Edmunds: Micromanaging can stifle employees

Hi Gladys: My wife and I often debate on how to deal with employees. I say that employees can often behave like children and I have to keep my eye on them and make certain that they do things the way I want things done. I am the head of our family construction company that was started more than 50 years ago by my late father. My wife works in the administrative office of the company and she accuses me of micromanaging. According to her, employees must learn to manage themselves and my job is to tell them what their duties are and I should step back and let them do their jobs. What do you think? — A. N.

Self-management is important. Micromanaging can waste both the time and energy of the manager and ultimately can become debilitating to the employee. This combination can create a lot of tension in the workplace for all parties and will most likely spill over to your customers, clients and even vendors.

When we talk about self-management, I believe that a person's strengths and weaknesses must be taken into account. How do you identify the strengths of your employee and how do you go about developing those strengths? Keep in mind that if we want our staff to self-manage then that has to be a part of our agenda during the hiring process.

I am the first to admit that managing a company and its employees is not an easy task. And I have made my own share of blunders.

I once managed my company like the proverbial mother hen. I watched everything my employees did and found myself correcting them when it wasn't going the way I would have done whatever the job was. Thank goodness I was shown the error of my ways. One day while having lunch with an older and wiser entrepreneur who I had designated as my mentor, he mentioned his concern for my management style.

He said he had observed me communicating to my staff before leaving for lunch. And he said that if I wanted to have continued success in business I should take his comments to heart.

He said: The boss's job is to det! ermine the objectives and goals of the company. Once that's done we must lead our employees in a way that meets our goals. In leading our staff in the right direction we must understand that each person brings to the company his or her own skills and talents. And it is our job to learn what those skills are and help the employee to develop them. When you succeed in recognizing an employee's strengths and make a point to give the kind of input that helps the employee develop, everyone wins. But, when you fail to develop a staff person and not allow them a chance to do the work you eventually erode confidence.

I have never forgotten that insightful luncheon. I make a point to follow his sage advice and it has served me well.

Management is not an easy task and there are many ways to approach it. However keep in mind that you don't want your management styles to become a roadblock between you and continued success.

Consider helping your employee to become the best that they can be and it's possible that you will see business increasing.

Gladys Edmunds, founder of Edmunds Travel Consultants in Pittsburgh, is an author and coach/consultant in business development. Her column appears Wednesdays. E-mail her at gladys@gladysedmunds.com. An archive of her columns is here. Her website is gladysedmunds.com.

Legg Mason Down to Underperform - Analyst Blog

On Jul 10, 2013, we downgraded our recommendation on Legg Mason Inc. (LM) to Underperform from Outperform. Our decision was based on the company's high level of net asset outflows.

Why the Downgrade?

Legg Mason is scheduled to announce fiscal first-quarter 2014 results on Jul 25. Notably, the company's activities during the quarter did not win analysts' confidence. As a result, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter has moved down 3.6% to 80 cents over the last 30 days. Additionally, the earnings ESP (Read:Zacks Earnings ESP: A Better Method) for the quarter is -2.50%. This, along with its Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), reduces the company's chances of a positive earnings surprise.

Further, the likelihood of a downward estimate revision was more obvious for fiscal years 2014 and 2015. The Zacks Consensus Estimate went down 1.4% to $3.42 per share for 2014 and 0.5% to $3.93 per share for 2015 over the same time frame.

Moreover, Legg Mason's fiscal fourth-quarter 2013 adjusted earnings lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate.The earnings miss was primarily due to higher expenses.

The company's initiatives to improve profitability through adding innovative product solutions to client bases, tapping potential investment capacities, expanding distribution relationships and undertaking cost-saving measures are commendable. However, a sluggish economic recovery and net asset outflows remain plausible concerns. Hence, an improvement in the overall profitability might be limited in the near term.

Other Stocks to Consider

Even though we are not optimistic about Legg Mason's earnings, there are many financial companies that are likely to beat earnings this quarter. Here are some stocks that are worth a look as our model shows them to have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:

Prosperity Bancshares Inc. (PB), with earnings ESP of 1.14% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

First Horizon National Corporation (FH! N), with earnings ESP of 5.26% and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), with earnings ESP of 2.27% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Benzinga's Volume Movers

Related FURX Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Monday April 28, 2014 Forest Labs To Acquire Furiex Pharma A Deal Potentially Worth $1.46 Billion Forest Labs to Buy Furiex Pharma in $1.5B Deal (Fox Business) Related FRX Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Monday April 28, 2014 Will Merck (MRK) Disappoint This Earnings Season? - Analyst Blog Forest Labs to Buy Furiex Pharma in $1.5B Deal (Fox Business)

Furiex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: FURX) shares moved up 28.41% to $102.92. The volume of Furiex Pharmaceuticals shares traded was 2285% higher than normal. Forest Labs (NYSE: FRX) announced its plans to buy Furiex Pharma for up to $1.46 billion.

Susser Holdings (NYSE: SUSS) shares rose 36.54% to $77.87. The volume of Susser Holdings shares traded was 1198% higher than normal. Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE: ETP) announced its plans to acquire Susser Holdings in a deal valued at around $1.8 billion.

AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) shares climbed 14.97% to $78.94. The volume of AstraZeneca shares traded was 968% higher than normal. AstraZeneca rejected Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE) $76.62 per share bid.

NorthStar Realty Finance (NYSE: NRF) surged 8.86% to $17.45. The volume of NorthStar Realty Finance shares traded was 419% higher than normal. American Realty Capital Properties (NASDAQ: ARCP) is in talks for a takeover of NorthStar Realty Finance, Financial Times' Ed Hammond said on Twitter.

Posted-In: volume moversNews Intraday Update Markets Movers

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  Most Popular Short Sellers Retreat From First Solar and SolarCity (FSLR, SCTY, SPWR) Facebook and Google Buck Short Interest Trend (FB, GOOGL, YELP) Earnings Expectations For The Week Of April 28: Big Oil, Big Pharma And More Weekly Highlights: Apple's Stock Split Surprise, iPhone Sales And More Financials, Futures Move Lower Following News BofA Has Suspended 2014 Capital Plan UPDATE: Organovo Reports Pre-Release Availability of 3D Liver Contract Services Related Articles (AZN + ARCP) Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Monday April 28, 2014 Market Wrap For April 28: Apple Hits New 52-Week Highs In a Volatile Start To the Trading Week Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Markets Trade in Swing-Prone Session as J.C. Penney Rallies Mid-Day Market Update: NASDAQ Drops 0.8%; Susser Shares Surge On Acquisition News A Big Week for Economic & Earnings Data - Ahead of Wall Street Earnings Picture Still Looks Hazy - Economic Highlights Around the Web, We're Loving... Newmont Terminates Merger Talks With Barrick Lightspeed Trading Presents: Effective Scalping with Rifle Charts on the Lightspeed Trader Platform Detroit Reaches Deal with Labor Unions

There's Another Side to the Nuclear Puzzle

Cameco (NYSE: CCJ  ) has a lot invested in the future growth of nuclear power. And it expects good things, particularly in Asia. However, nuclear power has older plants (built decades ago) that need to be cleaned up. That's where companies like Fluor (NYSE: FLR  ) can make a buck.

The future is electric
According to uranium miner Cameco, there will be 144 new nuclear power plants built by 2023. That will push the total number of nuclear facilities up more than 20%. Although there is currently an oversupply of uranium in the market, the new facilities should take up that slack.

In fact, Cameco believes that about 20% of future demand will require new supplies, or there will be shortfalls of uranium. That's great for Cameco, which has the capacity to increase production by about 50% over the next few years. However, because of the current oversupply, the company has backed away from firm expansion commitments. It's planning to bring on new supply as the market requires.

Source: Cameco data by YCharts.

That's not a bad call, since Cameco telegraphing new supply might lead customers to hold off on orders and hamper price discussions. Note that the shares remain well off their 2011 peak. And despite three years of falling earnings (between 2009 and 2012), Cameco's bottom line advanced 20% last year. Now could be a good time to take a look at this pure play since future nuclear growth appears solid. In fact, about half of the new nuclear plants (Cameco expects by 2023) were already under construction last year.

What about the past?
The thing about nuclear power is that some of the existing plants were built decades ago. The technology, to put it mildly, is out of date. Massive disasters like the recent events in Fukushima, Japan, prove this. In fairness, no one expected an earthquake leading to a tsunami leading to a nuclear meltdown. But, in hindsight, there were design elements that could have stopped the meltdown even under such perfect-storm conditions.

So while new nuclear plants are being erected, what's happening to the old ones? Some of them are coming down. Looking at Cameco's projections, the 144 new plants come at the same time that 51 are expected to be shut. That leads to a net advance of 93 plants.

But you don't just put up a closed sign and walk away from a nuclear plant. These giant facilities need to be decommissioned. And that's where companies like Fluor come into play. Fluor just won a joint bid to decommission 12 nuclear sites in the United Kingdom. The 14 year contract is worth nearly $12 billion.

(Source: Ken Hawkins, via Wikimedia Commons).

Fluor is a global engineering and construction company. And it's no small fry -- Fluor's sales last year topped $27 billion and earnings were over $4 a share, an almost 50% year-over-year advance. That said, construction tends to be cyclical, so earnings can be volatile.

Only about 4% of Fluor's revenue in the fourth quarter came from the power industry. However, at the end of the year the sector accounted for 6% of the company's nearly $35 billion backlog. Add in the UK contract and there's clearly more growth ahead. Note that the oil and gas sector, which is experiencing a Renaissance in the United States, accounted for about half of the revenue and backlog. Power projects like the one to decommission UK nuclear sites are really icing on this cake.

Take me to the cleaners...
Events like Fukushima show the dangers of nuclear power. While that won't stop the sector from growing, which is good for Cameco and its shareholders, it shows that there are older plants that need to be shut down. Engineering and construction companies like Fluor are there to do just that. Keep an eye on "the other side" of the nuclear power market because there's plenty of money to be made cleaning up old messes.

OPEC is absolutely terrified of this game-changer
Imagine a company that rents a very specific and valuable piece of machinery for $41,000… per hour (that's almost as much as the average American makes in a year!). And Warren Buffett is so confident in this company's can't-live-without-it business model, he just loaded up on 8.8 million shares. An exclusive, brand-new Motley Fool report reveals the company we're calling OPEC's Worst Nightmare. Just click HERE to uncover the name of this industry-leading stock… and join Buffett in his quest for a veritable LANDSLIDE of profits!

Apple’s Latest Quarter Performance Shows What Potential It Holds

It's again the time of the year when tech companies start reporting their results and one name that everyone waits for the most is Apple (AAPL). The Cupertino based tech giant finally came out with its fiscal 2014 second quarter earnings very recently and what a quarter it has delivered! The company has given its stakeholders ample reasons to rejoice and also to worry less on losing market share concerns. Along with all this, Apple is also looking at a stock split and better returns to the shareholders.Let's take a look at what all the company has been up to and what the investors can look forward to.A sneak-peek in to the quarter and its numbersEvery year the iPhone maker launches something new that drives its top-line and bottom-line across the year. Last year the company had launched the highly awaited iPhone 5S, followed by iPad Air, and many analysts were questioning if these will be enough to drive Apple's growth this time also or not. It seems, they were concerned for no reason at all. Some were also a little shocked by the numbers and the decisions taken by Apple. Carl Icahn (Trades, Portfolio) even tweeted that he fails to understand the company.The iPhone maker's top-line surged 4.6% YoY as the company reported revenue totaling $45.6 billion, translating to a bottom-line of $11.62 per share, turning out to be better than even what the company has expected earlier. The numbers took the Wall Street by shock as it not only topped analyst estimates, but also topped the company's guidance. The Wall Street was expecting Apple to report $43 billion worth of sales and an EPS of $10.18.Like always, iPhones contributed massively (57.1%) to Apple's wonderful top-line. The company sold as many as 43.4 million iPhone units during the period, way above the street expectation of 37 million. However, iPad sales took a beating and were lower than expectation at 16.3 million as against the anticipated 19.7 million, but still accounted for almost 20% of the total top-line. Even the Mac and iPod nu! mbers were encouraging at 4.1 million and 2.7 million respectively. The company was also reported substantial increase in iTunes users which now stands at 800 million, up almost 40% since last year June.What investors can look forward toNumbers reported by the company are pretty encouraging. Along with that, Apple has also come out with the guidance for the next quarter. The company expects to report revenue between $36 and $38 billion; however this is lower than what the analysts thought.The tech mammoth even has plans to give back more to its shareholders and for that it has announced its plans of increasing its stock buyback and a seven-for-one stock split. Apple was already in the process of buying back $60 million worth of stocks according to the previous pledge and now it will be buying back another $30 million of its stocks, pulling up the total buyback value to $90 million. Not only this, the shareholders will also receive better dividends as the company decided to raise the quarterly returns amount to $3.29 per share, resulting in an 8% increase.Another point that the company announced which has raised much interest from investors and analysts is the stock-split decision. In the past nine years this is the first time that Apple's board approved the seven-for-one stock split decision that will take place on June 2, 2014, and with this Apple shares will be available to a broader segment of investors. Industry experts are of the opinion that post stock-split the shares of the company will be more accessibly priced. Currently the stock is trading at $571.94 and taking the stock-split into account, the price per share will be reduced to $81.7, making it possible for more individual buyers to purchase moreDeparting ThoughtsApple surely rocked the stage with its fiscal 2014 second quarter results and this gives a huge boost to what can be expected from the company in the coming days. Apple has several strong products in its pipeline which are expected to hit the market this year and with these the c! ompany'! s performance should shoot up substantially. Tim Cook in his statement said that Apple didn't ship the first smartphone or the first mp3 player or the first tablet. But, Apple surely shipped the first successful smartphone, mp3 player and tablet and more of such things can be expected from Apple.The company is offering investors, analysts and industry experts with what they seek in a stock – growth potential, strong product line-up, better return to shareholders and near to the ground institutional ownership – and all this makes Apple a must have for ones portfolio.

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Toyota Opens Mechanic Training Facility to Bolster Quality Control

Mechanics work on a Prius at a newly completed Toyota service center in Tajimi, central Japan, on Monday. -- AP Photo/Yuri Kageyama

TAJIMI, Japan (AP) -- Toyota (NYSE: TM  ) is opening a training facility for mechanics complete with a test course that simulates 13 driving conditions including cobblestones and bumpy roads as part of the automaker's efforts to avoid a repeat of its recall fiasco.

A ceremony with Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda and government officials was held at the 9 billion yen ($90 million) Tajimi Service Center Monday in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, near Toyotacity, where the car maker is headquartered.

Toyoda said quality must remain a priority even as the company becomes ever more global, with buyers driving on a range of road conditions. The center will initially train about 2,600 mechanics year, and eventually 4,800 mechanics a year, the company said.

Toyota has about 120,000 mechanics around the world and those numbers are expected to grow with sales expanding in emerging markets.

Toyota's reputation for quality was tarnished by massive global recalls that started five years ago. The automaker announced recall after recall, spanning almost every model in its lineup, totaling more than 10 million vehicles being recalled.

At the facility, Shinto priests in robes waved branches and hurled specks of paper before an altar with offerings of cabbage and oranges in a purification ceremony. Executives, dealers and officials lined up to bow and clap in what Toyota said was a prayer that its cars would stay safe.

The renewed focus on checking up on defects even after a vehicle has been delivered highlightsToyota's determination to stop recalls from spiraling out of control -- not just in development and design stages but also after production and years of use.

"No vehicle is used in the same way, and all sorts of things happen that cannot be anticipated at the development stage," Toyoda said. "It is impossible to build a vehicle that will never break down."

Toyoda pointed to one problem with Prius hybrid braking, which the company had initially deemed safe, but upon testing had been found to work 0.06 seconds slower than the previous model, and customers were not feeling comfortable.

The new facility might not end recall problems once and for all, but will help the automaker respond more quickly, Toyoda told reporters.

"When something happens next time, we will be faster with our response and then people can trust our vehicles more as safe," he said.

Other automakers have similar training and test-course facilities, and Toyota also has other training centers. But the Tajimi center is among the biggest for any automaker, with a 1.3-kilometer (0.8-mile) track with 13 different kinds of road conditions, including cracked, bumpy and wet surfaces.

It is dotted with big "Safety First" signs. A four-story building has classrooms and areas where car-maintenance checkups can be practiced. Tajimi has one of the hottest temperatures in Japan, but gets snow in the winter, allowing mechanics to study what severe weather does to cars.

Toyota, which makes Lexus luxury models and the Camry sedan, has sprung back from the recall disaster and re-emerged as the world's top automaker, growing in new markets such as China and Indonesia, while regaining sales share in the U.S

"Toyota has been taking longer in model development to be more careful and strengthen quality controls," said Nomura Securities Co. auto analyst Masataka Kunugimoto.

Despite the recall problems, Toyota boasts among the highest quality standards in the industry, he said.

Still, the arrival of new kinds of vehicles such as hybrids means maintenance crews must be trained to spot abnormal vehicle responses, diagnose problems and research new kinds of service technology, according to Toyota.

Training is also mental and involves instilling the right "customer-first" spirit in the mechanics in 135 nations so they won't let a quality failure get by, it said.

In 1935, when Toyota's G1 truck was riddled with problems, company founder Kiichiro Toyoda, Akio Toyoda's grandfather, rushed around to personally fix breakdowns and apologize to customers, Toyoda said to drive home the message of quality.

American Adam J. Crawford, from Arizona, among the instructors at the center, acknowledged he wasn't sure he could really avoid massive recalls by training people who fix cars, but he said he was hopeful.

"If I can instill in him a desire and a true want to have good quality in everything he does, from an oil change to an engine overhaul, then I think we can keep our customers happy and we can keep the quality of our vehicles very high," he said.

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The Value of HR

At Investing Daily, we have grown increasingly concerned with the national trend toward underfunded retirement plans. As a service to our readers, for the next few weeks we'll send you a complimentary series of focused briefs to get you thinking about new ways to maximize performance both inside and outside of a structured 401k or similar plan. We hope you'll find these briefs useful … if they are not applicable to your situation please click here to stop receiving the series.

Not many people know it, but 401k plans haven't been around that long – only since 1980, when Congress gave the go ahead to companies to create their own defined contribution plans.

Before then, most companies offered pension plans, where the responsibility for choosing investments and tracking portfolio performance fell on employers and not employees.

But then the 401k plan came along, where the opposite occurred. Now employees call their own shots, pick their own mutual funds, and decided how much they will invest in them.

Hey, this ain't your father's retirement plan.

But American workers don't have to go it alone when handling their 401k plans. Virtually every company offering them is eager to help employees with their plans. Most also offer access to the investment companies that distribute and manage 401k plans for companies.

One place to start with questions on your 401k plan is your companies' human resources area. Staffers there are trained to keep up with the latest in 401k plan developments and keep you informed about your company's plan and procedures. When you go, remember to be prepared and bring your plan records.

What questions can you ask your HR department? Here's a sampling to get you started:

What benefits do I get from a 401k plan? – The primary benefit is that you're not taxed currently on the portion of compensation that is placed in the plan. Y! ou also have the option of choosing between cash or future benefits on a year-to-year basis, thus protecting you in the event of a short-term financial emergency.

Another benefit of 401k plans is that the contributions you make to the plan accumulate tax-free until you retire and begin withdrawing funds from the plan. But in retirement, you'll likely be in a much lower tax bracket than in your age-earning years.

401k plans also offer an employer matching provision in which the employer makes a contribution to the plan equal to (a certain percentage of) your contribution. Basically it's free money – and the more you invest, the more your company will match (up to a limit).

How much can I contribute every year? – In 2014, Uncle Sam allows 401k plan participants to contribute $17,500 in 2000.

The catch-up contribution limit for employees aged 50 and over who participate in 401k, 403b, most 457 plans and the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan remains unchanged at $5,500

What does “pre-tax" mean? – When you contribute to your 401(k) account, money gets invested before federal and most state income taxes are calculated. That means you are being taxed on less money than you’ve actually earned. Your money goes to work for you and continues to grow, earning interest and capital gains on a tax-deferred basis.

How do I make contributions to the plan? – It's easy. Your company will simply withhold your 401k contribution from your paycheck and redirect it to the investment firm managing your 401k. Since it's tax-free, you'll hardly notice the reduction in your pay.

Where does my plan money go? – An estimated 50 percent of 401k plan assets were held in mutual funds at year-end 2013. The remainder of assets were managed by insurance companies, banks, and other institutions.

Also, don't be reluctant to ask about 401k plan fees. Most don't charge commissions and it's a big red flag if they do. The investment firm th! at manage! s your plan is paid a fee based on the percentage of your 401k plans assets. But some companies handle fees differently. So make sure to ask your human resources contact how plan and fee expenses are paid – and what your portion of the bill is.

While you may not get an answer to your 401k questions right away, you'll get them eventually. It's in your company's best interests to have employees who know what they're doing when it comes to managing their 401k plans.

If you can't get an answer from your company, go ahead and drop us a line at The 401k Millionaire – we'll answer your question within three days.

Good luck, and good 401k savings – and I'll see you next week.

Brian O'Connell is an investment analyst at Investing Daily, and the editor of The 401K Millionaire. An ex-Wall Street bond trader, he has appeared as an expert financial commentator on CNN, NPR, Fox News, Bloomberg, CNBC, C-Span, CBS Radio, and many other media broadcast outlets, and is the author of two best-selling books on retirement investing.

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Big Pharma's 3 Most Profitable Companies

Patent expirations have cut into sales at Big Pharma's best in recent quarters. Doom-and-gloom talk over the patent cliff ,and shaky pipelines at pharmaceutical firms, have waxed and waned, but some of the industry's best firms have kept up profitability that would make any Wall Street analyst blush.

Which firms are earning the most for your investment -- and are they really worth your money? Motley Fool contributor Dan Carroll takes a look below at the three firms maintaining the industry's best net profit margins, and explains if these stocks match up to what their businesses are bringing in.

Big Pharma's best stocks can deliver huge rewards to patient investors who can overlook day-to-day moves, and focus on fundamentals and the big picture. Investing for the long term is the one tried-and-true plan that will maximize your portfolio's potential. The Motley Fool's free report,"3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich," not only shares stocks that could help you build long-term wealth, but also winning strategies that every investor should know. Click here to grab your free copy today.

HBO shows coming to Amazon ... not Netflix

If you haven't seen "The Sopranos" we won't spoil it for you. But you'll soon be able to stream it and other HBO shows on Amazon Prime.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Non-HBO subscribers will soon be able to watch some of the network's old TV shows, like "The Sopranos" and "The Wire," on Amazon Prime's streaming video service.

Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500) described the deal as a first for HBO, which has a reputation for being tightfisted with its library of hit shows -- even ones that stopped airing years ago.

The assortment of HBO shows will be a significant addition to Amazon Prime as it attempts to sign up more monthly subscribers and challenge Netflix. HBO will continue to provide complete access to all its shows through HBO GO, the streaming service for its existing subscribers.

The Amazon deal draws a bright line between old and new. For example, the seasons of "Girls," "The Newsroom" and "Veep" that are premiering this year won't be available through Amazon Prime for approximately three years. That means if viewers want to stay current, they have to subscribe to cable television and HBO (or borrow a friend's HBO GO password).

But a more casual type of viewer, who maybe wants to binge on every season of "Six Feet Under" or "Deadwood," will now be able to do so through Amazon.

The deal also includes early seasons of some series that are still on the air, such as "True Blood" and "Boardwalk Empire." (But not the most recent seasons.)

  Amazon's plan to rule your TV

The companies did not disclose any plans for when HBO's current biggest hit -- "Game of Thrones" -- would be available on Prime, if ever. There was also no discussion of "True Detective," the new series with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson that debuted earlier this year to rave reviews and quickly became a pop culture phenomenon.

HBO is owned by Time Warner (TWX, Fortune 500), which is also the parent company of CNNMoney.

Previously, the only ways for people without HBO to watch the network's shows would be by purchasing DVDs, buying individual episodes through Amazon or Apple's (AAPL, Fortune 500) iTunes store, or by watching reruns of certain shows on other cable channels. ("Sex and the City" now runs on the E! channel, and isn't included in the Amazon deal.)

! In the television industry, revenue from DVDs and reruns has been declining as viewers gravitate toward on-demand ways to watch. With Amazon, HBO is generating a new way to make money from its reruns. In Hollywood, this is known as a new "window" for programming. (The first "window" remains the hotly-anticipated premieres of episodes on the main HBO television channel.)

Amazon and HBO said the first shows would start to appear on Prime on May 21, just in time for Memorial Day weekend.

Some analysts immediately called the licensing deal a loss for Netflix (NFLX), though Netflix has made a point of saying it doesn't see Amazon as its chief rival.

"Since much of the content on Netflix and Amazon Prime (as well as Hulu in the U.S.) is mutually exclusive, many consumers see value in subscribing to all three networks," Netflix said in its quarterly letter to shareholders earlier this week. Hulu is an online streaming video service owned by a conglomerate of several big media firms.

Netflix currently costs $7.99 a month in the United States, although the company said earlier this week that it was going to increase the price for new subscribers. Amazon's streaming video service is bundled as part of its $99 annual Prime membership. Amazon recently raised the price of a Prime subscription from $79 a year.

Larry Roth's doing a lot more than selling nontraded REITs

Gerardo Tabones

Larry Roth surprised some people last summer when he jumped ship as chief executive of leading independent broker-dealer network Advisor Group to become chief executive at Realty Capital Securities.

The move struck some as odd, because Realty Capital is the wholesaling broker-dealer for nontraded real estate investment trusts sponsored by American Realty Capital. Advisor Group, owned by American International Group Inc., is a broker-dealer network of four firms and 6,135 reps and advisers — a markedly different business.

At the time, Nicholas Schorsch, CEO of ARC, said that Mr. Roth would be at the forefront of distributing products, from mutual funds to nontraded REITs, with an emphasis on wirehouses. The potential for Realty Capital's and ARC's new relationships with wirehouses is “a huge area for Larry,” Mr. Schorsch said.

(See also: Brash REIT boss hires his opposite)

A number of people in the industry doubted his pronouncements. Mr. Roth is a known dealmaker, having spent 2001 to 2005 at Berkshire Capital, a top mergers and acquisition investment bank that focuses on financial services firms and independent broker-dealers.

Such prowess looked to be a perfect fit for Realty Capital. Its parent, RCS Capital Corp., has been on a buying spree, with RCS Capital or related entities completing one broker-dealer acquisition and announcing four others since last June. The transactions affect almost 9,000 reps and advisers.

(More: No end in sight for Schorsch tear)

Why would Mr. Schorsch hire Mr. Roth and ignore his M&A expertise, particularly as Mr. Schorsch and RCS Capital were assembling a top-tier IBD network? That was a prevalent industry question when Mr. Roth joined Realty Capital last September.

Well, it looks as though Mr. Roth has been doing a lot more than wholesaling alternative mutual funds and nontraded REITs in the past several months. In fact, he was sitting at Mr. Schorsch's side, at least through the initial discussions of RCS Capital's most significant deal to date, the pending $1.15 billion purchase of Cetera Financial Group from private equity manager Lightyear Capital.

According to RCS Capital's proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 8, Mr. Roth and Mr. Schorsch met Donald Marron, chairman of the Cetera board and Lightyear's founder, on Nov. 23 in Lightyear's New York offices. The purpose of the meeting, which involved a smattering of other Lightyear and Realty Capital executives, was “to discuss a potential strategic transaction between [RCS Capital] and Cetera,” the filing states. The deal progressed rapidly and was announced in January.

Meanwhile, the industry is waiting for Mr. Schorsch's next acquisition. RCS Capital indicated such a move in March, saying it had another potential broker-dealer acquisition teed up but was waiting for the Cetera ! purchase to close.

Will Mr. Roth be sitting next to Mr. Schorsch when that deal is done? Will he help engineer a bid for another large broker-dealer network that he knows well?

Don't be surprised if he does.

Why Tarena International (TEDU) Stock Is Up Today

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Tarena International (TEDU) shares are up 14.9% to $7.74 in trading on Monday following the announcement of a deal with Bank of China Consumer Finance Co (BOCCFC).

The tuition financing agreement is the third such agreement the professional education services provider has participated in along with deals with Bank of Beijing Consumer Finance Company and CreditEase.

"The participation of BOCCFC further diversified payment options and increased financing flexibility for our students. We look forward to a long term cooperation with BOCCFC," the company said.

Must Read: Warren Buffett's 10 Favorite Stocks

STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

TEDU data by YCharts

STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

Stock quotes in this article: TEDU 

'Dick and Jane' artworks for sale

BROOKLINE, N.H. (AP) — In the portrait, the little boy's blue eyes twinkle as he looks straight ahead. His apple cheeks shine. There's a gap in his teeth, and his reddish-brown hair is just slightly tousled. He's an All-American boy.

He's Dick, of the illustrated "Dick and Jane" series that helped teach generations of public school students from the 1930s to the 1970s how to read.

He's also Nancy Childress' childhood neighbor and the model for the drawing by her father, Robert Childress, that along with Jane, Sally, Spot and others brought the pages of the reader to life.

Nancy Childress is selling her father's artwork at auction in New Hampshire at the end of April. Along with Dick, there are other portraits, black-and-white drawings of John F. and Jackie Kennedy and offerings from his collection of pastel paintings of college buildings around the country.

"As an artist, there were many illustrators during the time my father was working," said Nancy Childress, who lives in Gilmanton. "This was the day of the illustrator. What's different about my father's illustrations is that most could either do landscape or people, and he had the uncanny ability to do both equally well."

Childress' realism will remind the viewer immediately of Norman Rockwell's illustrations and that's not a complete coincidence: The two were friends.

Nancy Childress said her father, who retired to Warner and died in 1983, never took an art class, learning to paint with a set given to him as a gift from an aunt and uncle before he was 10. And he didn't just use the neighbor boy as a model for the series that he illustrated during the 1950s and '60s: Nancy was Sally, her sister Susan became Jane and their mother was also one of Robert Childress' inspirations.

"We loved it," she said. "My sister and I loved getting into costumes. And he would always include us. He would ask us, 'What do you think of this? Is it too green? Is it too blue?' But the opinion that mattered was my mother's."

! Born in South Carolina, Childress was living in Ithaca, N.Y., when he was commissioned to paint a portrait of H.E. Babcock, a former chairman of the board for Cornell University. Through his connection with Babcock, he met Duncan Hines, the home food entrepreneur whose cakes and other products still stock grocery shelves. Childress painted the portrait of Hines that would adorn his product packaging and Childress launched a career in advertising.

He moved the family to Old Saybrook, Conn., where Childress painted ads for Coca-Cola, Mobil, Wonder Bread and the Campbell Soup Co., among others. Some of the ads are included in the auction.

Auctioneer Ronald Pelletier of Brookline Auction Gallery said estimates for the roughly 50 lots of Childress art run from $100 to $2,000 and because it is an "absolute auction" there is no reserve bid, meaning the lowest bid wins. He said there is a market for original art, but he couldn't predict how the Childress collections would fare.

He is most struck by how multidisciplined Childress was.

"I mean, the man could work in any medium," he said.

The live online auction will be held April 30.

Markets Fight Back to Positive Territory Today

This afternoon, I noted that during the past few months, we have seen a number of losing days -- but they have always been followed by a winning session as investors move in and have bought on the dips. A little before 1 p.m. EDT today, that didn't seem to be the case, as all the major indexes were in the red. But, as the day progressed, the bulls came back, and the markets moved into positive territory.

When the closing bell finally rang, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) was up 41 points, or 0.28%, and sat at 14,799. The 41-point change did break an eight-session streak in which the index moved higher or lower by more than 100 points. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) also ended the day higher, up 0.27%, but the Nasdaq couldn't make it into the black, as it lost 0.22% during the day.

This morning, when the Dow was down by as much as 69 points, there were a number of its components in the red, but at 4 p.m. EDT on Wall Street, only 11 remained down for the session. Let's take a look at three of today's losers.

Shares of JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) declined by 0.99% today on very little news pertaining directly to the company. But, interest rate risk, and a new scandal at fellow Dow banking stock Bank of America have provided investors enough fuel to cut the share price of JPMorgan today. As my colleague John Grgurich pointed out earlier today, although JPMorgan fell 3.31% this past week, the company is a great one to be invested in right now. The bank has a great balance sheet, and the fundamentals of the company are getting better and better as each quarter passes. 

Another Dow component that fell on news that doesn't directly pertain to the company, but could have serious long-term effects on its business, was Alcoa (NYSE: AA  ) . The aluminum producer fell 0.44% today on news that the Chinese government is tightening credit. The reason this will affect Alcoa is that the company needs strong economies where construction and large infrastructural projects are happening in order for it to sell its product, aluminum. If credit tightens in China, large projects and development will likely slow, and ultimately hurt the company's top and bottom lines. 

Another Dow stock that likely fell on the news from China was Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) , which ended the day down 0.1%. Although today's announcement clearly didn't have a major affect on either caterpillar or Alcoa, it did add fuel to the bearish sentiment investors have had with each company this year. Caterpillar is down 7.24% year to date, while Alcoa has lost 8.06%. These may not seem like massive declines, but when we add in the fact that the Dow itself is up 12.94% in 2013, the idea that Alcoa and Caterpillar have been beaten by nearly 20% over just the past six months is rather shocking.

Caterpillar is the market share leader in an industry in which size matters, and its quality products, extensive service network, and unparalleled brand strength combine to give it solid competitive advantages. Read all about Caterpillar's strengths and weaknesses in The Motley Fool's brand new report. Just click here to access it now.

Was Cisco Really a Good Choice for the Dow?

On this day in economic and business history ...

What is the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) without any consumer-facing industrial company? The venerable index found itself in a bind in mid-2009, as General Motors, the only Dow stock that might be called a "consumer industrial," collapsed into bankruptcy. What company might replace it? Could the Dow retain its identity as a barometer of American industrial strength if its only heavy-industry concerns built aircraft and earth-movers far beyond the price range of average Americans?

Perhaps it could. On June 8, 2009, the Dow's editors tapped Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO  ) to replace the belly-up automaker, and also replaced floundering Citigroup (NYSE: C  ) with Travelers (NYSE: TRV  ) , its onetime subsidiary. When the change was announced, Dow Jones editor-in-chief Robert Thomson noted that Cisco was the right choice "because its communications and computer-networking products are vital to an economy and culture still adapting to the Information Age -- just as automobiles were essential to America in the 20th century." Citigroup's ouster was necessary as well, since its financial-crisis struggles had left the government with a substantial stake, and had left the bank in the midst of a "substantial restructuring."

Despite its high praise, Cisco turned out to be a Dow laggard -- its 30% gain in the four years following the change has thus far been nearly 45% below the index's return over that same time frame. Travelers, on the other hand, proved a better choice than Citigroup, as the former has gained 110% to the latter's 50% since the change.

Mmm, snacktacular
In another universe, the Dow might have chosen to replace General Motors with the world's largest diversified food processor: PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP  ) , which took on its modern form (or at least the better part of it) on June 8, 1965, when Pepsi-Cola merged with Frito-Lay. Pepsi was already a successful multinational at the time, with operations in 107 countries, and comments from CEO Donald Kendall revealed a pseudo-Machiavellian drive to create a whole world of snackers through the export of Frito-Lay brands. "Just as we exported soft drinks after World War II," he boasted, "we can export the snack habit. The snack food field is wide open, and our big opportunities are in the international field."

In the year before the merger, Pepsi-Cola reported $272 million in sales, compared with $184 million for Frito-Lay. The company would -- as long-term investors know -- blow past that combined $456 million in sales as it expanded its line of brands. Four decades later, PepsiCo was a true giant, with a reported $32.6 billion in worldwide sales -- representing an annualized revenue growth rate of 11.5%.

PepsiCo has quenched consumers' thirst for more than a century. But recently, the company has left shareholders craving more. With increased competition and loss of market share, many investors wonder if this global snack food and beverage giant is simply fizzling out. Are more bland results ahead for PepsiCo? The Motley Fool's premium report on the company guides you through everything you need to know about PepsiCo, including the key opportunities and threats facing the company's future. Simply click here now to claim your copy today.

UBS Names U.S. Head for Complex Equities Group

UBS AG(UBSN.VX) has named a new head of its U.S. group that works on complex stock financings and investments for companies and wealthy individuals.

Alan Rifkin, who joins from Citigroup(C), will run the Americas unit of its Strategic Equity Solutions Group from New York starting in May, according to an internal memo.

The Swiss bank has been shrinking investment-banking footprint, while bulking up parts of its equity underwriting business, especially in the U.S.

The so-called “strategic equity solutions” business focuses on stock underwriting transactions for companies or wealthy individuals, such as family business owners, that are trickier than a typical IPO or public stock sale.

That includes pre-IPO stock placements, a market that has grown sharply over the last few years as companies stay private longer and reach multi-billion-dollar valuations before going public.

It also works with investors and companies that want to lock-in gains for a volatile private or public stock investment without selling the shares, through the use of derivatives.

Mr. Rifkin spent 15 years in Citi’s equity capital markets group. Before that, he was a lawyer at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. He will report to global head of equity solutions Chicco di Stasi, who started the group in 2010, and to the U.S.-based head of Americas equity capital markets, James Palmer.

NY Attorney General subpoenas HFT firms

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) High speed traders aren't having a great 2014.

The New York Attorney General's office recently sent subpoenas to a number of firms specializing in high-frequency trading, "HFT" for short, according to sources.

Six firms received subpoenas and one additional firm received a letter asking for more information.

HFT has come under scrutiny over the past several weeks following the release of the Michael Lewis book "Flash Boys".

In the book Lewis and others allege that HFT is a way of "rigging" the market and creates an unfair advantage for the firms who specialize in the technique.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office has been investigating high-frequency traders for several months. Schneiderman has personally spoken out about the issues, including penning a commentary in the New York Daily News about HFT on April 3.

In the latest investigation, Jump Trading LLC, Chopper Trading LLC, and Tower Research Capital LLC have received subpoenas. The other names have not been made public yet.

The firms are being asked for details on whether they have secret arrangements with stock exchanges and dark pools that allow them to essentially trade ahead of investors who are not using the technology.

Jump Trading and Chopper Trading are based in Chicago, according to their websites. Tower Research Capital is headquartered in New York City.

Obamacare Wins U.S. Bond Converts as Slowing Costs Tame CPI

Regardless of what Americans think about Obamacare, reining in health care costs is winning the support of investors in U.S. Treasuries.

After doubling in the past two decades, medical expenses rose less last year than at any time since Harry S. Truman was president in 1949, helped by Medicare reimbursement cuts. The rollout of President Barack Obama’s signature 2010 law will hold down consumer prices for years to come as millions of Americans obtain coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, BNP Paribas SA and Credit Suisse Group AG said.

Less inflation, which boosts the purchasing power of fixed- rate payments, may help attract buyers to Treasuries as the economy strengthens and the Federal Reserve pares its own bond buying. While yields have fallen this year, the compensation 10- year notes provide after inflation is close to the highest in five years. Excluding food and energy, health care accounted for about a third of the slowdown in consumer prices, which rose 1.1 percent in the past year from 2 percent in the prior 12 months.

“This is good news” for bonds, Kathy Jones, a New York- based fixed-income strategist at Charles Schwab & Co., which has $2.25 trillion in client assets, said in a telephone interview on April 4. By holding costs down, “it may be a benefit to inflation, longer-term.”

Jones, who has been advising clients on the bond-market implications of the health-care law, is recommending that investors buy 10-year Treasuries because low inflation will keep the Fed from lifting interest rates.

More Attractive

Costs for medical care increased 2 percent last year, the smallest gain in 65 years, according to data compiled by the Labor Department. Price increases eased as Medicare reimbursements were cut under last year’s budget sequestration and Americans gained access to more generic drugs.

In the two decades before the financial crisis, health-care expenses rose at more than twice that rate on an annual basis.

The slowdown in medical expenses has helped curb inflationary pressures, with living costs rising 1.48 percent in 2013, the least during an expansion in 39 years.

“Inflation is already very low, so having one more category that lowers it even more makes nominal Treasuries even more attractive,” Aaron Kohli, an interest-rate strategist at BNP Paribas, one of 22 primary dealers that trade with the Fed, said in an April 10 telephone interview from New York.

‘Notable Role’

Consumer prices in March rose 1.5 percent from a year earlier and increased 0.2 percent from the previous month, according to government data released today.

Using the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation, known as the personal consumption expenditures deflator, or PCE, health care is having an even greater impact in containing prices.

Because medical spending accounts for 17 percent of PCE inflation as its second-largest component, slower growth in health care may delay the Fed’s eventual move to lift the benchmark rate that it has held close to zero since 2008, said Martin Hegarty, the New York-based head of inflation-linked bond portfolios at BlackRock Inc., which manages $3.86 trillion.

The slowdown in medical inflation means “PCE is going to be lower” than CPI, Hegarty said by telephone.

Inflation has remained below the Fed’s 2 percent target for 22 straight months and “a couple” of policy makers said at its March meeting that “unusually slow growth” in health-care prices has played a “notable role” in holding back prices, minutes of the gathering released on April 9 show.

Real Yields

February’s 1.1 percent core PCE matched January as the lowest since March 2011. Including food and energy, inflation was even weaker, eased to 0.9 percent from a year ago.

The slowdown, which has frustrated Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s efforts to lift inflation, has made Treasuries more appealing.

While forecasters predicted yields on 10-year Treasuries would rise this year to end at 3.44 percent, borrowing costs have fallen even as the Fed began curtailing its stimulus after spending more than a half-trillion dollars buying U.S. debt in 2013. Yields on the 10-year note decreased from a 29-month high of 3.05 percent in January to 2.65 percent yesterday.

They were at 2.62 percent as of 10:28 a.m. in New York.

Although that level is almost 2 percentage points below the two-decade average, they still offer returns that are close to the highest since 2009 relative to inflation. Real yields are now 1.72 percentage points higher than PCE, versus 1.21 percentage points on average in the past five years.

Great Society

Some bond investors are already paring back their inflation expectations. Based on the gap between yields of fixed-rate Treasuries due in 2019 and inflation-linked notes of the same maturity, traders anticipate consumer prices will rise an average 1.84 percent annually over the next five years.

The implied rate is lower than the 2.2 percent average a year ago and less than economists’ annual projections through 2016, the furthest year available in Bloomberg surveys.

Obamacare helps to explain some of the optimism, BNP’s Kohli said. The law, which survived a 2012 challenge in the Supreme Court, represents the biggest change to the U.S. health system since Medicare and Medicaid were established as part of president Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society programs in 1965.

It was designed to cover at least 30 million people, by expanding Medicaid and setting up online markets where consumers can buy insurance. Parts of the Obamacare cut Medicare payouts to poor-performing hospitals, added incentives to curb readmission rates and changed payment programs to reduce unnecessarily expensive procedures.

Savings Forecast

While half of Americans oppose Obamacare and numerous computer issues with its online marketplaces stymied early sign- ups, about 7.5 million have enrolled for insurance under the law, surpassing the first-year goal of 7 million.

The CBO lowered it’s estimate for the cost of the law through 2024 by $104 billion from the previous estimate in February. The CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimate the law will produce savings of more than $1 trillion over the next two decades.

That savings will mean less borrowing, putting downward pressure on Treasury yields, according to CRT Capital Group LLC in Stamford, Connecticut.

“The ACA is a very important driver” of lower prices and is helping create disinflationary expectations, Carlos Pro, New York-based interest-rate strategist at primary dealer Credit Suisse Group AG, said by telephone on April 9. Health-care costs and Obamacare have been one of the main themes of Pro’s discussions with clients since July.

Aging Population

Some investors may be overestimating the benefits of Obamacare on future price gains as an aging U.S. population pushes up health-care spending and costs over time, according to Michael Pond, the New York-based head of global inflation-linked research at Barclays Plc, a primary dealer.

By 2030, one in five Americans will be 65 or older, versus one in eight in 2003, and the fastest-growing segment of the population will be 85 and older, according to a report by the Department of Health and Human Services.

More immediately, downward pressure on health costs will ease this year with no repeat of sequestration, Pond said.

“Demographics were in play here, and are essentially set in stone,” he said by telephone on April 7. Any slowdown in inflation caused by health care is “temporary.”

Strengthening economic growth may also spur consumer spending. The world’s largest economy will expand 3 percent next year, the fastest rate in a decade, according to economists’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

ETF Reversal

That hasn’t stopped investors in exchanged-traded funds from abandoning bets on a pick-up in inflation and growth.

The $12.45 billion iShares TIPS ETF, the largest fund tracking Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, lost $423.7 million from redemptions for the month as of April 10. That erased all the net inflows accumulated in March, when the ETF’s assets rose $326.8 million, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Invesco Ltd., which manages $230 billion, has been analyzing the health-care overhaul and predicts Treasuries will likely benefit as the law damps inflation, even as health-care spending rises as newly insured consumers seek care, said Tony Wong, a fixed-income analyst at the Atlanta-based firm.

Invesco has been adding to its holdings of longer-maturity Treasuries, according to Robert Waldner, the firm’s head of multi-sector fixed income.

“There are some structural factors that over the medium- term will exert a lot of downward pressure on health-care inflation,” Wong said by telephone on April 9.

3 Stocks Rising on Big Volume

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Professional traders running mutual funds and hedge funds don't just look at a stock's price moves; they also track big changes in volume activity. Often when above-average volume moves into an equity, it precedes a large spike in volatility.

>>5 Stocks Sell Before It's Too Late

Major moves in volume can signal unusual activity, such as insider buying or selling -- or buying or selling by "superinvestors."

Unusual volume can also be a major signal that hedge funds and momentum traders are piling into a stock ahead of a catalyst. These types of traders like to get in well before a large spike, so it's always a smart move to monitor unusual volume. That said, remember to combine trend and price action with unusual volume. Put them all together to help you decipher the next big trend for any stock.

>>5 Stocks Poised for Breakouts

With that in mind, let's take a look at several stocks rising on unusual volume recently.

Posco

Posco (PKX), together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells steel rolled products and plates. This stock closed up 2.2% at $75.45 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 613,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 239,925

Volume % Change: 123%

From a technical perspective, PKX jumped modestly higher here with above-average volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last month and change, with shares moving higher from its low of $63.71 to its intraday high of $75.69. During that uptrend, shares of PKX have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. Market players should now look for a continuation move to the upside in the short-term of PKX manages to take out Friday's intraday high of $75.69 with strong volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in PKX as long as it's trending above Friday's low of $73.83 or above its 200-day at $72.44 and then once it sustains a move or close above Friday's high of $75.69 with volume that this near or above 239,925 shares. If that move starts soon, then PKX will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $79 to its 52-week high at $80.46.

CH Robinson Worldwide

CH Robinson Worldwide (CHRW), a third party logistics company, provides freight transportation services and logistics solutions to companies in various industries worldwide. This stock closed up 1.9% at $54.87 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 4.51 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 2.06 million

Volume % Change: 119%

From a technical perspective, CHRW spiked modestly higher here and broke out above some near-term overhead resistance at $54.80 with above-average volume. This breakout has started to push shares of CHRW into its previous gap-down-day zone from February that started just above $58. Market players should now look for a continuation move higher in the short-term if CHRW manages to take out Friday's high of $55.13 with strong volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CHRW as long as it's trending above Friday's low of $53.92 or above its 50-day at $52.64 and then once it sustains a move or close above Friday's high of $55.13 with volume that's near or above 2.06 million shares. If that move gets underway soon, then CHRW will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap-down-day zone that started just above $58. If that gap gets filled with strong upside volume flows, then CHRW could even tag or take out $60.

DreamWorks Animation SKG

DreamWorks Animation SKG (DWA) is engaged in the development, production and exploitation of animated films and their associated characters worldwide. This stock closed up 3% at $27.68 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 2.09 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 1.10 million

Volume % Change: 78%

From a technical perspective, DWA spiked notably higher here with above-average volume. This stock recently formed a double bottom chart pattern at $25.67 to $25.75. Following that bottom, shares of DWA have started to spike higher and flirt with a near-term breakout trade, after the stock briefly traded above some near-term overhead resistance at $27.89. Shares of DWA hit an intraday high of $28.02 on Friday before closing at $27.68. Market players should now watch for a continuation move to the upside in the short-term if DWA manages to take out Friday's high of $28.02 with strong volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in DWA as long as it's trending above Friday's low of $26.45 or above those double bottom support levels and then once it sustains a move or close above Friday's high of $28.02 with volume that's near or above 1.10 million shares. If that move materializes soon, then DWA will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at its 50-day moving average of $29.54 to its 200-day moving average of $29.29. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give DWA a chance to tag $31 to $32. Also, keep in mind that DWA has a large gap-down-day zone just above $32 that could come into focus.

To see more stocks rising on unusual volume, check out the Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

RELATED LINKS:

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

>>5 Big Trades to Survive a Roller Coaster Market

>>5 Ways to Profit From a Crowded Short Trade

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

Why the Dow Is Tumbling Today

What started out as a ho-hum day is turning into a rout. With roughly an hour left in the trading session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) is off by 95 points, or 0.62%.

Tracing the impetus for any day's rise or fall is an inexact science at best. That being said, the one piece of news that could be weighing on equities this afternoon concerned a report that the trade gap expanded by 8.5% last month. According to the Commerce Department, the difference between imports and exports shot up to $40.3 billion in April from $37.1 billion the preceding month.

Offsetting this, however, was yet another report that home prices are on the mend. CoreLogic, a California-based analysis firm, noted this morning that home prices grew by 3.2% in April and by 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. This adds to a growing bevy of evidence about home prices and sales that points to a recovering, though still ailing, housing market.

An article published on the blog DealBook provided some insight into the forces behind this move. "Large investment firms have spent billions of dollars over the last year buying homes in some of the nation's most depressed markets," the author notes. "The influx has been so great, and the resulting price gains so big, that ordinary buyers are feeling squeezed out." Reading between the lines, the fear is that the recent ascent in prices is only sustainable so long as these investors remain active.

But housing prices and trade data aside, there was little else to explain the sudden downturn in the market this afternoon. Most financial news sites are attributing it to concern that the Federal Reserve will soon begin reducing its support for the economy. "We definitely think that equities are going to be more volatile with all the talk of Fed tapering," a Boston-based investment strategist noted to Bloomberg News. "You can see that volatility in the market jitteriness in the past days. Add to that, that in this slow growth environment, you tend to have more hiccups that you would otherwise have if you were in strong growth phase."

Whether or not this is the case, the reality is that daily movements like today's -- along with speculation about what the Fed will do at its next meeting -- should be largely ignored unless you're a trader on Wall Street. To make decisions based purely on speculation, rather than fundamentals, is to venture into a financial minefield.

In terms of individual stocks, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) is continuing its upward climb today. Shares of the chip maker gained on Friday amid rumors that Samsung had chosen Intel chips for its latest flagship tablet. The early reports were confirmed by Samsung yesterday, sending shares yet higher. And today, it seems Intel has the wind at its back. At the time of writing, its stock is up by 1%.

Yet the best-performing stock on the index is Merck (NYSE: MRK  ) , which is soaring 2.4% after it gained nearly 4% yesterday. As my colleague Max Macaluso noted yesterday, the moves follow a report of "overwhelmingly positive interim results for its experimental melanoma drug lambrolizumab." And as fellow Fool Dan Caplinger discussed today, the continued momentum is likely a result of the realization that "yesterday's news on Merck isn't just about a single treatment, but rather an entire new class of treatments that stimulate the PD-1 protein within a patient's body in order to fight cancer."

Meanwhile, among the many stocks dropping today is Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) . The nation's second-largest bank by assets is in the midst of a critical trial which will determine whether an $8.5 billion settlement reached in 2011 will be affirmed by a judge or whether the parties must go back to the drawing board. If it's not affirmed, it's safe to say that Bank of America will be exposed to billions of dollars' worth of additional liability, as well as heightened legal expenses.

Bank of America's stock doubled in 2012. Is there more yet to come? With significant challenges still ahead, it's critical to have a solid understanding of this megabank before adding it to your portfolio. In The Motley Fool's premium research report on B of A, analyst Anand Chokkavelu, CFA, and financials bureau chief Matt Koppenheffer lift the veil on the bank's operations, detailing three reasons to buy and three reasons to sell. Click here now to claim your copy.

With News of Berkshire Stake, Is Starz Still Attractive?

Pay-TV cable operator Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA  ) , a spinoff from media conglomerate Liberty Media (NASDAQ: LMCA  ) , has done nothing but climb since its market debut less than a year ago. This past month, the company reported its first-quarter earnings for 2013, and while the numbers came up short of analyst expectations, there was plenty of encouraging news for the long-term viability of the company. Just this past week, it was announced that Berkshire Hathaway had amassed a nearly 5% position in the company, gained as a result of the firm's sizable Liberty Media stake. The question now is, does the stock still have room to run, or is this growth story coming to an end?

Earnings recap
Missing analyst estimates, revenue dipped about 1% for the company to $399.3 million. But with both its namesake Starz network, as well as Encore, the company now has 56.7 million paying subscribers -- by far the largest of any premium cable operator. One of Starz's new series, Da Vinci's Demons, debuted to a record high for opening-weekend numbers, and has been renewed for a second season.

Still, the company's expenses and lowered sales kept the bottom line down. Operating income shrank 13% to $104.9 million, from $120 million in the year-ago quarter. On a per-share basis, the company earned $0.47, down from $0.65 one year ago. Analysts were expecting $0.49.

Management is sticking to its strategy of cautiously allocating capital toward original productions. Given the success of its recent series, and newly green-lit projects on the horizon, this remains a compelling strategy that should enhance shareholder value over the long term.

The future and valuation
After a more than 60% rise since its IPO, Starz is currently trading at 13 times one-year forward earnings. Direct comps are difficult, since Starz is the only independently traded premium-TV play, but we can look at others, owned by larger media companies, for guidance.

Time Warner (NYSE: TWX  ) owns HBO. While it is smaller than Starz by subscriber count, the network has a near-flawless record in its recent original productions. Titles such as Game of Thrones, Girls, and True Blood have been tremendous successes in attracting and retaining subscribers. Time Warner trades at 14.12 times forward earnings, but includes many other factors -- from film studio Warner Brothers to theme parks. Showtime parent CBS (NYSE: CBS  ) trades at just over 15 times earnings. All three networks have attractive economics as they have pushed original content that, though costly up front, creates better margins over time and saves the company from some difficult negotiations with other content providers. Recently, the company ended its contract with both Netflix and Disney, startling some investors and analysts but ultimately proving a wise decision as it freed up cash to put toward in-house production.

As mentioned, Berkshire's holding, which was not an open-market purchase but part of the spinoff from Liberty, is still intriguing as the conglomerate could have sold the stock upon receipt, but instead opted to keep it. All in all, Starz looks to remain fairly valued and an attractive long-term pick. I would not worry too much about the short-term dip on the financial statements.

Can Netflix fend off its burgeoning competition, and will its international growth aspirations really pay off? These are must-know issues for investors, which is why The Motley Fool has released a premium report on Netflix. Inside, you'll learn about the key opportunities and risks facing the company, as well as reasons to buy or sell the stock. The report includes a full year of updates to cover critical new developments, so make sure to click here and claim a copy today.

Twitter Is Enhancing Its Platform but Is This Enough?

Twitter Inc. (TWTR) is a global Internet platform that connects users posting publicly visible, real-time short messages, creating a network of people, information, news, ideas and opinions. With currently more than 240 million monthly active users (MAUs), who generate approximately 500 million tweets every day, Twitter is available on desktop and mobile devices including Android, iOS and Blackberry. Its asymmetric follow model in which users to be followed by others without a reciprocal relationship, allows a constant flux of information from personalities such as politicians or celebrities and enables users to keep track of content in which they are interested.

Twitter's network is regarded as the largest real time social network in the world, and its users benefit from the broad content distribution within its platform. And still, users have highly personalized experiences within the network, creating and sharing content. Naturally, advertisers find these social network platforms especially attractive for their activity: nearly 90% of Twitter's revenues are generated from advertising. The other segment from which the company reports revenue is data licensing, accounting for around 10% of total revenues. Indeed other social networks such as Facebook, Inc. (FB) present a significant competition in attracting advertising revenues; therefore the company needs to keep its product attractive as to sustain growth. Nevertheless, Twitter complements traditional content and media and thus provides the company hot content which flows through its media platform at a cheap price.

The firm's fourth quarter results were a bit too disappointing, as the adjusted loss fell far behind estimated numbers. Still, during this period Twitter reported more than 150 billion "timeline views" -Twitter's measure of the frequency at which users are reading tweets- growing 26% year over year, and MAUs increased 30% from the same period. However, this might not be enough to create massive competitive advantages.

Recent Innovations

Twitter has come certainly to be regarded as one of the top social network companies in the market, but more precisely, as a complementary information source for users. The company's platform keeps attracting users and therefore increasing both its real-time content and user data base. Moreover, the fact that mobile usage of this platform has been increasing points towards a solid positioning of the company within the market as well as a positive outlook for its top-line growth in the near term, as a surge in the mobile user base drives advertising revenue. Global mobile ad-spending is expected to climb 75.1% to $31.45 billion in 2014.

Keeping its product portfolio is essential as to continue attracting advertisers, especially with the fierce competition posed by Facebook, Inc. (FB) and Google, Inc. (GOOG). Looking to improve user's engagement, the company has expanded offerings with media forward timeline, inline social actions, Twitter Alerts and Custom timelines. It recently rolled out a new look that some think might be too similar to Facebook's timeline, with customizable user profiles, with headers akin to the Cover Photos feature in Facebook. Nevertheless, the two platforms have different targets, as Twitter intends to go beyond providing news and public information. Moreover, users will be able to "pin" one of their tweets to the top of the page to show the topics they prefer to tweet about. The company wrote in a blog post this week: "Moment by moment, your Twitter profile shows the world who you are."

Likewise the company has added features that allow users to send and receive photos via direct messaging and swipe between timelines. The new pop-up notifications on its website will allow users to see interactions, replies, favorites and retweets. These efforts have resulted in increased messaging of 25.0% year over year basis. New releases also include products such as TV Conversation Targeting, Tailored Audiences, Conversion Tracking and Promoted Accounts in Timeline, innovations that point at increasing advertisers return on investments, stimulating further investment. On top of that it has recently added 19 new languages in its Vine mobile app, on both iOS and Android platform. There is no doubt expanding into the mobile world is crucial for company's growth.

Acquisitions are always regarded as a good move towards growth, especially small acquisitions that fit overall business mix and don't involve heavy integration costs. Twitter has no doubt engaged in this strategy and acquired around 25 companies which expanded its technology and infrastructure base. Acquired companies such as TweetDeck, Dasient, Crashlytics, Bluefin Labs and MoPub have allowed Twitter to expand its product portfolio, and recently bought Mesagraph and SecondSync, are expected to help it enter European TV analytics market. International expansion is also in scope, as user growth has increased its pace in markets such as France, Japan, Russia, South Africa and Argentina.

Risks and Threats

Twitter has nevertheless remained a niche product, and hasn't grown into the mainstream Internet population. Therefore, the company faces some uncertainty regarding advertising revenues. And moreover, the fact that its main source of revenue is advertising implies a major risk for the company. Competition is a high hindrance for Twitter, and increased popularity of networks such as Google Plus, Weibo, LINE, Kakao, and of course Facebook place some serious concern.

As far as profitability is concern, the company has been accumulating a deficit that has reached the $994.6 million. Continued investment on product development might carry some costs that are likely to impact negatively on the company's profitability. And although it has experienced quite an expansion in international markets such as Argentina, France or Russia, monetization level is expected to remain lower than the United States. Other markets such as Turkey, Iran, Libya, Pakistan and Syria have been barred for the company, as the utilization of Twitter platform as a medium of social protest has led political leaders to ban its usage.

Final Thoughts

The company has been having some hard time growing its user base and increasing advertising revenue. Although Twitter may be a fad, marketers still regard Facebook as a more attractive option. Twitter has to make its marketing platform cheaper and generate a more attractive revenue return. Nevertheless, Twitter's ad revenue per user is growing and the recent development of new products and enhancement of its platform are likely to lure even more users. Twitter is expected to post a profit of $0.06 by the fourth quarter while top line estimates have the company posting profits in all four quarters this year.

Still, Twitter relies on its advertising revenue source, and therefore is vulnerable to any fluctuation in advertising levels. A recent increase in mobile advertising, although regarded as being far less profitable, might be presenting a new growth opportunity. It shows no signs of easing, and this intensified presence might lead advertisers to evaluate an increased investment in the segment.

Despite recent weakness in the stock, Twitter is firmly installed within the market, and is likely to stay as such. Nevertheless, the stock might not be as interesting as others, with greater growth opportunities, but might still leave investors a significant profit. Now there's no denying the recent weakness in the stock or possibilities shares retest or perhaps fall slightly below their all-time low of $38.80. However, as LinkedIn continues to trade with a P/E ratio over 750 and Facebook shares continue to sell for triple the price they went for only 17 months ago, one thing remains clear. That is the fact the risk appetite remains strong. Twitter surely isn't a safe haven, but it can still leave investors with a significant profit.

Disclosure: Damina Illia holds no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

About the author:Damian IlliaA fundamental analyst at Lonetreeanalytics.com constantly looking for value and income investments.

Visit Damian Illia's Website

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