Top 10 Logistics Companies To Watch For 2015

Around the globe and Down Under it, L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL  ) landed a pair of new contracts this week.

On Thursday, the Australian Defence Force announced that it has signed two contracts with L-3's Oceania subsidiary, ordering up "off-the-shelf" satellite communications terminals.

Under the first contract, L-3 will supply the ADF with 51 portable satellite terminals, 30 deployment kits, spare parts, and test equipment for $32 million. This equipment will be delivered in 2014. Under the second, L-3 will provide integrated logistics support, engineering services, supply support services, maintenance services, and training in the use of the terminals for $7 million, payable over three years.

Commenting on the awards, Australian Minister for Defence Material Dr. Mike Kelly explained that the new equipment will enable "linking of sensors, weapon systems, and commanders to their respective command and control systems" through technology certified for use on the Wideband Global Satellite System.

Top 10 Logistics Companies To Watch For 2015: Saks Incorporated(SKS)

Saks Incorporated operates retail stores in the United States. Its stores offer an assortment of fashion apparel, shoes, accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, and gifts. The company operates stores under the brand name of Saks Fifth Avenue (SFA) that are principally free-standing stores in shopping destinations or anchor stores in upscale regional malls. It also operates Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH (OFF 5TH) stores, which are primarily located in upscale mixed-use and off-price centers. As of January 28, 2012, the company operated 46 SFA stores; and 60 OFF 5TH stores. Saks Incorporated also sells its products online at saks.com, as well as through catalogs. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  The own of upscale retailer Lord & Taylor is adding another luxury nameplate to its portfolio. Canadian shop Hudson's Bay will buy Saks (NYSE: SKS  ) , the two retailers jointly announced, in a deal valued at about $2.9 billion, including debt.

• [By Andrew Marder]

  Earlier this week, the New York Post reported that high-end retailer Saks (NYSE: SKS  ) had brought in Goldman Sachs to explore a possible sale. The company also reported its first-quarter results, and is looking fairly strong. Comparable sales grew, and earnings per share�hit analyst expectations. The combination of quarterly results and sale rumors conspired to push the stock up 11% yesterday, and overnight it rose another 18%. Is this the right time for Saks to sell, and if so, what should investors be on the lookout for?

• [By Paul Ausick]

  The only earnings reports of note since last Friday came from Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) which is trading down 0.2% at $15.99.

  Before markets open Tuesday morning we are scheduled to hear results from Perfect World Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: PWRD), Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN), Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) which announced a new video app today, Best Buy Co. Inc (NYSE: BBY) which is included in our preview of this week�� results from retailers, Dick�� Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS), Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD), J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP), and Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL).

Top 10 Logistics Companies To Watch For 2015: Spdr Nuveen Barclays Capital Short Term Municipal Bond Etf (SHM)

SPDR Nuveen Barclays Short Term Municipal Bond ETF (the Fund), formerly SPDR Nuveen Barclays Capital Short Term Municipal Bond ETF, correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Barclays Capital Managed Money Municipal Short Term Index (the Index). The Fund uses a passive management strategy designed to track the Index. The Index tracks publicly traded municipal bonds that cover the United States dollar-denominated, short-term tax exempt bond market, including state and local general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, insured bonds and pre-refunded bonds. The Fund�� investment manager is SSgA Funds Management, Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Todd Rosenbluth]

  Fortunately, there are some short-term muni ETFs to choose from. The largest is SPDR Nuveen Barclays Short-Term Muni Bond (SHM). About 65% of the bonds inside have a AA rating, with most of the remaining ones having a AAA rating.

Hot Undervalued Companies To Buy Right Now: iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB)

iShares JPMorgan USD Emerging Markets Bond Fund (the Fund) is a non-diversified fund. The investment objective of the Fund is to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of a specified benchmark index (the Underlying Index) representing a segment of emerging countries bond markets. The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in fixed-income securities that comprise the Underlying Index. The Fund operates as an index fund and will not be actively managed. The adverse performance of a security in the Fund�� portfolio will ordinarily not result in the elimination of the security from the Fund�� portfolio. The Fund is managed by Barclays Global Fund Advisors (BGFA), a subsidiary of iShares JPMorgan USD Emerging Markets Bond Fund (BGI).

The Fund generally will invest at least 90% if its assets in the securities of its Underlying Index. However, the Fund may at times invest up to 20% of its assets in certain futures, options and swap contracts, cash and cash equivalents, including money market funds advised by BGFA, as well as in high-yield corporate bonds not included in its Underlying Index. iShares JPMorgan USD Emerging Markets Bond Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in the United States-denominated bonds issued by sovereign and quasi-sovereign entities of emerging market countries. The Fund may invest in short-term instruments, including money market instruments, on an ongoing basis to provide liquidity or for other reasons.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Saumya Vaishampayan]

  The iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond Exchange-Traded Fund (EMB) fell 0.6% to end at $107.55. �

Top 10 Logistics Companies To Watch For 2015: CommVault Systems Inc. (CVLT)

CommVault Systems, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides data and information management software applications and related services primarily in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company develops, markets, and sells a suite of software applications and services under the Simpana brand. Its Simpana software suite includes solution for the backup and restoration of enterprise data for file systems, applications, databases, and virtual machine systems; integrated data archiving solution that optimizes data tiering and improves information governance; and enterprise-wide storage optimization for email and files reducing space on primary storage. The company also provides solutions for protection of critical applications and data with snapshots and real-time replication; solutions to analyze, discover, track, trend, and report on physical and virtual storage usage; and Web browser, which allows search, sort, select, and retrieval of corporate files and in formation from online, archive, and backup data copies. In addition, it offers assessment and design, implementation and post-deployment, training, consulting, and customer support services. The company markets and sells its software applications and related services directly to large enterprises, small and medium sized businesses, and government agencies, as well as indirectly through a network of value-added reseller partners, systems integrators, corporate resellers, and original equipment manufacturers. It licenses its software applications to customers in various industries, including banking, insurance and financial services, government, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and medical services, technology, legal, manufacturing, utilities, and energy. The company has strategic relationships with Dell, Inc.; Hitachi Data Systems; and NetApp. CommVault Systems, Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Oceanport, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Top losers in the sector included CommVault Systems (NASDAQ: CVLT), off 28 percent, and Mellanox Technologies (NASDAQ: MLNX), down 13 percent.

  Top Headline
  Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) reported a drop in its first-quarter profit. Ford's quarterly profit slipped to $989 million, or $0.24 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $1.61 billion, or $0.40 per share. Its revenue rose to $35.9 billion versus $35.6 billion. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $0.31 per share on revenue of $34.54 billion.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  CommVault Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT) announced last week the industry’s first virtual machine (VM) intelligent archiving capability to help enterprises and service providers eliminate VM sprawl and regain control of virtual infrastructure resources. VM sprawl results from pervasive deployment and growth of virtual machines, some of which then sit unutilized long after their useful lives. The consensus price target for this intriguing mid cap name is $88.50.

• [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 CommVault Systems (Nasdaq: CVLT  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top 10 Logistics Companies To Watch For 2015: Performance Technologies Incorporated(PTIX)

Performance Technologies, Incorporated manufactures and supplies network communications solutions to carrier, government, defense, and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) markets. The company offers a suite of SEGway signaling solutions, including IP-centric STPs, gateways, edges, and network applications that provide signaling, routing, IP migration, gateway capabilities, SIP bridging, and core-to-edge distributed intelligence. It also provides IPnexus application-ready systems, which are IP-native integrated platforms and element management systems; Xpress, a portfolio of SIP-based applications and enabling infrastructure for next-generation network architectures; and universal signaling point and SP2000 products. The company markets its products through its direct sales forces, as well as through OEMs, value added resellers, distributors, and systems integrators worldwide. Performance Technologies, Incorporated was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Rochester, Ne w York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another stock that's starting to move within range of a big breakout trade is Performance Technologies (PTIX), which is a supplier of advanced network communications solutions to carrier, government and OEM markets. This stock has been red hot so far in 2013, with shares up huge by 275%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Performance Technologies, you'll notice that this stock has been trending sideways and consolidating for the last three months and change, with shares moving between $2.50 on the downside and $3.97 on the upside. Shares of PTIX have now started to spike higher back above its 50-day moving average of $2.92 a share with bullish upside volume flows. This spike is quickly pushing shares of PTIX within range of triggering a big breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern.

  Market players should now look for long-biased trades in PTIX if it manages to break out above some key overhead resistance levels at $3.40 to $3.79 a share, and then once it takes out its 52-week high at $3.97 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 167,669 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then PTIX will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $6 to $7 a share.

  Traders can look to buy PTIX off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support around $2.50 a share. One can also buy PTIX off strength once it clears those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [By Ben Fox Rubin]

  Sonus Networks Inc.(SONS) agreed to buy Performance Technologies Inc.(PTIX), a supplier of network communications products, for $3.75 a share, a 26% premium of Thursday’s close, or $42 million. The companies said the deal was worth $30 million, net of Performance Technologies’ cash and excluding acquisition costs. Performance Technologies shares jumped 24% to $3.70 premarket, just under the offer price.

Top 10 Logistics Companies To Watch For 2015: CenterPoint Energy Inc (CNP)

CenterPoint Energy, Inc., incorporated on February 2, 2001, is a domestic energy delivery company. The Company�� business segments include Electric Transmission and Distribution, Natural Gas Distribution, Competitive Natural Gas Sales and Services, Interstate Pipelines, Field Services and Other Operations. The Company serves metered customers primarily in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. The company also owns a 58.3% interest in a midstream partnership it jointly controls with OGE Energy Corp. with operations in natural gas and liquids-rich producing areas of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana.

The Company is a public utility holding company. The Company�� indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries include CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC (CenterPoint Houston), which engages in the electric transmission and distribution business in a 5,000-square mile area of the Texas Gulf Coast that includes the city of Houston and CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp. (CERC Corp. and, together with its subsidiaries, CERC), which owns and operates natural gas distribution systems in six states. Subsidiaries of CERC Corp. own interstate natural gas pipelines and gas gathering systems and provide various ancillary services. A wholly owned subsidiary of CERC Corp. offers variable and fixed-price physical natural gas supplies primarily to commercial and industrial customers and electric and gas utilities.

Electric Transmission & Distribution

CenterPoint Houston is a transmission and distribution electric utility that operates wholly within the state of Texas. CenterPoint Houston delivers electricity from power plants to substations, from one substation to another and to retail electric customers taking power at or above 69 kilovolts in locations throughout CenterPoint Houston's certificated service territory. CenterPoint Houston constructs and maintains transmission facilities and provides transmission services under tariffs approved by the Pu! blic Utility Commission of Texas (Texas Utility Commission).

In the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT), end users purchase their electricity directly from certificated REPs. CenterPoint Houston delivers electricity for REPs in its certificated service area by carrying lower-voltage power from the substation to the retail electric customer. CenterPoint Houston's distribution network receives electricity from the transmission grid through power distribution substations and delivers electricity to end users through distribution feeders. CenterPoint Houston's operations include construction and maintenance of distribution facilities, metering services, outage response services and call center operations. CenterPoint Houston provides distribution services under tariffs approved by the Texas Utility Commission. Texas Utility Commission rules and market protocols govern the commercial operations of distribution companies and other market participants.

CenterPoint Houston is a member of ERCOT. Within ERCOT, prices for wholesale generation and retail electric sales are unregulated, but services provided by transmission and distribution companies, such as CenterPoint Houston, are regulated by the Texas Utility Commission. ERCOT serves as the regional reliability coordinating council for member electric power systems in of Texas. ERCOT membership is open to consumer groups, investor and municipally-owned electric utilities, rural electric cooperatives, independent generators, power marketers, river authorities and REPs. The ERCOT market includes of the State of Texas, other than a portion of the panhandle, portions of the eastern part of the state bordering Arkansas and Louisiana and the area in and around El Paso.

ERCOT market operates under the reliability standards set by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). These reliability standards are administered by the Texas Regi! onal Enti! ty (TRE), a functionally independent division of ERCOT. The Texas Utility Commission has primary jurisdiction over the ERCOT market to ensure the adequacy and reliability of electricity supply across the state's main interconnected power transmission grid. The ERCOT independent system operator (ERCOT ISO) is responsible for operating the bulk electric power supply system in the ERCOT market. The ERCOT ISO also serves as agent for procuring ancillary services for those members who elect not to provide their own ancillary services.

CenterPoint Houston's electric transmission business, along with those of other owners of transmission facilities in Texas, supports the operation of the ERCOT ISO. The transmission business has planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance responsibility for the portion of the transmission grid and for the load-serving substations it owns, primarily within its certificated area. CenterPoint Houston participates with the ERCOT ISO and other ERCOT utilities to plan, design, obtain regulatory approval for and construct new transmission lines necessary to increase bulk power transfer capability and to remove existing constraints on the ERCOT transmission grid.

CenterPoint Houston's integrated utility business was restructured in accordance with the Texas electric restructuring law and its generating stations were sold to third parties. CenterPoint Houston serves nearly all of the Houston/Galveston metropolitan area. At December 31, 2012, CenterPoint Houston's customers consisted of approximately 75 REPs, which sell electricity to over two million metered customers in CenterPoint Houston's certificated service area, and municipalities, electric cooperatives and other distribution companies located outside CenterPoint Houston's certificated service area. All of CenterPoint Houston's properties are located in Texas. Its properties consist primarily of high-voltage electric transmission lines and poles, distribution lines, substations, service ce! nters, se! rvice wires and meters.

As of December 31, 2012, CenterPoint Houston owned 28,011 pole miles of overhead distribution lines and 3,713 circuit miles of overhead transmission lines, including 373 circuit miles operated at 69,000 volts, 2,124 circuit miles operated at 138,000 volts and 1,216 circuit miles operated at 345,000 volts. As of December 31, 2012, CenterPoint Houston owned 21,151 circuit miles of underground distribution lines and 26 circuit miles of underground transmission lines, including two circuit miles operated at 69,000 volts and 24 circuit miles operated at 138,000 volts. As of December 31, 2012, CenterPoint Houston owned 233 substation sites having a total installed rated transformer capacity of 54,325 megavolt amperes. CenterPoint Houston operates 14 regional service centers located on a total of 291 acres of land. These service centers consist of office buildings, warehouses and repair facilities that are used in the business of transmitting and distributing electricity.

Natural Gas Distribution

CERC Corp.'s natural gas distribution business (Gas Operations) engages in regulated intrastate natural gas sales to, and natural gas transportation for, approximately 3.3 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. The largest metropolitan areas served in each state by Gas Operations are Houston, Texas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Little Rock, Arkansas; Shreveport, Louisiana; Biloxi, Mississippi; and Lawton, Oklahoma. Gas Operations also provides unregulated services in Minnesota consisting of heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment and appliance repair, and sales of HVAC, hearth and water heating equipment. Gas Operations actively engages in commodity price stabilization pursuant to annual gas supply plans presented to and/or filed with each of its state regulatory authorities. Gas Operations uses various third-party storage services or owned natural ga! s storage! facilities to meet peak-day requirements and to manage the daily changes in demand due to changes in weather and may also supplement contracted supplies and storage from time to time with stored liquefied natural gas and propane-air plant production.

Gas Operations owns and operates an underground natural gas storage facility with a capacity of seven billion cubic feet It has a working capacity of two billion cubic feet available for use during a normal heating season and a maximum daily withdrawal rate of 50 million cubic feet . It also owns nine propane-air plants with a total production rate of 200,000 Dekatherms per day and on-site storage facilities for 12 million gallons of propane (one billion cubic feet natural gas equivalent). It owns a liquefied natural gas plant facility with a 12 million-gallon liquefied natural gas storage tank (one billion cubic feet natural gas equivalent) and a production rate of 72,000 Dekatherms per day. Gas Operations has entered into various asset management agreements associated with its utility distribution service in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. As of December 31, 2012, Gas Operations owned approximately 72,000 linear miles of natural gas distribution mains, varying in size from one-half inch to 24 inches in diameter. Generally, in each of the cities, towns and rural areas served by Gas Operations, it owns the underground gas mains and service lines, metering and regulating equipment located on customers' premises and the district regulating equipment necessary for pressure maintenance.

Interstate Pipelines

CERC's pipelines business operates interstate natural gas pipelines with gas transmission lines primarily located in Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. CERC's interstate pipeline operations are primarily conducted by two wholly owned subsidiaries that provide gas transportation and storage services primarily to industrial customers and local distribution companies, includ! ing Cente! rPoint Energy Gas Transmission Company, LLC (CEGT) is an interstate pipeline that provides natural gas transportation, natural gas storage and pipeline services to customers principally in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas and includes the 1.9 billion cubic feet per day pipeline from Carthage, Texas to Perryville, Louisiana, which CEGT operates as a separate line with a fixed fuel rate, and CenterPoint Energy-Mississippi River Transmission, LLC (MRT) is an interstate pipeline that provides natural gas transportation, natural gas storage and pipeline services to customers principally in Arkansas, Illinois and Missouri. CenterPoint Southeastern Pipelines Holding, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of CERC, owns a 50% interest in Southeast Supply Header, LLC (SESH). SESH owns a one billion cubic feet per day, 274-mile interstate pipeline that runs from the Perryville Hub in Louisiana to Coden, Alabama.

Field Services

CERC's field services business operates gas gathering, treating and processing facilities and also provides operating and technical services and remote data monitoring and communication services. CERC's field services operations are conducted by a wholly owned subsidiary, CenterPoint Energy Field Services, LLC (CEFS), and subsidiaries of CEFS. CERC's field services business provides natural gas gathering and processing services for certain natural gas fields in the Mid-continent region of the United States that interconnect with CEGT's and MRT's pipelines, as well as other interstate and intrastate pipelines. As of December 31,2012, CERC's field services business gathered an average of approximately 2.4 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas. In addition, CERC's field services business has the capacity available to treat up to 2.5 billion cubic feet per day and process 625 million cubic feet per day of natural gas. CEFS, through its ServiceStar operating division, provides remote data monitoring and communications services to affiliates and third parties. CERC's ! field ser! vices business owns and operates approximately 4,600 miles of gathering lines and processing plants that collect, treat and process natural gas primarily from three regions located in producing fields in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.

Other Operations

The Company�� other operations business segment includes office buildings and other real estate. It is used in its business operations and other corporate operations that support all of its business operations.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Rapier]

  Last month in Play Ball: More IPOs on Deck, I mentioned that the next master limited partnership to IPO could be Enable Midstream Partners (NYSE: ENBL). Enable Midstream was formed in May 2013 as a joint venture by affiliates of CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP), OGE Energy (NYSE: OGE) and ArcLight Capital Partners.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Utilities shares gained around 0.83 percent in today’s trading. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Consolidated Water Co (NASDAQ: CWCO), up 4.3 percent, CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP), up 2.1 percent.

Top 10 Logistics Companies To Watch For 2015: Farmer Brothers Company(FARM)

Farmer Bros. Co. engages in the manufacture, wholesale, and distribution of coffee, tea, and culinary products. Its product line includes roasted coffee; liquid coffee; and coffee related products, such as coffee filters, sugar and creamers, assorted teas, cappuccino, cocoa, spices, gelatins and puddings, soup, gravy and sauce mixes, pancake and biscuit mixes, and jellies and preserves. The company distributes its products through direct and brokered sales to institutional foodservice establishments, including restaurants, hotels, casinos, hospitals, and foodservice providers, as well as retailers, such as convenience stores, coffee houses, general merchandisers, private label retailers, and grocery stores in the United States. Farmer Bros. Co. was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Torrance, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Monday

  Earnings Releases Expected: Diamond Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND), Farmer Brothers Company (NASDAQ: FARM) Economic Releases Expected: US Chicago PMI

  Tuesday

Top 10 Logistics Companies To Watch For 2015: Market Vectors Russia ETF (RSX)

Market Vectors-Russia ETF (the Fund) seeks to replicate as closely as possible the price and yield performance of the DAXglobal Russia+ Index (the Russia+ Index). The Russia+ Index includes a basket of securities of 30 of the most heavily traded Russian companies that have listings on global exchanges, either through an American depository receipt (ADR), a global depository receipt (GDR) or local Russian shares. The Russia+ Index, which was launched in March 2007, is a modified market capitalization-weighted index designed to track the movements of certain depository receipts (DRs) and stocks of publicly traded companies that are domiciled in Russia, and traded in Russia and on global exchanges. The Russia+ Index consists of companies with market capitalization greater than $150 million that have a daily average traded volume of at least $1 million over the past six months. The Russia+ Index includes energy companies, such as Lukoil, OAO Gazprom and Surgutneftgaz; utility company, Unified Energy Systems; steel manufacturing firms, such as Mechel OAO and Evraz Group SA; mining firm, JSC MMC Norilsk Nickel; communications firms, such as Mobile TeleSystems OJSC and Vimpel-Communications, and Sberbank.

The Fund will normally invest at least 80% of its total assets in stocks and depositary receipts (DRs) of publicly traded companies that are domiciled in Russia. Publicly traded companies that are domiciled in Russia means companies organized in, or for which the principal trading market is in Russia; companies that, alone or on a consolidated basis, have 50% or more of their assets invested in Russia, or companies that alone or on a consolidated basis derive 50% or more of their revenues primarily from either goods produced, sales made or services performed in Russia. The Fund, utilizing a passive or indexing investment approach, attempts to approximate the investment performance of the Russia+ Index by investing in a portfolio of securities that generally replicate the Russia+ Index. The Fund! will hold all of the securities that comprise the Russia+ Index in proportion to their weightings in the Russia+ Index. The Fund will normally invest at least 95% of its total assets in securities that comprise the Russia+ Index. The Russia+ Index is calculated and maintained by the Deutsche Borse (the Index Provider).

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Halia Pavliva]

  The Market Vectors Russia ETF (RSX), the biggest U.S.-traded exchange-traded fund that holds Russian shares, dropped 0.4 percent to $29.56, paring its October gain to 4.9 percent. The RTS Volatility Index, which measures expected swings in the index futures, added 4 percent to 23.48 in U.S. hours.

• [By Steven Russolillo]

  The Market Vectors Russia ETF Trust(RSX) (ticker symbol RSX) dropped 9% to $22.25, on more than three times its average daily trading volume, according to FactSet.

• [By Louis Navellier]

  It is surreal to see how depressed Russian shares are, in general. They are still underwater since 2007, as measured by the Market Vectors Russia ETF (RSX) ��charted above vs. the S&P 500 ETF (SPY). The Russian economy has grown significantly since then, and so have the earnings and revenues of the mainstream Russian companies.

• [By Matthew McCall]

  Market Vectors Russia ETF (NYSE: RSX)

  The Ukraine/Russia conflict heightened this weekend and some experts are predicting an all-out war over Crimea. On Monday morning the MICEX Index was lower by eight percent and the Russian Ruble was tumbling. The largest Russian ETF in the U.S. is RSX, which was already down 2.4 percent last Friday. Investors can expect massive selling for the ETF today on the open.

Top 10 Logistics Companies To Watch For 2015: Insulet Corporation(PODD)

Insulet Corporation, a medical device company, engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of insulin infusion systems for people with insulin-dependent diabetes in the United States. The company offers OmniPod Insulin Management System (OmniPod System), which consists of the OmniPod disposable insulin infusion device and the handheld wireless personal diabetes manager to provide diabetes management solution for people with insulin-dependent diabetes. It is also involved in the distribution of durable medical equipment, including blood glucose testing supplies, insulin pumps, pump supplies, pharmaceuticals, and other products for the management and treatment of diabetes. The company sells its OmniPod System directly to patients through referrals from healthcare professionals and through patient leads, as well as through third-party distributors; and delivers durable medical equipment to endocrinologists, insurers, and clients. Insulet Corporation was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James Brumley]

  And just for the record, theme-based buyout speculation doesn’t improve your chances of picking an acquisition target. Back in 2012 after Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) bought Amylin for control of its diabetes pipeline following the purchase of Neighborhood Diabetes by Insulet (PODD), pundits were sure it would spark a wave of other diabetes-driven acquisitions. Those other M&A candidates began getting bid up, but as it turns out, no more meaningful buyouts materialized in the diabetes space.

• [By Rich Smith]

  This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense, and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines feature a pair of downgrades for document storage company Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM  ) and insulin treatments-equipment maker Insulet (NASDAQ: PODD  ) . But the headlines aren't all bad, so before we break the bad news to you, let's start off on a bright note about...

Top 10 Logistics Companies To Watch For 2015: Zions Bancorporation(ZION)

Zions Bancorporation, a multi bank holding company, provides various banking and related products and services in the United States. The company offers community banking services, including small and medium-sized business and corporate banking; commercial and residential development, construction, and term lending; retail banking; treasury cash management and related products and services; residential mortgage; trust and wealth management; and investment activities. It also provides personal banking services to individuals, including home mortgages, bankcard, installment loans, home equity lines of credit, checking accounts, savings accounts, time certificates, safe deposit facilities, direct deposits, and automated teller machine access. In addition, the company offers small business administration lending services; secondary market agricultural real estate mortgage loans; municipal finance advisory and underwriting services; and wealth management and online brokerage ser vices. As of December 31, 2010, Zions Bancorporation offered its banking services through 495 branches in Utah, California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and New Mexico. The company was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Finally, Zions Bancorp (NASDAQ: ZION  ) , which primarily provides banking and lending services to communities and businesses west of the Rocky Mountains, gained 2%, while the remainder of its peers sank like a stone. It's a bit difficult to decipher why Zions jumped, given that there's no company-specific news out today, but it very well could have to do with the fact that it ignores high-risk, high-reward derivatives and sticks to the "boring" aspects of deposit and loan growth. Although its loan growth could suffer if lending rates rise, it'll receive higher yields on its deposited money, and could see a rapid uptick in deposits.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Each month, Credit Suisse’s small-cap strategists ask the firm’s analyst to name their favorite small- and mid-cap stocks. This month, six new stocks made the list: RPM International (RPM), SunCoke Energy (SXC), Zions Bancorp (ZION), Signature Bank (SBNY), Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and�Rexnord (RXN).

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ: ZION  ) is continuing to dispense shareholder payouts from its till. The company has declared its latest set of dividends, most prominently a $0.04 per share of common stock payout to be distributed on Aug. 29 to holders of record as of Aug. 22. That amount matches the company's previous distribution, which was dispensed in late May. Before that, Zions paid $0.01 per share.

• [By Robert Eberhard]

  Zions Bancorp's (NASDAQ: ZION) first quarter earnings of $0.48 per share�were good enough to push the stock up just over 2% in early trading this morning, but that earnings tally is in the past. What's really important about Zions' release was what it says about the future, and I think that investors have three reasons it is now an even better buy than it was before.