After testing the support of the upward trend line on 4-hour chart, EURUSD rebounded from 1.3077. The bounce would possibly be resumption of uptrend from 1.2624, further rise is expected later today, and next target would be at 1.3300 area. On the other side, a breakdown below 1.3077 will suggest that a cycle top has been formed at 1.3233 on 4-hour chart, then pullback towards 1.2800-1.2900 area could be seen.
Bank of America (BAC) was downgraded today by Goldman Sachs (GS) from buy to neutral. The firm believes that Bank of America needs to cut costs, and that the current busienss model faces a high degree of execution risk.
Stocks closed fractionally lower in another very light volume trading session on news of a delay in the finalization of Greece’s aid program. However, all three major averages did recover from earlier losses in a Monday afternoon rally.
As the saying goes, there are many possible reasons for an insider to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy — they expect to make money. So let’s look at two noteworthy recent insider buys.
Standard Motor Products Incorporated (SMP) announced its quarterly dividend of 9 cents per share, an increase of about 29% over its prior dividend in November of 7 cents. The dividend is payable on March 1, 2012 to stockholders of record on February 15, 2012.
In trading on Monday, construction materials & machinery shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 2.4%. Helping drag down the group were shares of U S G (USG), down about 5.8% and shares of Texas Industries (TXI) off about 3.7% on the day.
Steve Jobs would be very proud…
Last week, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) reported its fiscal first-quarter results for 2012, and the results were nothing short of astounding:
Even more, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook says this is only the beginning. He states, “Apple’s momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline.”
One of these innovations, the company announced, will almost certainly be the introduction of near-field communication, or NFC, technology in new iPhones and iPads this year.
And for the NFC market, this means a huge boost is just around the corner…
NFC Tech Set for Major Growth
We’ve covered NFC technology extensively at Investment U over the past year. David Fessler was even predicting Apple’s move into this space last July.
But Apple’s announcement comes at a very interesting time… And it strengthens our case that NFC is set for the mainstream.
Consider this… in just three months following Steve Jobs’ passing, Apple sold 37.04 million iPhones and 15.43 million iPads. That means over half a million iPhone and iPad devices are being sold every day.
Pretty soon, all of these phones will have NFC capabilities. That’s a huge market for NFC to tap into.
Plus, Apple is just one of many players hopping on the NFC train. Samsung Electronics, HTC, Nokia and RIM already launched NFC-enabled smartphone models last year. And Microsoft has plans to make its Windows Phone equipped with NFC this year.
DigiTimes reports, as a result, NFC featured in smartphones is set to increase four-fold in just the next two to three years. By 2015, over half of the smartphones in existence will have NFC capability.
But even this could be a conservative estimate.
That’s because NFC technology can do more than just pay for items with your smartphone. It also has the ability to easily share documents and media with the simple tap of two devices.
This is undoubtedly a revolutionary technology in my opinion. And some companies are ready take advantage…
NFC Companies to Consider
When researching NFC technology, one company you’ll hear a lot about is NXP Semiconductors (Nasdaq: NXPI).
After all, NXP is the semiconductor maker that essentially invented NFC technology. But it also isn’t the only company to watch in this space.
Investors will want to track big combo chipmakers such as Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM) and Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM). NXP will benefit early as phones use standalone NFC chips. But just like Bluetooth, GPS Navigation, etc… it will be much cheaper to include NFC capability on a combo-chip than to use a separate standalone NFC chip. And NXP doesn’t currently make combo-chips. So eventually they may have to survive on patent royalties alone.
And like NXP, Broadcom and Qualcomm are both semiconductor suppliers for Apple. But unlike NXP, Broadcom and Qualcomm are developing the combo-chips that will include NFC technology for much cheaper production costs.
No matter what happens between within the semiconductor industry, 2012 could be a breakout for NFC technology. And it could very soon completely change the way most people pay for goods and exchange information.
Good Investing,
Mike Kapsch
Article by Investment U
Too many investors are focused on high unemployment, weak economic growth, problems in the Eurozone and runaway deficit spending. They seldom note the positives, including low inflation, rock-bottom interest rates, falling food and energy prices (coal and natural gas), expanding opportunities in emerging markets, low valuations and – not least of all – all-time record corporate profits.
So don’t let the doomsayers get you down. There are always opportunities out there, even during the most difficult economic times.
The Healthcare Sector in 2012
In particular, I see the planets aligning for medical technology right now. Why? Baby Boomers are moving into their golden years (and will soon need more healthcare services). Product innovation is continuing apace. Hospitals and clinics are busy upgrading their technology to cut costs, increase safety and minimize errors. And the healthcare sector is less sensitive to the vagaries of the business cycle.
Let me use just one example from my Oxford Trading Portfolio: Cerner Corp. (Nasdaq: CERN).
Cerner makes systems that automate records in hospitals and doctors’ offices. This is much more efficient than handwritten notes. It’s also much safer.
Automation reduces errors. Doctors – famous for illegible handwriting – can cause the wrong drug to be inadvertently dispensed at a hospital or pharmacy. They can forget to renew old prescriptions. Cerner prevents that.
The company is also a leader in billing software, with a much wider range of offerings than any of its competitors. For example, its scalable Millennium software is already installed in more than 9,000 hospitals, pharmacies and doctors’ offices. And a new federal push for records automation will only increase that footprint.
Paper records can be easily lost, stolen, misplaced, or destroyed in a fire. That doesn’t benefit the doctor or the insurance company – and certainly not the patient.
The whole world is going digital and the healthcare sector has lagged behind for too long. Digital medical records are safer, better organized, more accessible and less susceptible to human error. Whenever I see an opportunity this big, I know huge profits are just around the corner.
$4-Trillion Influx
Cerner is just one of many healthcare stocks that promise huge capital gains in the weeks and months ahead. And my colleague Marc Lichtenfeld, Editor of FirstLine Investor Alert, has uncovered dozens more.
FirstLine aims to profit from the $4 trillion that’s going to flood the healthcare sector over the coming years. Thanks to nearly four million Baby Boomers turning 65 every year, companies involved in biotech, genomics, regenerative medicine, medical technology and personalized medicine will soon experience explosive growth.
In a recent chat with Marc, he told me about four companies in particular that have huge upside potential right now.
The first is a firm poised to take advantage of the frenzy in the hepatitis C space. Investors have seen buyout premiums of 89% and 163% in the past two months. Plus, in April, the company is expected to have the first drug approved that addresses the cause of a very serious disease, rather than just the symptoms.
The second is an emerging leader in regenerative medicine. In early clinical trials, its treatments produce dramatic improvements in patients with chronic heart disease. If approved, this procedure would both save both lives and millions of healthcare dollars.
The third is a small firm with a drug that nearly doubles the survival of patients with an aggressive cancer, with few side effects.
The last – and potentially the biggest opportunity – is a company that reads the DNA of cancer tumors. This helps doctors determine the proper course of treatment, allowing the patient to avoid chemotherapy.
Look Beyond Negative Headlines
I can’t emphasize strongly enough how important it is for investors today to look beyond all the negative political and economic headlines and focus on companies that are set to knock the ball out of the park for shareholders.
When Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, he answered simply, “Because that’s where the money is.” For the very same reason, you should invest in the fastest growing companies in the healthcare sector today.
Good Investing,
Alexander Green
Article by Investment U
Investors are ringing in the new trading week with caution as they continue to follow news from talks to resolve Europe’s ongoing debt woes, and continue to digest a weak US growth report issued on Friday. Good morning, this is Kristin Bianco with the Week Ahead Market Report for Monday January 30, 2012.
