Top 5 Information Technology Companies To Own For 2014

Cetera Financial Group announced Thursday that it has appointed former TD Ameritrade chief information officer Mukesh Mehta as its new CIO.

He will join Cetera’s executive team and oversee all aspects of information technology for the network of four broker-dealers, which was just acquired in a $1.15 billion cash deal by Nicholas Schorsch’s broker-dealer holding company, RCS Capital Corp.

The new CIO’s experience includes the development and delivery of trading and order management platforms, market data, and middle and back office operations. Previously, Mr. Mehta was managing director and CIO for TD Ameritrade, where he led application development services for all of TD Ameritrade’s institutional business.

Best Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Xoom Corp (XOOM)

Xoom Corporation (Xoom), incorporated on October 10, 2012, is engaged in online international money transfer service. Its customers use Xoom to send money to family and friends in 30 countries. The Company generates revenue from transaction fees charged to customers and from foreign exchange spreads on transactions where the payout currency is other than United States dollars. In February 2014, Xoom Corp acquired BlueKite, LTD, a technology company that develops solutions and applications.

The Company�� solutions are designed to offer customers a convenient, fast and cost-effective way to send money to family and friends at any time, from any Internet-enabled location. The Company�� solutions include Origination, Funding, Disbursement and Transaction Processing.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Kell]

  Xoom Corp.(XOOM) swung to a fourth-quarter profit as the international money-transfer provider reported a jump in revenue. But the company’s full-year earnings outlook fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. Shares dropped 13% to $24.46 premarket.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading UP
  Xoom (NASDAQ: XOOM) shares shot up 21.68 percent to $23.97 after the company reported upbeat Q1 results and issued a strong FY14 outlook.

• [By Alex Planes]

  What: Shares of Xoom (NASDAQ: XOOM  ) have rocketed higher today and are now sitting 15% above yesterday's close after obliterating analyst estimates with strong earnings.

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap money transfer stock Euronet Worldwide, Inc (NASDAQ: EEFT) and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc (NYSE: WMT) have announced an exclusive money transfer service called "Walmart-2-Walmart,��meaning its time to take a closer look at the stock along with the performance of peers like Moneygram International Inc (NASDAQ: MGI), Xoom Corp (NASDAQ: XOOM) and The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) which fell 17.68%, 4.32% and 4.98%, respectively.

Top 5 Information Technology Companies To Own For 2014: Exxon Mobil Corporation(XOM)

Exxon Mobil Corporation engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, and manufacture of petroleum products, as well as transportation and sale of crude oil, natural gas, and petroleum products. The company manufactures and markets commodity petrochemicals, including olefins, aromatics, polyethylene and polypropylene plastics, and other specialty products. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 35,691 gross and 30,494 net operated wells. The company has operations in the United States, Canada/South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia/Oceania. Exxon Mobil Corporation was founded in 1870 and is based in Irving, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  5. Alaska
  Although Alaska doesn't have a statewide tax, it does have local option taxes that amount to an average rate of 1.69%. Alaska doesn't have an income tax, either, relying solely on property taxes for its sole means of support from individuals. The lion's share of state revenue, however, comes from royalties and oil tax revenue from ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM  ) , ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP  ) , and BP (NYSE: BP  ) , all of which have extensive operations in the state. Even recent tax cuts on those oil giants hasn't added to residents' share of the overall tax burden, and residents also receive checks from the Alaska Permanent Fund amounting to $878 per person in 2012.

• [By John Divine]

  The jitters from Asia also sent oil to four-month lows, and shares of ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM  ) slipped 2.8% as the price of oil dipped below $89 per barrel. Weak retail figures from the U.S. released earlier today meant that two of the world's largest oil-consuming economies may not have quite the demand for energy that markets have come to expect.

Top 5 Information Technology Companies To Own For 2014: Basilea Pharmaceutica AG (BSLN)

Basilea Pharmaceutica AG is a Switzerland-based company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. The Company focuses on pharmaceutical products in the therapeutic areas of bacterial infections, fungal infections and oncology. The Company has a range of drugs to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections, systemic fungal infections and drug-resistant tumors. The Company�� anti-infectives, including isavuconazole and ceftobiprole are in late-stage clinical development, while the novel antibiotic, BAL30072 and the oncology compound, BAL101553 are in clinical phase I. The Company�� subsidiaries include Basilea Pharmaceutica China Ltd., Basilea Pharmaceuticals A/S, Basilea Pharma SAS, Basilea Pharmaceutica Deutschland GmbH, Basilea Pharmaceutica International Ltd., BPh Investitionen Ltd., Basilea Medical Ltd. and Basilea Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  Basilea Pharmaceutica AG (BSLN) increased 2.1 percent to 107.10 francs. The Swiss drug developer said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted orphan-drug designation to its isavuconazole for the treatment of zygomycosis, a life-threatening fungal infection.

Top 5 Information Technology Companies To Own For 2014: Navios Maritime Partners LP (NMM)

Navios Maritime Partners L.P. (Navios Partners) is an international owner and operator of dry cargo vessels formed by Navios Holdings. Navios GP L.L.C. (the General Partner), a wholly owned subsidiary of Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (Navios Holdings) acts as the general partner of Navios Partners and received a 2% general partner interest in Navios Partners. Navios Partners is engaged in the seaborne transportation services of a range of drybulk commodities, including iron ore, coal, grain and fertilizer, chartering its vessels under medium to long-term charters. On May 19, 2011, Navios Partners acquired from Navios Holdings the Navios Orbiter, a 76,602 deadweight Panamax vessel. On May 19, 2011, Navios Partners acquired from Navios Holdings the Navios Luz. In June 2012, the Company purchased the Navios Buena Ventura, a 2010 South-Korean-built Capesize vessel of 179,259 dwt from Navios Maritime Holdings Inc.

The Company is an international owner and operator of drybulk carriers formed by Navios Maritime Holdings Inc., a vertically integrated seaborne shipping company. Its vessels are chartered-out under medium to long-term time charters with an average remaining term of approximately four years to a group of counterparties, consisting of Cosco Bulk Carrier Co. Ltd., Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., Samsun Logix, STX Panocean, Sanko Steamship Co. Ltd., Daiichi Chuo Kisen Kaisha, Augustea Imprese Maritime, Rio Tinto, Constellation Energy Group and Mansel.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� fleet consisted of 11 Panamax vessels, six Capesize vessels and one Ultra-Handymax vessel. Its fleet of dry cargo vessels has an average age of approximately 5.6 years. Panamax vessels are flexible vessels capable of carrying a range of drybulk commodities, including iron ore, coal, grain and fertilizer. All of its vessels operate under medium to long-term time charters of three or more years at inception with counterparties. It also operates vessels in the spot market until the vessels have! been fixed under appropriate medium to long-term charters.

The Company competes with China Ocean Shipping, China Shipping Group, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Kawasaki Kisen, Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Cargill, Pacific Basin Shipping, Bocimar, Zodiac Maritime, Louis Dreyfus/Cetragpa, Cobelfret and Torvald Klaveness.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Rapier]

  Some of our portfolio picks that are suitable for IRA accounts include Kinder Morgan (KMI), Williams (WMB), Targa Resources (TRGP) and Navios Maritime Partners (NMM).

• [By Nickey Friedman]

  It seems like everybody these days universally agrees that the dry bulk shipping market will get better at least in the short term. Executives from DryShips (NASDAQ: DRYS  ) , Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE: NMM  ) , Diana Shipping (NYSE: DSX  ) , and other carriers have voiced optimism about increased demand for 2014. Even if that optimism is realized, there is another very important factor to watch that could ruin the whole thing.

• [By Igor Greenwald]

  Our Aggressive Portfolio already includes one beneficiary of these trends��avios Maritime Partners (NMM), a partnership with 25 dry bulk carriers, and now, five newly-acquired container ships.