In a competition that pits BMW's iDrive against Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL ) �"iOS in the Car," the luxury automaker is taking a pass on fully embracing Cupertino's solution to in-car entertainment. Whereas Apple believes that allowing its devices to become fully integrated in your car's multimedia system will streamline things for users, BMW has already invested heavily in this area and prefers to remain autonomous. Ultimately, the struggles between these two industries is probably just heating up.
In the video below, Fool.com contributor Doug Ehrman discusses the decision by BMW to shun iOS in the Car, as well as the ramifications of the decision.
Apple has a history of cranking out revolutionary products... and then creatively destroying them with something better. Read about the future of Apple in the free report, "Apple Will Destroy Its Greatest Product." Can Apple really disrupt its own iPhones and iPads? Find out by clicking here.
Carlisle Companies Incorporated operates as a diversified manufacturing company in the United States and internationally. Its Construction Materials segment manufactures and sells rubber and thermoplastic polyolefin roofing systems; rigid foam insulation panels for various roofing applications; and liquid and spray-applied waterproofing membranes, vapor and air barriers, and HVAC duct sealants and hardware for the commercial and residential construction markets, as well as markets and sells polyvinyl chloride membrane and accessories. The company�s Transportation Products segment offers bias-ply, steel-belted radial trailer tires, stamped or roll-formed steel wheels, non-automotive rubber tires, and tire and wheel assemblies; and power transmission products, such as industrial belts and related components. Its Brake and Friction segment provides off-highway braking systems and friction products for off-highway, on-highway, aircraft, and other industrial applications. The company�s Interconnect Technologies segment offers wire, cable, contacts, fiber optic, RF/microwave, and specialty filtered connectors; specialty cable assemblies; integrated wired racks; trays; and airframe subsystem solutions primarily for the aerospace, defense electronics, and test and measurement industries. Its FoodService Products segment provides commercial and institutional foodservice permanentware, table coverings, cookware, display pieces, lighting equipment, and supplies to restaurants, hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and correctional facilities; and industrial brooms, brushes, mops, and rotary brushes. The company markets its products to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and end-users. It serves customers in commercial roofing, energy, agriculture, lawn and garden, mining and construction equipment, aerospace and electronics, dining and food delivery, and healthcare markets. The company was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Charl otte, North Carolina.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Adam Haigh]
CSL Ltd. (CSL), a maker of blood-derived therapies that gets more than a third of its sales in the U.S., advanced 3.1 percent in Sydney. Toyota Motor Corp. gained 1.1 percent in Tokyo as the yen weakened against the dollar, boosting the earnings outlook for Asia�� largest carmaker. Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd. fell 4.7 percent in Sydney as the gold miner reported an 18 percent drop in quarterly output.
- [By Lee Samaha]
Carlisle Companies (NYSE: CSL ) also has a major construction materials division that supplies roofing products to Beacon. It appears to have taken the opposite approach to Owens Corning, and gone for volume growth instead of� keeping pricing and margins up.�In discussing its third quarter results on Oct.22, Carlisle disclosed:
10 Best High Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Vanguard Large Cap Etf (VV)
Vanguard Large-Cap ETF, formerly known as Vanguard Large-Cap VIPERs, is an exchange-traded share class that seeks to track the investment performance of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) US Prime Market 750 Index (Index). The Fund employs an indexing approach to provide exposure to predominantly large-cap companies in the United States, diversified across growth and value styles.
The Index represents the universe of predominantly large-capitalization companies in the United States equity market. Using full replication, the Fund invests in all of the Index stocks, holding each stock in approximately the same proportion as its weighting in the Index.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Selena Maranjian]
Exchange-traded funds offer a convenient way to invest in sectors or niches that interest you. If you'd like to add some large-cap stocks to your portfolio but don't have the time or expertise to hand-pick a few, the Vanguard Large-Cap ETF (NYSEMKT: VV ) could save you a lot of trouble. Instead of trying to figure out which large-cap stocks will perform best, you can use this ETF to invest in lots of them simultaneously.
The basics
ETFs often sport lower expense ratios than their mutual-fund cousins. This ETF, focused on large-cap stocks, sports a relatively low expense ratio -- an annual fee -- of 0.1%. It yields about 2%.
This ETF has performed reasonably, but it's also very young, with just a few years on the books. It underperformed the S&P 500 in 2008 and 2010, though it beat it substantially in 2007 and 2009. As with most investments, of course, we can't expect outstanding performances in every quarter or year. Investors with conviction need to wait for their holdings to deliver.
10 Best High Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Visa Inc.(V)
Visa Inc., a payments technology company, engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company owns and operates VisaNet, a global processing platform that provides transaction processing services. It also offers a range of payments platforms, which enable credit, charge, deferred debit, debit, and prepaid payments, as well as cash access for consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company provides its payment platforms under the Visa, Visa Electron, PLUS, and Interlink brand names. In addition, it offers value-added services, including risk management, issuer processing, loyalty, dispute management, value-added information, and CyberSource-branded services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Chuck Carnevale]
Visa Inc. (V)
Even though Visa did not make my cut, I thought it would be interesting to showcase their phenomenal record. Therefore, dividend growth investors interested in total return might want to take a closer look at Visa.
- [By Tim Beyers]
Getty Images There are some people who spend $5,000 each year going out to lunch. And then there are some who spend nothing. But according to a new Visa (V) survey, on average, Americans spend $936 a year -- or $10 per outing -- on restaurant-made lunches. That kind of money could easily help fund a winter trip to the beach, but it's going to stale chips, soda, and six-inch subs instead. Or, if you're among the 1 percent who spend more than $50 a lunch -- nearly $5,000 a year -- you'd have that beach trip completely covered. Here's a closer look at how the rest of us spend our lunch breaks: Men spend more. They spend 44 percent more, specifically: $21 weekly compared to $15 on average for women. So do the poor. Those who makes $25,000 or less spent more per meal, $11.70, than any other income bracket. Chitown = cheaptown. Midwesterners spent the least on eating out, just $8.90 per meal. Northeasterners ate out the least often -- just 1.5 times per week -- while Southerners spent an average of $10 each time on two weekly visits to the lunch counter. Resisting the temptation to get takeout for lunch can really pay off. "Simple choices have a large impact on your wallet," says Nat Sillin, Visa's head of U.S. Financial Education."Clipping a coupon, choosing a less expensive item, or brown-bagging it can save you hundreds over the course of a year." But Sillin isn't condemning eating lunch out. Rather, it's about being aware of how much you're spending and whether you can afford to spend that amount. "Going into debt for a tuna sandwich isn't worth it." Fair point. But what if you don't know where to start? Here are four tips for reducing your lunch tab without going hungry: 1. Bring leftovers. This should be obvious, but for many it isn't. Cook enough over the weekend for multiple weekday meals and then store the remainder in portable containers you can bring to work. Reheat, serve, and bask in the savings as you watch YouTube at your desk. 2. Buy frozen.
- [By Paul Ausick]
More than offsetting the drop in Disney stock, Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) saw its share price rise 0.71% today and the stock�� high per share price carries a lot of weight on the DJIA. The stock will close at around $225.46 in a 52-week range of $155.68 to $235.50. Volume was almost 50% below the daily average of around nearly 3.4 million shares traded.
- [By Jon C. Ogg]
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) was the big DJIA gainer, and it being the largest DJIA stock by weighting made all the difference in the world. Its stock was up 4.1% at $231.00 in the final minutes before the closing bell. The gains of AmEx were the big driving force here, and Visa’s nearly 9% weighting in the DJIA makes it three times more dominant than the average DJIA stock.
10 Best High Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: QEP Resources Inc (QEP)
QEP Resources, Inc. (QEP), incorporated on May 17, 2010, is a holding company. The Company operates in three lines of business: gas and oil exploration and production, midstream field services, and energy marketing. It conducted through three principal subsidiaries: QEP Energy Company (QEP Energy) acquires, explores for, develops and produces natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids (NGL); QEP Field Services Company (QEP Field Services) provides midstream field services, including natural gas gathering, processing, compression and treating services for affiliates and third parties; andQEP Marketing Company (QEP Marketing) markets affiliate and third-party natural gas and oil, provides risk-management services, and owns and operates an underground gas-storage reservoir. QEP operates in the Northern and Southern Regions of the United States and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Principal offices are located in Denver, Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
QEP�� exploration and production business is conducted through QEP Energy in two core regions, the Northern Region (including the states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and North Dakota) and the Southern Region (including the states of Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana). QEP Energy has approximately 50,800 net acres of Haynesville Shale lease rights in northwest Louisiana and additional lease rights that cover the Hosston and Cotton Valley formations. The depth of the top of the Haynesville Shale ranges from approximately 10,500 feet to 12,500 feet across QEP Energy�� leasehold and is below the Hosston and Cotton Valley formations that QEP Energy has been developing in northwest Louisiana for over a decade. As of December 31, 2011, QEP Energy had three operated rigs drilling in the project area. QEP Energy�� Midcontinent properties cover all properties in the Southern Region except the Haynesville/Cotton Valley area of northwest Louisiana and are distributed over an area, including the ! Anadarko Basin of Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. QEP Energy has approximately 77,000 net acres of Woodford Shale lease rights in western Oklahoma. QEP Energy has approximately 38,700 net acres of Granite Wash/Atoka Wash lease rights in the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma and has been drilling vertical Granite Wash/Atoka Wash wells. The Company estimates that up to 1,100 additional wells will be required to fully develop its Pinedale acreage on a combination of 5 and 10-acre density. In addition to QEP Energy�� gross producing wells, QEP Energy had an overriding royalty interest in an additional 21 wells at Pinedale. QEP Energy owns interests in approximately 255,200 net leasehold acres in the Uinta Basin. The remainder of QEP Energy Northern Region leasehold interests, productive wells and proved reserves are distributed over a number of fields and properties managed as the Rockies Legacy division. Exploration and development activity during the year ended December 31, 2011, includes wells in the Powder River and Greater Green River Basins in Wyoming and the Williston Basin in North Dakota. QEP Energy has approximately 90,000 net acres of lease rights in the Williston Basin in western North Dakota, where the Company is targeting the Bakken and Three Forks formations.
QEP Energy Company
QEP Energy is actively involved in several of North America�� hydrocarbon resource plays. QEP�� exploration and production activities are conducted through QEP Energy. P Energy operates in two core regions: the Northern Region (including the states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and North Dakota) and the Southern Region (including the states of Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana). The Southern Region contributed approximately 56% of 2011 production while the Northern Region contributed the remaining 44%. QEP Energy reported 3,614 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent of estimated proved reserves as of December 31, 2011. Of those estimated proved reserves, approximately 64%! , or 2,31! 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent, were located in the Northern Region at December 31, 2011. The remaining 36%, or 1,302 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent at December 31, 2011, were located in the Southern Region. QEP Energy has an inventory of identified development drilling locations, primarily on the Pinedale Anticline in western Wyoming; the Haynesville/Cotton Valley area in northwestern Louisiana; the Midcontinent area with properties primarily in Oklahoma and Texas; the Uinta Basin in eastern Utah, and the Rockies Legacy, which includes the Bakken/Three Forks area in western North Dakota and other properties in Wyoming.
QEP Field Services Company
QEP invests in midstream (gathering, processing and treating) systems to complement its natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) operations in regions where QEP Energy has production. In addition, QEP�� midstream business also provides midstream services to third-party customers, including independent producers. QEP Field Services owns various natural gas gathering, treating and processing facilities in the Northern and Southern Regions as well as 78% of Rendezvous Gas Services, LLC, (RGS), a partnership that operates gas gathering facilities in western Wyoming. The FERC-regulated Rendezvous Pipeline Co., LLC (Rendezvous Pipeline), a wholly owned subsidiary of QEP Field Services, operates a 21-mile, 20-inch-diameter pipeline between QEP Field Services��Blacks Fork gas-processing plant and the Muddy Creek compressor station owned by Kern River Gas Transmission Co. (Kern River Pipeline). RGS gathers natural gas for Pinedale Anticline and Jonah Field producers for delivery to various interstate pipelines. QEP Field Services also owns 38% of Uintah Basin Field Services, LLC (UBFS) and 50% of Three Rivers Gathering, LLC (Three Rivers). These two partnerships operate natural gas gathering facilities in eastern Utah.
QEP Marketing Company
QEP Marketing provides wholesale market! ing and s! ales of affiliate and third-party natural gas, oil and NGL. As a wholesale marketing entity, QEP Marketing concentrates on markets in the Rocky Mountains, Pacific Northwest and Midcontinent that are either close to affiliate reserves and production or accessible by pipelines. QEP Marketing contracts for firm-transportation capacity on pipelines and firm-storage capacity at Clay Basin, a baseload-storage facility. QEP Marketing, through its subsidiary Clear Creek Storage Company, LLC, owns and operates an underground gas-storage reservoir in southwestern Wyoming. QEP Marketing uses owned and leased storage capacity together with firm-transportation capacity.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Ben Levisohn]
On a day when other oil & gas companies are rallying, Forest Oil has dropped 5.8% to $5.98 at 11:08 a.m., after opening up 2.4%. QEP Resources (QEP), meanwhile, has gained 1.9% to $28.55, Continental Resources (CLR) has risen 1.7% to $113.36 and EOG Resources (EOG) has gained 1.1% to $173.71.
10 Best High Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Cleco Corporation (CNL)
Cleco Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in Louisiana. As of December 31, 2009, it had ownership interest in 3 steam electric generating stations and 1 gas turbine with a combined name plate capacity of 1,359 megawatts, and a combined electric net generating capacity of 1,318 megawatts. The company served approximately 277,000 customers in 107 communities in the central and southeastern Louisiana. It also owns and operates a natural gas-fired merchant power plant, as well as has a 50% interest in another natural gas-fired merchant power plant located in Louisiana. Cleco Corporation was founded in 1934 and is based in Pineville, Louisiana.
Advisors' Opinion: 10 Best High Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Mesabi Trust (MSB)
Mesabi Trust operates as a royalty trust in the United States. The company produces iron ore pellets. It holds interest in the Peter Mitchell mine located in the Mesabi Iron Range near Babbitt, Minnesota. The company holds various agreements with the Northshore Mining Company that mines iron ore, which is in the form of taconite, crushes it, separates the iron particles from the non-metallic, and forms the resulting concentrate into pellets that are shipped for use in steel-producing blast furnaces of customers of CCI, a mining company that produces iron pellets in North America. Mesabi Trust was founded in 1919 and is based in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Selena Maranjian]
Patience, Grasshopper
For starters, imagine that you invested in Mesabi Trust (NYSE: MSB ) about a year ago and you're down some 20% on your investment. Your holding might be looking to you like an answer to the question, "What is investment panic, Alex?" But don't be so hasty. Ask yourself why you bought it. Mesabi Trust is a royalty trust that receives and then pays out to shareholders a portion of the proceeds from iron mined by a�Cliffs Natural Resources�subsidiary. Some might avoid it because royalty trusts often have expiration dates, but it's worth noting that Mesabi's is rather�far away. But slowdown in demand�for ore is a concern, one that has been�an issue for Cliffs, too.
10 Best High Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Five Star Quality Care Inc (FVE)
Five Star Quality Care, Inc. (Five Star), incorporated in April 2000, operates senior living communities, including independent living communities, assisted living communities and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated 245 senior living communities located in 30 states containing 27,159 living units, including 207 primarily independent and assisted living communities with 23,736 living units and 38 SNFs with 3,423 living units. The Company owns and operates 31 communities (2,954 living units), lease and operate 191 communities (20,811 living units), and manage 23 communities (3,394 living units). Its 245 senior living communities included 8,699 independent living apartments, 13,069 assisted living suites and 5,391 skilled nursing units. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company discontinued its operations on two SNFs owned and operated by it containing 271 living units and one assisted living community leased from Senior Housing Properties Trust (SNH) and operated by it containing 103 living units. In September 2012, it sold its pharmacy business to Omnicare, Inc. Effective December 31, 2013, Five Star transferred the operations of two rehabilitation hospitals, which included New England Rehabilitation Hospital located in Woburn and Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital located in Braintree, to entities affiliated with Reliant Hospital Partners, LLC.
As of December 31, 2011, the Company leased and operated two rehabilitation hospitals with 321 beds that provide inpatient rehabilitation services to patients at the two hospitals and at three satellite locations. In addition, it leased and operated 13 outpatient clinics affiliated with these rehabilitation hospitals. It also owns and operate five institutional pharmacies. In 2011, the Company acquired from unrelated parties seven assisted living communities containing 854 living units with one located in Arizona and the other six located in Indiana, or the Indiana Communities. It also commenc! ed leasing from SNH six senior living communities containing 724 living units with one located in each of Illinois and Florida and two located in each of North Carolina and Virginia.
Independent Living Communities
Independent living communities provide privacy to residents and require residents to be capable of independence. An independent living apartment usually bundles several services as part of a regular monthly charge. In addition, services are available from staff employees on a fee for service basis. As of December 31, 2011, its business included 8,699 independent living apartments in 75 communities that it operated or managed.
Assisted Living Communities
Assisted living communities consists of one bedroom units which include private bathrooms and kitchens. Services bundled within one charge usually include three meals per day in a central dining room, daily housekeeping, laundry, medical reminders and around the clock availability of assistance with the activities of daily living such as dressing and bathing. Professional nursing and healthcare services are usually available at the community as requested or at regularly scheduled times. As of December 31, 2011, its business included 13,069 assisted living suites in 185 communities that it operated or managed. .
Skilled Nursing Facilities
SNFs provide nursing and healthcare services similar to those available in hospitals. A purpose built SNF includes one or two beds per room with a separate bathroom in each room and shared dining facilities. SNFs are staffed by licensed nursing professionals 24 hours per day. As of December 31, 2011, its business included 5,391 skilled nursing units in 69 communities.
Rehabilitation Hospitals
Rehabilitation hospitals, which are also known as inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), provide intensive physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech language pathology services. Patients in IRFs receive a mi! nimum of ! three hours of rehabilitation services daily. IRFs also provides radiology, laboratory, telemetry, hemodialysis and orthotics/prosthetics services. Outpatient satellite clinics are often included as part of the services offered by IRFs. As of December 31, 2011, its two rehabilitation hospitals had 321 beds available for inpatient services and provided rehabilitation services at the two hospitals and three satellite locations. In addition, it operates 13 outpatient clinics affiliated with its rehabilitation hospitals where patients discharged from hospitals can continue their therapy programs and receive amputee, brain injury, neurorehabilitation, cardio-pulmonary, orthopedic, spinal cord injury and stroke rehabilitation services.
Institutional Pharmacies
Institutional pharmacies provide drugs at locations where patients with recurring pharmacy requirements are concentrated. The Company�� five institutional pharmacies are located in six leased commercial spaces and one owned commercial building containing a total of approximately 67,759 square feet plus parking areas for its employees and delivery vehicles.
Advisors' Opinion:
