to its investments in Oil Futures Contracts and Other Oil-Related Investments. US12OF�� investments in short-term obligations of the United States of two years or less (Treasuries), cash and/or cash equivalents.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Another choice is to use ETFs with a longer-term futures strategy. The United States 12-Month Oil Fund (NYSEMKT: USL  ) holds equal positions in each of the next 12 futures contracts. That reduces the positive impact of near-term backwardation, but it gives you more exposure to the heavier backwardation that exists further into the future.