Barron's summary: positive on APA, PIR
Cover story: Barrons Top 50 Annuities special report looks at deferred-income annuities, which are seeing huge growth because of their simplicity, part of a broader trend in the industry; advisors caution that most investors should never put all, or even a majority, of assets in income annuities, since they are highly illiquid and if an investor dies after payments have begun, the remainder of the investment stays with the insurance company.
Features: Positive on AMGN, ETN, GE, IP, JPM, NOV: Six dividend-paying stocks should experience growth in both profits and payouts, and prove rewarding as high-yield bonds hit record lows; Positive on APA: Shares could see a 20% boost as energy exploration and production company shifts focus to North America, cuts back Egypt operation, and begins to control costs; Positive on PIR: Retailers modest price/earnings ratio ignores the companys many attractions, which include its accelerating transformation into a multichannel retailer with a solid balance sheet, ample cash flow, and a dividend.
Tech Trader: Tiernan Ray reports on how tech giants that were once disrupters are themselves being disrupted; Cautious on ORCL: Despite the small percentage of its overall business taken up by its cloud-computing division, company is on its way to being the second-largest in the sector after CRM, but some analysts still question whether that progress is enough to prevent further disruption; Cautious on RHT: Company is in the midst of a messy transformation and billings remain uneven, but it could have another hit with its OpenStack cloud software; Cautious on BBRY: Company will never be as significant as it once was, but to keep going the stock must return to financial health.
Trader: With market complacency seemingly so high, investors and the Fed should pay more attention to inflation, says SCHW chief investment strategist Liz Ann Sonders; Positive on ESRX: Company is a solid business that should recover if the bull market continues and should also prove defensive should a bear market unexpectedly appear; Positive on PETM: Online rivals such as AMZNs Wag.com may offer better prices, but cant compete with chains in-store services, while shares are trading at a discount and dividend is rising steadily.
Mutual Funds: Interview with David Lee, Portfolio Manager, T. Rowe Price Real Estate Fund (top ten holdings: SPG, AVB, PSA, PLD, EQR, VNO, MAC, GGP, FRT, SLG); Interview with David Kelly, Chief Global Strategist, JPMorgan Funds, who says both Europe and emerging markets will beat the five-year return of U.S. equities.
European Trader: Mounting violence in Iraq has proved the worth of oil stocks as a hedge against geopolitical risks (Positive on Royal Dutch Shell, TOT).
Asian Trader: Like China, Australia is still in the process of finding its footing, and investors should be selective (Positive on Perpetual, AMP, Origin Energy, Santos, Oil Search, OZ Minerals, Newcrest Mining).
Emerging Markets: Prudent investors should seek out defensive stocks in Brazil, focusing on those that offer secular thematic growth, such as countrys for-profit post-secondary education sector (Positive on Kroton Educational).
Commodities: A surge in demand for U.S. orange juice in South Korea has helped awaken the market.
Follow-Up: Positive on MGA: Shares of Americas largest auto-parts manufacturer are up on higher vehicle sales, and the outlook continues to look bright.
Streetwise: Ned Davis of Ned Davis Research says inflation isnt yet high enough to cause much damage to the stock market