Best Quality Companies To Invest In Right Now

Capital In the Twenty-First Century ��The Cliff Notes

Unless you have been hiding out somewhere, you have probably heard about Thomas Piketty�� Capital In The Twenty-First Century.  If you don�� want to take the time to read the whole thing (It is on the longish side), you can get the gist of it in one of the appendices titled ��he Central Contradiction of Capitalism: r > g��

The inequality r > g implies that wealth accumulated in the past grows more rapidly than output and wages.  The inequality expresses a fundamental logical contradiction.  The entrepreneur inevitably tends to become a rentier, more and more dominant over those who own nothing but their labor.  Once constituted capital reproduces itself faster than output increases.  The past devours the future.

The History Lesson With Some Literature Thrown In

Much of the book is dedicated to explaining why the overwhelming force of inherited wealth contradicts much of the experience of the twentieth century.  Piketty points to typical novels in the 19th Century, particularly those of Jane Austen and Balzac, to show how overwhelming the influence of inheritance was on even the moderately prosperous.  It brought to my mind a discussion we had when I was a junior in high school.  We had read The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins and the thing that struck us more than anything was that none of the characters seemed to have jobs.  Mr. Canavan laughed and explained English gentry life to us.  As Piketty explains it, all that capital that had been accumulating for centuries was hit with a series of shocks beginning in 1914, so that in our lifetimes, most wealth was the result of recent accumulation.

Best Quality Companies To Invest In Right Now: The Fresh Market Inc.(TFM)

The Fresh Market, Inc. operates as a specialty grocery retailer. The company offers various perishable product categories, including meat, seafood, produce, deli, bakery, floral, sushi, and prepared foods; and non-perishable product categories, such as traditional grocery and dairy products, as well as specialty foods, which include bulk, coffee and candy, and beer and wine. As of March 20, 2012, it operated 115 stores in 21 states located in the southeast, midwest, mid-Atlantic, and northeast of United States. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Andrew Marder]

  The news was so good that Whole Foods' main national rival, The Fresh Market (NASDAQ: TFM  ) , got caught up in all the investor love, with its shares up 5%.

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  The Fresh Market (NASDAQ: TFM  ) also took one on the chin, falling 19% after an across-the-board poor quarterly earnings report. The Whole Foods�rival reported flat per-share profit growth at $0.23, missing estimates of $0.26. Sales also fell short, growing 13% to $364 million, and same-store sales improved only modestly by 3.1%. Management cited "increasingly challenging economic conditions" for the rough quarter, but the company's outlook also came up weak as the Fresh Market guided for full-year EPS of $1.42.-$1.47, below the consensus at $1.53. For a company that calls itself "high growth" and a stock that's priced similarly, Fresh Market will need bottom-line growth above 10% to keep shares from falling even more.

Best Quality Companies To Invest In Right Now: FLIR Systems Inc (FLIR)

FLIR Systems, Inc. (FLIR), incorporated on March 8, 1978, is a designer, manufacturer, and marketer of thermal imaging systems. The Company�� advanced sensors and integrated sensor systems enable the gathering and analysis of critical information through a range of applications in commercial, industrial, and government markets worldwide. Its business is organized into two divisions: Commercial Systems and Government Systems. Commercial Systems division includes Thermal Vision & Measurement and Raymarine. Government Systems division include Surveillance, Detection, and Integrated Systems. It offers a range of sensor products, including infrared imaging cameras and systems, detector cores, CBRNE threat detectors, test and measurement instruments, radars, maritime electronics, and related products and solutions. On December 20, 2012, the Company acquired Lorex Technology Inc. In December 2012, the Company acquired Traficon International NV. In August 2013, Tessera Technologies Inc announced that FLIR Systems, Inc. acquired a portion of the assets of Tessera's Micro-Optics business based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Thermal Vision & Measurement

Thermal Vision & Measurement (TVM) products are generally sold for applications where the customer need is to see at night or in adverse conditions or to image a scene while gathering valuable situational and temperature information. The Company�� infrared sensors business, which sells focal plane arrays and camera cores internally, as well as to third parties on an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) basis, is also part of TVM. Its thermal and visible light security products are used to protect critical infrastructure, ports, borders, commercial sites, and residential homes. The Company offers a night vision system for passenger automobiles that provides drivers with the ability to see at night and through obscurants, such as fog, at distances much further and wider than can be seen with traditional headlights. As of December 31, ! 2012, provide camera cores for certain Audi, BMW, and Rolls Royce models through its partnership with Autoliv Electronics, a supplier of automotive safety equipment. The Company offers an integrated suite of maritime electronics that utilizes multifunction displays, infrared cameras, depth sounders, GPS, auto pilots, and advanced command and control software.

The Company is engaged in providing advanced thermal imaging technology for consumer applications. It�� easy to use, affordable, and lightweight personal vision thermal cameras give people the ability to see at night. In the home, its cameras can be used for numerous household and security applications, such as locating heat leaks, evaluating insulation coverage, detecting water damage, identifying intruders, and locating pests. The Company supplies hand-held systems to the law enforcement market. The Company supplies cooled and uncooled camera cores, sensors, and readout integrated circuits on an OEM basis for a range of applications where customers require a product at a lower level of integration than a fully developed thermal imaging system.

In Thermal Measurement Markets thermal imaging systems are used for monitoring the condition of mechanical and electrical equipment. The company�� systems provide the ability to view thermal distribution in real time for products ranging in size from small hybrid integrated circuits to jet engines. Common applications include product development of microelectronics, cell phones, laptop computers, telecommunications equipment, consumer appliances, automotive components, and aircraft engines. Systems used in research and development applications require high imaging performance and measurement precision, coupled with extensive analysis and reporting software. Thermal imaging applications for manufacturing process control include applications where temperature consistency is critical, including monitoring the quality of metal, plastic and glass cast parts, which are highly depend! ent upon ! the temperature distribution in the mold; monitoring the quality of paper, which is dependent upon proper and even moisture distribution during the drying process; and monitoring the quality of products such as rubber gloves, which can be thermally examined to locate abnormally warm or cool spots, indicating non-uniform thickness that may result in a quality defect.

Infrared imagers can detect missing insulation, electrical faults, water intrusion and pest infiltration, can gauge energy efficiency, and can help detect the presence of moisture. Market segments include building diagnostics, energy auditing and home inspection, property and facility management, HVAC and plumbing, and moisture detection and restoration. Specially designed infrared systems can detect and image hydrocarbon gas emissions or leaks. It supplies trade professionals a range of test equipment to deliver high accuracy readings for the measurement of electricity, light, sound, temperature, humidity, airflow, revolutions per minute, and water quality. The Company offers fee-based training on the principles of thermography and the use of its products through ITC, its Infrared Training Center, which provides instruction, training, certification and applications engineering from several FLIR locations or at the customer�� site. It also licenses Infrared Training Centers to third parties in certain countries.

The Company competes with Danaher (Fluke), General Dynamics (Axsys), L-3 Communications, Sofradir (ULIS), Axis Communications, NEC and Testo.

Raymarine

Raymarine is a provider of marine electronics, and continues as a pioneer in the technologies that give boaters confidence on the water. The products that Raymarine develops and markets is intended to fulfill all of the marine electronic needs of recreational boaters and offer best-in-class integrated control solutions for all of their on-board instrumentation. Raymarine designs, develops, and markets electronics for the maritime market a! nd is a p! rovider of fully integrated stem to stern networked electronic systems for boats of many sizes. The business distributes its products through a network of independent distributors and retailers, as well as through its relationships with boat builders, providing both first fitment and aftermarket solutions.

The Company competes with Furuno, Garmin and Navico.

Surveillance

Surveillance focuses on providing enhanced vision and detection capabilities to a range of military, paramilitary, law enforcement, public safety, and other government customers. Its systems typically provide the capability to see over long distances, day or night, through adverse weather conditions, and from a range of vehicle, man portable, and fixed installation platforms. Typical applications include intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), force protection, drug interdiction, search and rescue, special operations, and target designation. Surveillance products are sold off-the-shelf or can be customized for specific applications and frequently incorporate additional sensors, including visible light cameras, radars, low light cameras, laser rangefinders, laser illuminators, and laser designators.

Surveillance offers a range of products across multiple applications. For airborne applications, it has developed highly stabilized platforms, known as gimbals, which typically contain multiple payloads in addition to the infrared imaging system, as well as sophisticated software and analytic capabilities. For land applications, it manufactures three types of products: hand-held products, platform mounted products, and targeting products. Platform mounted surveillance systems include imaging and radar solutions, which are typically housed in a weather-tight enclosure and feature remote control capabilities and multi-sensor integration capability. Hand-held products are ruggedized and have optional lenses and target location capabilities. Ground-based targeting products are designed t! o attach ! to existing daylight sights to provide bore-sighted, nighttime capabilities. For maritime applications, it manufacture shipborne products which are similar to its airborne gimbals, but are inverted and customized for the marine environment.

In Search and Rescue market thermal imaging systems are used in airborne nd shipborne search and rescue missions to rescue individuals in danger or distress on boats or vehicles, or wounded or lost in adverse conditions. Such systems are in use by organizations such as the United States Army, United States Coast Guard, the United States Marine Corps, the United States Air National Guard, and the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense. In Border and Maritime Patrol market thermal imaging systems are used in airborne, shipborne, hand-held and fixed installation applications for border and maritime surveillance, particularly at night, to enforce borders and coastal waters, to monitor national fishing boundaries and to prevent smuggling. Its cameras are deployed along numerous borders worldwide, including in the United States, Europe and the Middle East. In Surveillance and Reconnaissance market Thermal imaging systems are used in surveillance and reconnaissance applications for the precise positioning of objects or people from substantial distances and for enhanced situational awareness, particularly at night or in conditions of reduced or obscured visibility. It also offers high-resolution frequency-modulated continuous wave radars that enable wide-area surveillance capable of detecting potential threats before they cross a perimeter. These systems can be installed on fixed platforms, manned mobile platforms, and unmanned aerial vehicles.

The Company supplies airborne thermal imaging systems for federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Agencies with this type of equipment have the ability to track suspects, locate lost persons, and provide situational awareness to officers on the ground. It offers several products that provide precise t! arget loc! ation and designation capabilities in applications ranging from clip-on rifle scope devices to high-precision, stabilized, airborne laser designator systems. Thermal imaging systems enable government agencies to expand their drug interdiction and support activities by allowing greater surveillance and detection capabilities. The Company�� systems are in use by the United States Customs Service, the United States Drug Enforcement Agency and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as by foreign government agencies.

The Company competes with BAE Systems, DRS (a Finmeccanica company), Elbit Systems, General Dynamics, L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Sagem, Sofradir, and Thales.

Detection

The Company�� Detection segment provides capabilities in the development of advanced sensor technologies used to detect and identify CBRNE threats. The Detection segment is focused on developing technologies and products to penetrate a global market for advanced threat detection capabilities. Detection manufactures and markets the portable explosive detector, the smallest spectroscopic radiation detector, and the smallest hand-held Raman sensor.

The Company offer both indoor and outdoor biological air monitors that are used by various governmental agencies, including the United States Department of Defense, airport authorities, and the National Park Service, for layered security at facilities and events. Its explosives detection products are used to identify military-grade explosives and homemade explosive devices in a range of military and public safety applications, such as screening high-risk individuals at checkpoints, identifying improvised explosive device (IED) makers, and screening air passengers and baggage. Its radiation products protect the public by warning of radionuclide exposure and have been or are being used by the U.S. Department of Energy�� Nuclear Emergency Search Team, the New York Police Department, the Internat! ional Ato! mic Energy Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the United Kingdom�� Home Office Border and Immigration Agency.

The Company competes with Agilent Technologies, Canberra Industries, Idaho Technologies, NUCSAFE, SAIC, Smiths Detection, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and United Technologies.

Integrated Systems

Integrated Systems develops platform solutions for combating sophisticated security threats and incorporates multiple sensor systems in order to deliver actionable intelligence for wide area surveillance, intrusion detection, border security, and facility security. Integrated Systems incorporates advanced sensors from both the FLIR product suite and external vendors in order to design and manufacture adaptive and effective force protection, homeland security, and commercial solutions that are designed to save lives and protect critical assets. Integrated Systems utilizes an array of sensor technologies, such as radars, thermal imaging and visible light cameras, chemical detectors, radiation detectors, and command and control systems, provided by its other segments as well as from external parties, to create high value solutions for customers across the world.

Integrated Systems manufactures and markets several accurate mobile and fixed solutions for perimeter surveillance. The Cerberus mobile unmanned towers and manned SkyWatch towers are utilized for protecting borders, securing facilities, protecting forces, and safeguarding the public. These tower systems can be deployed in almost any environment and are fully networkable platform solutions that integrate various sensor suites, including infrared thermal or visible light cameras, ground surveillance radar, video motion detection, and unattended ground sensors. In addition, Integrated Systems offers open-source software that enables customers to command, control, and monitor their sensor networks. Cohesion is a flexible integration software enabling CBRNE sensors to be incorporated into standard command! and cont! rol software systems and is specifically designed to support or integrate with its or third-party advanced sensors and devices. Cameleon video integration software allows for advanced monitoring and control of video surveillance camera networks.

The Company competes with Boeing, Cobham, Honeywell, L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, Raytheon, SAIC, Telephonics, and Thales.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sue Chang and Saumya Vaishampayan]

  Flir Systems Inc. (FLIR) rallied 9.7% following the release of several new products at CES, including a thermal imaging system for smartphones.

Top 10 Dow Dividend Companies To Watch For 2015: PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund (UUP)

PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund (the Fund) is a separate series of PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Trust (the Trust). The Fund�� subsidiary is DB US Dollar Index Bullish Master Fund (the Master Fund), a separate series of DB US Dollar Index Bullish Master Trust (the Master Trust). The Fund offers common units of beneficial interest (the Shares) only to certain eligible financial institutions (the Authorized Participants) in one or more blocks of 200,000 Shares, called a Basket. The proceeds from the offering of Shares are invested in the Master Fund.

The Master Fund invests in futures contracts (the DX Contracts) with a view to tracking the changes, whether positive or negative, in the level of the Deutsche Bank US Dollar Index (USDX) Futures Index - Excess Return (Long Index) (referred to as the Long Index or the Index), over time. The Fund earns interest income from the United States Treasury obligations and other high credit quality short-term, fixed-income securities. The Index is calculated to reflect the changes in market value over time, whether positive or negative, of long positions in DX Contracts. DX Contracts are traded through the currency markets of ICE Futures U.S. under the symbol DX. The changes in market value over time, whether positive or negative, of the DX Contracts are related to the changes, whether positive or negative, in the level of the U.S. Dollar Index (the USDX). The Index provides a general indication of the international value of the United States dollar relative to the six major world currencies (the Index Currencies), which comprise the USDX, including Euro, Japanese Yen, British Pound, Canadian Dollar, Swedish Krona and Swiss Franc.

The Fund, through its Master Fund, establishes long positions in DX Contracts with a view to tracking the changes, whether positive or negative, in the level of the Index. The performance of the Fund also is intended to reflect the excess, if any, of its Master Fund�� interest income from its hol! dings of the United States Treasury obligations and other high credit quality short-term, fixed-income securities over the expenses of the Fund and the Master Fund. DB Commodity Services LLC serves as the managing owner, commodity pool operator and commodity trading advisor of the Fund and the Master Fund. DB Commodity Services LLC is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG. The Bank of New York Mellon serves as the administrator of the Fund and the Master Fund.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  The U.S. dollar was flat on the day with the PowerShares ETF (NYSE: UUP) that tracks the value of the dollar versus a basket of foreign currencies up 0.14 percent near the close.

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  The U.S. dollar was higher on the day, on news that the government shutdown is coming to an end. Near the close of equity trading, the PowerShares ETF (NYSE: UUP) that tracks the performance of the dollar versus a basket of foreign currencies, was up 0.18 percent to $21.70.

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  The U.S. dollar added value on Tuesday�� sell off. The PowerShares ETF (NYSE: UUP) that tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of foreign currencies, gained 0.07 percent to close at 21.57.

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  After taking a huge hit yesterday, the Dollar was mostly flat to finish out the week. At last check, the Powershares ETF (NYSE: UUP) which tracks the value of the US dollar versus a basket of foreign currencies moved up 0.02 percent to 21.45.

Best Quality Companies To Invest In Right Now: Nissan Motor Co Ltd (NSANY)

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. is engaged in the manufacturing, sales and related business of automotive products, industrial machinery and marine equipment. The Company has two business segments: automobile and sales financing. The automobile segment is engaged in the passenger cars, trucks, buses, forklifts, manufacturing parts for oversea production. The sales financing segment is engaged in credit, lease. The Sales financing segment consists of Nissan Financial Services Co., Ltd. (Japan), Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation (USA), NR Finance Mexico S.A. de C.V. SOFOM E.N.R (Mexico) and other seven companies, totaling 10 companies, and sales finance operations of Nissan Canada Inc. (Canada).

The Company has four production bases in Japan, United States, Spain, and Sweden, producing approximately 30,000 units annually for distribution in 85 countries. The Company has geographic operations in various countries, which include North America, Europe and Other. North America consists of The United States of America, Canada, and Mexico; Europe consists of France, The United Kingdom, Spain and other European countries, and Other, which includes Asia, Oceania, the Middle East, Central and South America excluding Mexico, and South Africa.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- A rising Japanese yen and weak results from Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) overnight sent Tokyo-listed shares lower in early Thursday trade, with the Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) falling 0.4% to 14,363.59, while the Topix also lost 0.4%. With the U.S. dollar remaining below the 98-yen level amid concerns about the health of China's largest banks, some currency-sensitive shares extended their losses after driving the Nikkei Average down 2% in the previous session. Among them, trading house Mitsui & Co. (JP:8031) (MITSY) fell 1.3%, retail major J. Front Retailing Co. (JP:3086) lost 1.2%, auto maker Nissan Motor Co. (JP:7201) (NSANY) retreated 0.6%, and Fujitsu Ltd. (JP:6702) (FJTSY) traded 1% lower. The below-forecast quarterly results and outlook cut from U.S. construction-equipment maker Caterpillar sent its Japanese rivals tumbling, with Komatsu Ltd. (JP:6301) (KMTUF) dropping 3.5% and Hitachi Construction Macheriny Co. (JP:6305) (HTCMF) falling 3.1%. On the upside, Hitachi Ltd. (JP:6501) (HTHIF) soared 5.4% after raising its profit and revenue guidance for the fiscal first hal

• [By Rahul Chattaraj]

  Search engine giant Google (GOOG) is also excited to come out with a driverless car. The company made seven ��elf-piloting��Toyota (TM) hybrid Prius which have already covered a total of 140,000 miles on road. Other than outfitting Toyota, Google has also developed self-driving cars for Audi�and Lexus. Japan-based Nissan (NSANY) and German giant Daimler are both working to make driverless cars.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  There's little doubt as to the two key factors that make the Prius, from Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM), and the Leaf, from Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:NSANY), so attractive to drivers - the tax incentive, and the lower operating costs of these vehicles relative to traditional combustion engines. And truth be told, the Leaf and the Prius as well as similar cars like the Volt and the Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model S have all truly performed as well as they were supposed to, even if they haven't redefined the automobile industry yet.

Best Quality Companies To Invest In Right Now: American Express Company(AXP)

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services worldwide. The company?s product portfolio consists of charge and credit card products; expense management products and services; consumer and business travel services; stored value cards, including travelers cheques and other prepaid products; network services; merchant acquisition and processing, point-of-sale, servicing and settlement, and marketing and information products and services for merchants; and fee services comprising market and trend analyses and related consulting services, fraud prevention services, and the design of customer loyalty and rewards programs. In addition, it publishes luxury lifestyle magazines; business and travel resources; general interest, cooking, travel, wine, cocktail, financial, and time management books; and international and electronic editions. The company sells its products and services to consumer s, small businesses, mid-sized companies, and large corporations through direct mail, on-line applications, targeted direct and third-party sales forces, and direct response advertising worldwide. American Express Company was founded in 1850 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Thursday

  Earnings Expected From: United Health Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH), Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT), General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB), Philip Morris Inc (NYSE: PM), Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG), American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) Economic Releases Expected: �German PPI, Canadian CPI, Chinese house price data

  Friday

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  American Express (NYSE: AXP  ) paced the blue chips' decline for the third time this week, falling 3% today to make its drop 6.5% for the week. Today, the credit card lender took it on the chin from Barclays, which downgraded AmEx from a buy equivalent to a hold. Analyst Mark DeVries said that American Express's growth seems to be moderating as net income increased just 2% in the latest quarter and it missed revenue expectations. Shares of the company had gone up more than 35% this year before this week's slide, and the recent decline and DeVries downgrade seem mostly valuation-based. No need to fret here.

• [By John Divine]

  American Express (NYSE: AXP  ) , like HP, posted a large single-day loss last week and is beginning to claw its way higher this week. The stock added 1.3% today, as Fitch Ratings shared what must have been a relieving insight for American Express shareholders. The reason the stock suddenly dropped last week was due to rumors of an EU Commission proposal that would cap interchange fees on card transactions. Today, the draft proposal was officially unveiled, and the ratings agency said the regulations would only minimally affect AmEx's profitability.

Best Quality Companies To Invest In Right Now: Energy Recovery Inc (ERII)

Energy Recovery, Inc. incorporated in April 1992, is engaged in developing, manufacturing and selling of energy recovery devices and circulation pumps primarily for uses in seawater desalination plants that use reverse osmosis technology. The Company's products are sold under the trademarks AquaBold, AquaSpire, ERITM, PXT, Pressure Exchanger, PX Pressure Exchanger, PEIT, Pump Engineering and Quadribaric. The Company develops and sells two main lines of energy recovery devices: PX pressures Exchanger devices and turbochargers. Each line includes a range of models and sizes to address the breadth of required process flow rates, plant designs and sizes. The company has two wholly owned subsidiaries: Energy Recovery Iberia, S.L. and ERI Energy Recovery Ireland Ltd. During the year ended December 2011, the Company merged three subsidiaries including, Osmotic Power, Inc.; Energy Recovery, Inc. International and Pump Engineering, Inc. into the parent company, Energy Recovery, Inc.

Energy recovery devices

The Company's PX offering includes: the PX-300 and PX-Q300; the 65 series (the PX-260, PX-220 and PX-180); the 4S series (PX-140S, PX-90S, PX-70S, PX-45S and PX-30S) and brackish PX devices (for the desalination of water with a lower concentration of salt than seawater). The Company's turbocharger offering includes: the HTCAT series (HTCAT-1800, HTCAT-2400, HTCAT-3600, HTCAT-4800, HTCAT-7200 and HTCAT-9600); the HALO line (HALO-50, HALO-75, HALO-100, HALO-150, HALO-225, HALO-300, HALO-450, HALO-500, HALO-600, HALO-900 and HALO-1200) and the LPT series for brackish water desalination applications (LPT-63, LPT-125, LPT-250, LPT-500, LPT-1000, LPT-2000 and LPT-3200).

High-pressure and Circulation pumps.

The Company manufactures and sells high-pressure feed, circulation and booster pumps for uses with its energy recovery devices in reverse osmosis desalination plants. The Company's line of pumps includes the AquaBold series (AquaBold 2x3x5, AquaBold 3x4x7 and ! AquaBold 4x6x9); the AquaSpire series (AquaSpire-300, AquaSpire-450, AquaSpire-600, AquaSpire-900, AquaSpire-1200, AquaSpire-1800, AaquaSpire-2400, AquaSpire-3600, AquaSpire-4800, AquaSpire-7200 and AquaSpire-9600) and a line of small circulation pumps.

Technical support and Replacement parts

The Company provides engineering and technical support to customers during product installation and plants commissioning. The Company also offers replacement parts and services for its PX devices and turbochargers. The Company's PX devices and turbochargers are also used to retrofit or replace older energy recovery devices in existing desalination plants.

The Company Competes with Flowserve Corporation (Flowserve) based in Irving, Texas and Fluid Equipment Development Company, Clyde Union Ltd., Duchting Pumpen Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co KG, KSB Aktiengesellschaft, Torishima Pump Mfg. Co., Ltd. and Sulzer Pumps, Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ant贸nio Costa]

  Energy Recovery, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERII) broke out of a small consolidation area with heavy volume and will likely have the attention of the swing-traders in the next days.

Best Quality Companies To Invest In Right Now: RDA Microelectronics Inc.(RDA)

RDA Microelectronics, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company, designs, develops, and markets radio-frequency and mixed-signal semiconductors for cellular, broadcast, and connectivity applications. Its products include power amplifiers, transceivers and front-end modules, FM radio receivers and transmitters, set-top box tuners, analog mobile television receivers, walkie-talkie transceivers, LNB satellite downconverters, and Bluetooth system-on-chips for mobile handsets. The company?s products also comprise GSM/EDGE power amplifier modules, GSM transceivers, TD-SCDMA transceivers, SCDMA transceivers, 3G switch modules, GSM power amplifier and switch modules, PHS transceivers, TD-SCDMA/GSM dual-mode transceivers, and radio frequency switches; DVB-T tuners, DVB-S and DVB-S2 satellite tuners, analog mobile television receiver system-on-chips, and FM radio receivers with radio data system; and Bluetooth + FM system-on-chips for mobile handsets and walkie-talkie transceivers for professional applications. Its products are incorporated into mobile handsets, set-top boxes, MP3 players, and other wireless and consumer electronic devices. RDA Microelectronics sells its products through distributors in the People?s Republic of China, southeast Asia, India, the Middle East, Africa, the Russian Federation, and Latin America. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anna Prior]

  RDA Microelectronics Inc.(RDA) agreed to be acquired by a unit of Chinese state owned Tsinghua Holdings Co. in a deal estimated at $910 million. RDA Microelectronics shareholders will receive $18.50 per American depositary share, a 5.5% premium to Friday’s close.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  RDA Microelectronics (NASDAQ: RDA) was also up, gaining 11.12 percent to $17.28 after the company announced the receipt of $18.00/ADS acquisition proposal from Tsinghua Unigroup.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  RDA Microelectronics Inc.(RDA) has received a takeover proposal from Shanghai Pudong Science & Technology Investment Co. valuing the Chinese semiconductor company at $745 million. PDSTI, a state-owned investment company, offered to buy RDA for $15.50 an American depositary share, a 12% premium to RDA’s closing price Thursday. RDA shares were halted premarket ahead of the news.

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  RDA Microelectronics (NASDAQ: RDA) shot up 11.96 percent to $15.54 after the company received a non-binding acquisition proposal.

  Finish Line (NASDAQ: FINL) got a boost, shooting up 9.02 percent to $24.41 after the company reported a 6.1 percent rise in its fiscal second-quarter earnings.

Best Quality Companies To Invest In Right Now: Sapient Corporation(SAPE)

Sapient Corporation helps clients to leverage marketing and technology to transform their businesses in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: SapientNitro, Sapient Global Markets, and Sapient Government Services. The SapientNitro segment offers Web and interactive development, traditional advertising, media planning and buying, strategic planning and marketing analytics, and multi-channel commerce strategy and solutions, including a focus on mobile, and content and asset management strategies and solutions. This segment also provides integrated marketing and creative services, such as visual concept, design, and implementation through multiple media; brand building and direct response programs, audience segmentation, and profiling strategies; customer loyalty strategies; customer relationship strategy and implementation; customer lead generation and management; and integrated advertising campaigns. The Sapient Global Markets segment offers i ntegrated advisory, program management, analytics, technology, and operations services to capital and commodity markets. This segment also provides business and information technology strategy, process and system design, program management, custom development and package implementation, systems integration, and outsourced services to financial services and energy services markets. The Sapient Government Services segment offers digital marketing strategy and execution, program management, solution delivery, strategy, and communications and outreach services, as well as provides consulting, technology, and marketing services to the United States governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations. The company serves financial services, technology and communications, consumer, travel, automotive, energy services, government, health, and education sectors. Sapient Corporation was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

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 Sapient (Nasdaq: SAPE  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.