Violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Diebold's agents and subsidiaries between 2005 and 2010 "lavished international leisure trips, entertainment and other improper gifts" on officials in the three nations, alleged a 12-page civil complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For instance, Diebold paid for two officials from a government-controlled bank in China to take a 15-day trip in 2005 to Universal Studios and Disneyland in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Washington, D.C., New York City, San Francisco and Hawaii, the complaint charged.
Hot Oil Stocks For 2015: Centrex Metals Ltd (CXM)
Centrex Metals Limited (Centrex) is an Australia-based company engaged in iron ore exploration on wholly owned tenements in conjunction with joint venture partners Wuhan Iron & Steel (Group) Co. (WISCO) and Baotou Iron & Steel (Group) Co. (Baotou). The Company�� principal projects include WISCO joint ventures (Eyre Iron: Centrex 40%, Port Spencer: Centrex 50%), Bungalow joint venture (Centrex 70%), Wilgerup (Centrex 100%) and Exploration (Centrex 100%). The Bungalow / Minbrie magnetite deposit is located 9 kilometers north of the coastal town of Cowell on the Eyre Peninsula and around 100 kilometers from the Port Spencer joint venture site. The Goulburn and Archer tenements cover an extensive area with a number of base metal, gold and iron deposits and occurrences. Advisors' Opinion:- [By James E. Brumley]
To say that Cardium Therapeutics Inc. (NYSEMKT:CXM) has been unimpressive this year - and last year for that matter - would be an understatement. Shares of CXM peaked at $11.90 in late 2011, and spend the next two years making their way back to the August (2013) low of $0.58. The stock has since wiggled its way back to the current price of $0.84, but the effort has largely been dismissed as volatility. Big mistake. When you take a step back and look at the bigger picture, you start to see Cardium Therapeutics shares are on the cusp of a monster-sized rebound.
- [By James E. Brumley]
Call it a hunch (because that's all it is), but I think Cardium Therapeutics Inc. (NYSEMKT:CXM) at least belongs on your watchlist, if not already in your portfolio. CXM shares have dropped a handful of key hints that say the bulls are just one good nudge away from catapulting this stock upward.
Top 5 International Stocks To Invest In 2014: Life Time Fitness Inc (LTM)
Life Time Fitness, Inc., incorporated on October 15, 1990, operates multi-use sports and athletic, professional fitness, family recreation and spa centers in a resort-like environment. As of February 28, 2013, the Company operated 105 centers under the LIFE TIME FITNESS and LIFE TIME ATHLETIC SM brands primarily in suburban locations in 28 major markets in the United States and Canada. The Company�� model centers target 7,500 to 11,000 memberships by offering, on average, 114,000 square feet of multi-use sports and athletic, professional fitness, family recreation, spa amenities and programs and services in a resort-like environment. Life Time programs include a range of interest areas, such as group fitness, yoga, swimming, running, racquetball, squash, tennis, Pilates, martial arts, kids activities and camps, adult activities and leagues, rock climbing, cycling, basketball, personal training, weight loss and nutrition initiatives, spa, medi-spa and chiropractic services. Life Time program offerings may vary by location. Effective August 28, 2012, MGC Diagnostics Corporation sold the assets of its New Leaf business to the Company.
The Company's offerings also include the Company's line of nutritional products and supplements, and its magazine, Experience Life. The Company also has an Athletic Events division, which offers more than 100 events each year, including running, cycling and triathlon events from entry-level to ultra-endurance. Additionally, the Company offers a portfolio of health assessments to its members at its centers, as well as employees at corporate clients, along with partnerships with health insurance companies. The Company offers different types of membership plans for individuals, couples and families. The Company's memberships include the primary member's children under the age of 12 at a modest per child monthly cost. The Company provides the majority of its members with a variety of services with their membership, including group fitness classes and fitness asse! ssments, towel and locker service and an online subscription to its magazine, Experience Life. The Company's membership plans include initial 14-day money back guarantees and are month-to-month, cancelable by giving up to 60 days advance notice. The Company's ancillary businesses include media, athletic events and related services, health promotion programs and training and certification programs.
The Company offers one-on-one sessions and small group sessions for individual member and a group of two to four members. The Company offers large group (typically eight to 12 members) programs under its T.E.A.M. platform. The Company's T.E.A.M. Weight Loss program focuses on exercise, education and nutrition and provides the resources and support toward long-term weight loss. The T.E.A.M. Fitness program combines cardio exercise with strength training. The Company's endurance program focuses on training in the proper heart rate zones, for the proper duration of time and at the proper frequency to burn fat more efficiently while improving overall health and fitness. The Company's T.E.A.M. Boot Camp enables members to test their strength, agility and stamina. From time to time, the Company also offers other weight loss and nutrition programs, such as the Life Time 90-Day Weight Loss Challenge, as an opportunity for members to receive education, training and motivation. The Company's centers offer fitness programs, including group fitness classes and health and fitness training seminars on subjects ranging from metabolism to personal nutrition. On average, the Company offers 85 group fitness classes per week at each current model center, including studio cycling, step workout, dance classes, circuit training and fitness yoga classes.
The Company's large format centers feature a Life Cafe, which offers fresh and healthy made-to-order and pre-prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner items, including sandwiches, salads, snacks, shakes and more. The Company's Life Cafes offer customers the cho! ice of di! ning indoors, ordering their meals and snacks to go or, in each of the Company's model centers and certain of its other large format centers, dining outdoors at the poolside bistro. Life Cafes also typically offer the Life Time line of nutritional products and supplements, third-party nutritional products, exercise accessories and personal care products. The Company's LifeSpa is a salon and spa. Each in-center LifeSpa offers hair, body, skin care and massage therapy services, customized to each client's individual needs. The Company also offers medi-spa services in select locations. LifeClinic Chiropractic services are provided by licensed chiropractors. LifeClinic Chiropractic offers non-invasive form of soft tissue and joint treatment. The Company's centers offer on-site child centers for children from three months through 11 years of age as part of a monthly fee per child. All of the Company's large format centers offer a variety of additional programs for children, which may include birthday parties, school break camps, parents' night out, sports and fitness classes and swimming lessons. For adults, the Company offers a variety of sports leagues and interest-driven clubs.
During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company produced over 100 events, serving over 90,000 participants. The Company's events range from entry level to ultra endurance events and draw from local, regional, national and international markets. The Company's larger events include triathlons such as the Life Time Tri Minneapolis and Life Time Tri Chicago, as well as the iconic Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race Across the Sky. The Company produces events primarily in markets in which the Company operates centers, including themed runs such as the Torchlight 5K Run and Turkey Day 5K. The Company offers a line of nutritional products, including Men's and Women 's Performance Multivitamins, Omega-3 Fish oils, Joint Maintenance Formulation, LeanSource Soft Gels, VeganMax, Whey Protein, and FastFuel Complete, its me! al replac! ement product.
The Company competes with 4 Hour Fitness Worldwide, Inc., Equinox Holdings, Inc., LA Fitness International, LLC, Town Sports International, Inc. and Gold's Gym.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Life Time Fitness (NYSE: LTM ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below. - [By John Udovich]
On Thursday, small cap fitness club owner Life Time Fitness, Inc (NYSE: LTM) lost some weight for investors as analysts gave the stock a workout after its Analyst Day failed to ease their concerns, meanings its worth taking a closer look at the stock along with the performance of Town Sports International Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: CLUB)�and Steiner Leisure Ltd (NASDAQ: STNR).
Top 5 International Stocks To Invest In 2014: Arch Capital Group Ltd.(ACGL)
Arch Capital Group Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance products worldwide. It operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Insurance segment offers casualty; construction; executive assurance; healthcare; collateral protection, debt cancellation, and service contract reimbursement products; national accounts casualty; professional liability; programs; property, energy, marine, and aviation; surety; and travel and accident insurance products. It also provides other insurance products, such as excess workers compensation and employers' liability insurance coverages for qualified self-insured groups, associations, and trusts; captive insurance programs; and accident, disability, and medical plan insurance coverages for employer groups, medical plan members, students, and other participant groups. This segment markets its products through a network of licensed independent retail and wholesale brokers. The Reinsurance segment rei nsures third party liability and worker?s compensation exposures; individual property risks that include personal lines and commercial property exposures; other specialty lines, including surety, accident and health, workers' compensation catastrophe, multi-peril crop, trade credit, and political risk; catastrophic perils, such as hurricane, earthquake, flood, tornado, hail, and fire; marine business, which includes coverage for hull, cargo, and transit and offshore oil and gas operations, as well as aviation business that comprises coverage for airline and general aviation risks; and non-traditional business to provide insurers with risk management solutions. This segment markets its reinsurance products through brokers, as well as directly with the ceding companies. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Holly LaFon]
Arch Capital (ACGL)'s Dinos Iordanu recently described to our analysts how he met me in 2001. Before we invested in his business, we asked him all sorts of personal questions about how he came to America from Cyprus; whether or not his wife had a job; and how big was his house? He told our analysts that "Ron was trying to get a sense of me. He wanted to understand how I viewed risk. No one else asked us such questions. They were the right questions since you were investing in our business, which was assuming underwriting risk on your behalf. "We got it right with Dinos and have about quadrupled our money in the past twelve years, not exactly the most propitious time to invest in stocks! Of course, there can be no assurance that future investments will be as profitable��lthough you can be assured that we will continue to work hard to try to achieve similar results.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
For the past several years, Berkshire has contrasted its own cost-free float provided by profitable underwriting against the industry�� (unimpressive) tendency to lose money on underwriting while generating net returns from investment income. So far, so good. Less edifying, though, is the repeated contrast of Berkshire�� track record of profitability to State Farm��…even though, as a mutual company, State Farm�� profitability goals are inherently different from for-profit insurers like Berkshire. It�� true that through year-end 2013, Berkshire�� underwriters have ��ow operated at an underwriting profit for eleven consecutive years,��but so have ACE (ACE), American Financial (AFG),� AmTrust Financial (AFSI), Arch Capital (ACGL), Chubb (CB), HCC (HCC), Progressive (PGR), RLI (RLI), and W.R. Berkley (WRB), any or all of whom provide a more meaningful comparison than contrasting Berkshire�� results to a company that�� not out to produce a profit in the first place.
Top 5 International Stocks To Invest In 2014: Phoenix New Media Ltd (FENG)
Phoenix New Media Limited (PNM), incorporated on November 22, 2007, is a new media company providing content on an integrated platform across Internet, mobile and television (TV) channels in China. PNM enables consumers to access professional news and other content and share user-generated content (UGC), on the Internet and through their mobile devices. The Company also transmits its UGC and in-house produced content to TV viewers primarily through Phoenix TV. Its platform includes its ifeng.com channel, consisting of its ifeng.com Website, its video channel, consisting of its dedicated video vertical and video services and applications, and its mobile channel, including its mobile Internet Website and mobile applications.
PNM offers a variety of paid services across all of its channels, including mobile Internet and value-added services (MIVAS), which includes its digital reading services, mobile game services and wireless value-added services (WVAS), such as messaging-based services (short message service and multi-media messaging services); video value-added services (video VAS), which consists of its online subscription and pay-per-view video services, its mobile subscription and pay-per-view video services, and video content sales, and Internet value-added services (Internet VAS). The Company primarily generates its paid service revenues from its WVAS, digital reading services and mobile video subscription and pay-per-view services by providing content to mobile device users and collecting revenue shares or fixed fees for its content services from the relevant mobile operator. The Company also earns paid service revenues in the form of fixed fees from China Mobile Communications Corporation (China Mobile), for its digital reading services.
Video Channel
The Company�� video channel is consists of its online video vertical at v.ifeng.com; mobile video subscription and pay-per-view services and mobile video application, video content sales business. The Compa! ny offers its video VAS paid services through its video channel, which include its online subscription and pay-per-view services, its mobile subscription and pay-per-view video services and video content sales. The Company�� v.ifeng.com vertical offers four categories of video products and services, namely free online video on demand (VOD), live Phoenix TV broadcasts, subscription online video service and pay-per-view online video service. It organizes and presents video content, supplemented by text, images, user surveys and comment postings on its v.ifeng.com vertical.
The VODs typically consist of short clips of up to five minutes of news programs, interviews, documentaries and other programs. Its VOD content is easily searchable on its Website and is organized into over 10 verticals of v.ifeng.com for easy browsing, including news, finance, culture, sports, history, entertainment, news commentary, military affairs, society, biographies history, entertainment, movies and TV, style, vblog, VIP channel, Phoenix TV, live broadcast, and original videos.It offers live streams of Phoenix TV's flagship channels, the Phoenix Chinese Channel and the Phoenix InfoNews Channel. Its online subscription video service enables users to watch advertisement-free premium content, such as feature-length documentaries and exclusive online Phoenix TV programming.
The Company�� online pay-per-view video service enables users to watch advertisement-free premium videos by purchasing access to particular videos on vip.v.ifeng.com. Like its online subscription videos, its pay-per-view videos include longer videos of up to 20 minutes in length. The Company offers video content through the mobile video platforms of telecom operators, primarily China Mobile and China Telecom. Mobile users who access its videos on China Mobile's platform either by subscription or on a pay-per-view basis pay a fixed fee.
Mobile Channel
The Company�� mobile channel consists of its 3g.ifeng! .com mobi! le Website and its MIVAS. The Company offers MIVAS paid services through its video channel, which include its digital reading services, mobile game services and WVAS. Users can access its mobile content and MIVAS directly from their mobile phones on its mobile Internet Website, 3g.ifeng.com; from a mobile operator's platform; by downloading its applications, and by opening a pre-installed application on their mobile devices. The Company provides and markets its MIVAS through cooperation with mobile operators, as well as various mobile device manufacturers, Internet sites, technology and media companies.
The Company�� 3g.ifeng.com Website is a modified version of its ifeng.com site reformatted for use on mobile devices and tailored to the preferences of its mobile users. 3g.ifeng.com allows its users to access ifeng.com and v.ifeng.com content. Similar to ifeng.com, its 3g.ifeng.com features an array of interest-based and interactive verticals, including news, stocks, micro-blog, user surveys, and digital reading, as well as a mobile video site for watching free mobile VOD.
The Company competes with NetEase.com, Inc., Sina Corporation, Sohu.com Inc., Tencent Technology Limited, Youku Tudou Inc., iqiyi.com, Sohu video, QQ video, PPlive.com, PPS.com, China Network Television, 3G Menhu, A8.com, and Kong Zhong Corporation, Wenxuecity.com, Duowei News and Yahoo!.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Belinda Cao]
Phoenix New Media Ltd. (FENG), a TV and Internet news outlet, gained 11 percent last week to $11.66 in New York, bringing its surge this year to 220 percent.
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