Top Bank Companies To Own For 2014

In recent months, officials with the Bank of Canada (BoC) have repeatedly asserted that Canada’s economy is poised to shift from slackening domestic demand to an increase in exports and a corresponding rise in business investment. And based on the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest “World Economic Outlook,” the Washington, D.C.-based fund appears to be in agreement.

The main hitch, however, is that because the US is Canada’s largest trading partner, much of this economic transition is predicated on a strengthening US economy. Given the fact that the US is in the midst of a government shutdown, and that both political parties are digging in for a protracted budget negotiation, it appears increasingly likely that the shutdown could extend far longer than initially expected.

As we noted last week, for instance, economists at Goldman Sachs project that a shutdown that lasts as long as a month could pare as much as half a point from growth in fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) for the US. Meanwhile, most of the forecasts we’ve seen show the Canadian economy generally taking a hit that’s roughly half the magnitude of the one the US could suffer.

Top Bank Companies To Own For 2014: FirstMerit Corporation(FMER)

FirstMerit Corporation operates as the bank holding company for FirstMerit Bank, N.A. that provides a range of banking, fiduciary, financial, insurance, and investment services to corporate, institutional, and individual customers in northern and central Ohio, and western Pennsylvania. The company?s commercial business offers commercial term loans, revolving credit arrangements, asset-based lending, leasing, commercial mortgages, real estate construction lending, letters of credit, cash management services, and other depository products. Its retail business provides various financial products and services, including consumer direct and indirect installment loans, debit and credit cards, debit gift cards, residential mortgage loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, fixed and variable annuities, and ATM network services, as well as deposit products comprising checking, savings, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company?s wealth business provides a sset management, private banking, financial planning, estate settlement and administration, and credit and deposit products and services. FirstMerit Corporation also offers trust and investment services, including personal trust and planning, and investment management; retirement plan services; retail mutual funds, other securities, variable and fixed annuities, personal disability and life insurance products, and brokerage services; and private banking services, including credit, deposit, and asset management solutions. As of December 31, 2009, it operated a network of 160 full service banking offices and 182 ATMs. The company was founded in 1855 and is headquartered in Akron, Ohio.

Top Bank Companies To Own For 2014: Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation(AP)

Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation and its subsidiaries manufacture and sell custom-engineered equipment in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Forged and Cast Rolls, and Air and Liquid Processing. The Forged and Cast Rolls segment produces forged hardened steel rolls used in cold rolling for the producers of steel, aluminum, and other metals; and cast iron and steel rolls for hot and cold strip mills, medium/heavy section mills, and plate mills. The Air and Liquid Processing segment manufactures finned tube and plate finned heat exchange coils for the commercial and industrial construction, as well as for process and utility industries; custom air handling systems used in commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings; and a line of centrifugal pumps for the refrigeration, power generation, and marine defense industries. The company was founded in 1929 and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mae Anderson] ATLANTA (AP) ��Finding a knockoff version of the fur you want under the Christmas tree would ordinarily be a disappointment.

  Not this year.

• [By Anita Bruzzese]

  President Barack Obama embraces an unidentified woman Sept. 22, 2013, at a memorial service for the victims of the Washington Navy Yard shooting.(Photo: AP)

Top Small Cap Companies To Watch For 2014: HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC)

HSBC Holdings plc (HSBC), incorporated on January 1, 1959, is a global banking and financial services organizations. As of December 31, 2010, it provided a range of financial services to around 95 million customers through two customer groups, Personal Financial Services (PFS), including consumer finance, and Commercial Banking (CMB), and two global businesses, Global Banking and Markets (GB&M), and Global Private Banking (GPB). Its international network covers 87 countries and territories in six geographical regions; Europe, Hong Kong, Rest of Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, North America and Latin America. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had an international network of some 7,500 offices in 87 countries and territories in six geographical regions; Europe, Hong Kong, Rest of Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, North America and Latin America. PFS incorporates the Company�� consumer finance businesses, which include HSBC Finance Corporation (HSBC Finance). In April 2011, the Company closed its retail banking operation in Russia. In July 2011, the Company sold its unsecured written-off personal loan and credit card portfolio to J M Financial Asset Reconstruction Co. Pvt. Ltd. On May 20, 2012, HSBC Holdings PLC's wholly owned subsidiary HSBC Bank USA, N.A. and other wholly owned subsidiaries, sold 195 retail branches to First Niagara Bank, N.A. (First Niagara). In May 2012, the Company�� 70.03% owned subsidiary, HSBC Bank Malta plc, sold its card acquiring business to HSBC Merchant Services Ltd. In June 2012, the Company�� indirect wholly owned subsidiary, HSBC Iris Investments (Mauritius) Ltd, sold its 4.73% interest in Axis Bank Limited and 4.74% interest in Yes Bank Limited. In July 2012, its subsidiary, HSBC Europe (Netherlands B.V.), sold its 100% interest in HSBC Credit Zrt, to CentralFund Kockazati Tokealap. On March 31, 2013, Enstar Group Ltd�� subsidiary completed the acquisition from Household Insurance Group Holding Company of HSBC Insurance Company of Delaware and Household Life Insur! ance Company of Delaware, as well as its three subsidiary insurers.

The Company�� principal banking operations in Europe are HSBC Bank plc in the United Kingdom, HSBC France, HSBC Bank A.S. in Turkey, HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c., HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) S.A. and HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt AG. Through these operations it provides a range of banking, treasury and financial services to personal, commercial and corporate customers across Europe. HSBC�� banking subsidiaries in Hong Kong are The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited and Hang Seng Bank Limited.

The Company offers a range of banking and financial services in the People�� Republic of China, mainly through its local subsidiary, HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited. It also participates indirectly in the People�� Republic of China through its four associates. Outside Hong Kong and the People�� Republic of China, it conducts business in 22 countries and territories in the Rest of Asia-Pacific region, through branches and subsidiaries of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, with coverage in Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

In the Middle East, the Company has network of branches of HSBC Bank Middle East Limited, together with HSBC�� subsidiaries and associates. Its North American businesses are located in the United States, Canada and Bermuda. Operations in the United States are conducted through HSBC Bank USA, N.A., which is concentrated in New York State, and HSBC Finance, a national consumer finance company based near Chicago. HSBC Markets (USA) Inc. is the intermediate holding company of, inter alia, HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. HSBC Bank Canada and HSBC Bank Bermuda operate in their respective countries.

The Company�� operations in Latin America consists of HSBC Bank Brasil S.A.-Banco Multiplo, HSBC Mexico, S.A., HSBC Bank Argentina S.A. and HSBC Bank (Panama) S.A. In addition to banking services, it operates insurance businesses in Brazil, Mexi! co, Argen! tina, Panama and a range of smaller markets.

Personal Financial Services

PFS offers the Company�� products and services to customers based on their individual needs. Premier and Advance services are for customers who value international connectivity and benefit from its global reach and scale. It offers a range of banking products and services reflecting local requirements. In addition, it issues card globally, offering HSBC branded cards, co-branded cards with selected partners and private label (store) cards. Its customer offerings include personal banking products, including current and savings accounts, mortgages and personal loans, credit cards, debit cards and local and international payment services, and wealth management services, including insurance and investment products and financial planning services.

HSBC Premier provides preferential banking services to high net worth customers and their immediate families with a relationship manager, wealth advice and solutions. Customers can access emergency travel assistance, telephone banking and an online global view of their Premier accounts globally with free money transfers between them. HSBC Advance provides a range of preferential products and services customized to meet local needs. With a telephone service, access to wealth advice and online tools to support financial planning, it gives customers an online global view of their Advance accounts with money transfers between them. Wealth Solutions & Financial Planning process designed for global individual customer needs to help its clients to protect, grow and manage their wealth through investment and wealth insurance products manufactured by in-house partners, including Global Asset Management, Global Markets and HSBC Insurance, and by selected third party providers. During 2010, PFS provided 92 million individual and self-employed customers with financial services in over 60 markets globally.

Commercial Banking

The Company ! segments ! its CMB business into Corporate, to serve both Corporate and Mid-Market companies, and Business Banking, to serve the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME��) sector. It provides support to companies as they expand both domestically and internationally, and ensures a focus on the business banking segments. It offers a range of financing, both domestic and cross-border, including overdrafts, receivables finance, term loans and syndicated, leveraged, acquisition and project finance. Asset finance is offered in selected sites, focused on leasing and instalment finance for vehicles, plant and equipment. It is a provider of domestic and cross-border payments and collections, liquidity management and account services globally, delivered through its e-platform, HSBC net. It provides international trade products and services, to both buyers and suppliers, such as export finance, guarantees, documentary collections and forfeiting to improve efficiency and help mitigate risk throughout the supply chain.

CMB customers are volume users of its foreign exchange, derivatives and structured products. Capital markets & advisory is raising capital on debt and equity markets and provide advisory services. Commercial cards issuing helps customers enhance cash management, credit control and purchasing. Card acquiring services enable merchants to accept credit and debit card payments in person or remotely. CMB offers key person, employee benefits and a range of commercial risk insurance, such as property, cargo and trade credit. Direct channels include online and direct banking offerings, such as telephone banking, HSBCnet and Business Internet Banking.

Global Banking and Markets

GB&M provides tailored financial solutions to government, corporate and institutional clients and private investors globally. Managed as a global business, GB&M operates a long-term relationship management approach to build a understanding of clients��financial requirements. Sector-focused client service! teams co! nsisting of relationship managers and product specialists develop financial solutions to meet individual client needs. GB&M is managed as four principal business lines: Global Markets, Global Banking, Global Asset Management and Principal Investments.

Global Markets operations consist of treasury and capital markets services. Products include foreign exchange; currency, interest rate, bond, credit, equity and other derivatives; government and non-government fixed income and money market instruments; precious metals and exchange-traded futures; equity services; distribution of capital markets instruments, and securities services, including custody and clearing services and funds administration to both domestic and cross-border investors. Global Banking offers financing, advisory and transaction services. Its products include capital raising, advisory services, bilateral and syndicated lending, leveraged and acquisition finance, structured and project finance, lease finance and non-retail deposit taking; international, regional and domestic payments and cash management services; and trade services for large corporate clients.

Global Asset Management offers investment solutions to institutions, financial intermediaries and individual investors globally. Principal Investments includes its relationships with third-party private equity managers and other investments. GB&M is a global business, which provides financial solutions to government, corporate and institutional clients globally.

Global Private Banking

GPB works with the Company�� high net worth clients to offer ways to manage and preserve wealth. HSBC Private Bank is the principal marketing name of its international private banking business, GPB. GPB works with its clients to offer both ways to manage and preserve wealth while optimising returns. GPB accesses six advisory centers in Hong Kong, Singapore, Geneva, New York, Paris and London. Private Banking services consist of multi-currency depo! sit accou! nts and fiduciary deposits, credit and specialist lending, treasury trading services, cash management, securities custody and clearing. GPB works to ensure that its clients have access to other products and services available in HSBC, such as credit cards, Internet banking, corporate banking and investment banking.

Private Wealth Management consists of both advisory and discretionary investment services. A range of investment vehicles is covered, including bonds, equities, derivatives, options, futures, structured products, mutual funds and alternatives (hedge funds, private equity and real estate). Corporate Finance Solutions helps provide clients with solutions for their companies, working in conjunction with GB&M. Private Wealth Solutions consist of planning, trustee and other fiduciary services to protect wealth and preserve it for future generations. Its expertise includes trusts, foundation and company administration, charitable trusts and foundations, insurance, family office advisory and philanthropy.

Other

The Company�� Other contains the results of certain property transactions and unallocated investment activities. It also includes centrally held investment companies, movements in fair value of own debt, HSBC�� holding company and financing operations.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeff Reeves]

  The Dodge & Cox International Stock Fund (DODFX), one of the top 25 mutual funds by total assets, also has a 30% allocation in Europe. It owns stakes in German conglomerate Bayer (BAYRY) and the U.K. bank HSBC (HBC).

• [By Sara Sjolin]

  Banks were also broadly lower, with shares of Barclays PLC (UK:BARC) � (BCS) 1.3% lower, Standard Chartered PLC (UK:STAN) �down 0.8% and heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC (UK:HSBA) � (HBC) � (HK:5) �off 0.8%.

• [By Alan Oscroft]

  HSBC (LSE: HSBA  ) (NYSE: HBC  )
  Some of our financials have been having a good morning based on positive sentiment, with analyst upgrades sending a few of them upward. One is HSBC Holdings, whose share price has picked up 2.6%. The price has been higher, having hovered around 770 pence, but we are still looking at a gain of more than 25% over the past 12 months.

• [By Andrew Marder]

  The banks facing the first wave of investigation are Barclays (NYSE: BCS  ) , Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS  ) , HSBC (NYSE: HBC  ) , and Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE: LYG  ) . These companies are going to pay out something, as they've already admitted that rules were broken. The question remains -- how much will it cost?

Top Bank Companies To Own For 2014: Royal Bank Of Canada(RY)

Royal Bank of Canada provides personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, corporate and investment banking, and transaction processing services under the RBC name worldwide. Its Canadian Banking segment offers personal financial services, business financial services, and cards and payment solutions. The company?s Wealth Management segment provides wealth and asset management, and estate and trust services to affluent and high net worth clients through distributors, as well as directly to institutional and individual clients in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Its Insurance segment provides various life and health insurance, including universal life, accidental death and critical illness protection, disability, long-term care insurance, and group benefits; and property and casualty insurance comprising home, auto, and travel insurance, as well as wealth accumulation solutions; and reinsurance products through retail ins urance branches, call centers, independent insurance advisors and travel agencies, financial institutions, and career sales force. The company?s International Banking segment offers various financial products and services to individuals, business clients, and public institutions in the U.S. and Caribbean. This segment also provides global custody, fund and pension administration, securities lending, shareholder services, analytics, and other related services to institutional investors. Royal Bank of Canada?s Capital Markets segment engages in the trading and distribution of fixed income, foreign exchange, equities, commodities, and derivative products for institutional, public sector, and corporate clients; and involves in investment banking, debt and equity origination, advisory services, corporate lending, private equity, and client securitization businesses. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Lam]

  Canadian stocks rose for a fourth day, extending a two-year high, as Royal Bank (RY) of Canada soared to a record close and energy producers surged on accelerating economic growth in China.

Top Bank Companies To Own For 2014: State Street Corporation(STT)

State Street Corporation, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to institutional investors worldwide. The company?s Investment Servicing business line provides products and services, including custody, product- and participant-level accounting; daily pricing and administration; master trust and master custody; record-keeping; foreign exchange, brokerage, and other trading services; securities finance; deposit and short-term investment facilities; loan and lease financing; investment manager and alternative investment manager operations outsourcing; and performance, risk, and compliance analytics. This segment also offers shareholder services, which comprise mutual fund and collective investment fund shareholder accounting. Its Investment Management business line provides a range of investment management, investment research, and other related services, such as securities finance; and strategies for managing passive and active financ ial assets, such as enhanced indexing and hedge fund strategies for U.S. and global equities and fixed-income securities. The company serves mutual funds, collective investment funds and other investment pools, corporate and public retirement plans, insurance companies, foundations, endowments, and investment managers. State Street Corporation was founded in 1832 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  While the big banks and financial firms have already reported earnings, Greenhaus noted this week will see the largest number of financial sector firms reporting than any other week. More than 20 S&P 500 financial sector companies report including several insurers such as Dow component Travelers Cos. (TRV) , a number of real-estate investment trusts such as Simon Properties Group Inc. (SPG) , capital markets firms such as Franklin Resources Inc. (BEN) �and State Street Corp. (STT) , as well as exchange operator Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) �

What Are Hedge Funds?

Top 10 Bank Stocks For 2014

A hedge fund is basically a fancy name for an investment partnership. It's the marriage of a fund manager, which can often be known as the general partner, and the investors in the hedge fund, sometimes known as the limited partners. The limited partners contribute the money and the general partner manages it according to the fund's strategy. A hedge fund's purpose is to maximize investor returns and eliminate risk, hence the word "hedge." If these objectives sound a lot like the objectives of mutual funds, they are, but that is basically where the similarities end.

The name "hedge fund" came into being because the aim of these vehicles was to make money regardless of whether the market climbed higher or declined. This was made possible because the managers could "hedge" themselves by going long or short stocks (shorting is a way to make money when a stock drops).

Key Characteristics

1. Only open to "accredited" or qualified investors: Investors in hedge funds have to meet certain net worth requirements to invest in them - net worth exceeding $1 million excluding their primary residence.

2. Wider investment latitude: A hedge fund's investment universe is only limited by its mandate. A hedge fund can basically invest in anything - land, real estate, stocks, derivatives, currencies. Mutual funds, by contrast, have to basically stick to stocks or bonds.

3. Often employ leverage: Hedge funds will often use borrowed money to amplify their returns. As we saw during the financial crisis of 2008, leverage can also wipe out hedge funds.

4. Fee structure: Instead of charging an expense ratio only, hedge funds charge both an expense ratio and a performance fee. The common fee structure is known as "Two and Twenty" - a 2% asset management fee and then a 20% cut of any gains generated.

There are more specific characteristics that define a hedge fund, but ba! sically because they are private investment vehicles that only allow wealthy individuals to invest, hedge funds can pretty much do what they want as long as they disclose the strategy upfront to investors. This wide latitude may sound very risky, and at times it can be. Some of the most spectacular financial blow-ups have involved hedge funds. That said, this flexibility afforded to hedge funds has led to some of the most talented money managers producing some amazing long-term returns.

A Hedge Fund at Work - A Fictional Example

To better understand hedge funds and why they have become so popular with both investors and money managers, let's set one up and watch it work for one year. I will call my hedge fund "Value Opportunities Fund, LLC." My operating agreement - the legal document that says how my fund works - states that I will receive 25% of any profits over 5% per year, and that I can invest in anything anywhere in the world.

Ten investors sign up, each putting in $10 million, so my fund starts with $100 million. Each investor fills out his investment agreement - similar to an account application form - and sends his check directly to my broker or to a fund administrator, who will record his or her investment on the books and then wire the funds to the broker. A fund administrator is an accounting firm that provides all the administration work for an investment fund. Value Opportunities Fund is now open, and I begin managing the money. Once I find attractive opportunities, I call my broker and tell him what to buy with the $100 million.

A year goes by and my fund is up 40%, so it is now worth $140 million. Now, according to the fund's operating agreement, the first 5% belongs to the investors with anything above that being split 25% to me and 75% to my investors. So the capital gain of $40 million would first be reduced by $2 million, or 5% of $40 million, and that goes to the investors. That 5% is known as a "hurdle" rate, because you have to first achieve that 5! % "hurd! le" rate return before earning any performance compensation. The remaining $38 million is split 25% to me and 75% to my investors.

Based on my first-year performance and the terms of my fund, I have earned $9.5 million in compensation in a single year. The investors get the remaining $28.5 million along with the $2 million hurdle rate cut for a capital gain of $30.5 million. As you can see, the hedge fund business can be very lucrative. If I were managing $1 billion instead, my take would have been $95 million and my investors, $305 million. Of course, many hedge fund managers get vilified for earning such exuberant sums of money. But that's because those doing the finger pointing - often the newspapers - fail to mention that my investors made $305 million. When is the last time you heard an investor in a hedge fund complain that his fund manager was getting paid too much?

Compensation Criticism - 2 and 20

From our fictional fund example above, it's evident that hedge fund managers earn a lot of money. But what perhaps gets the most criticism is the most popular compensation scheme in the hedge fund world: it's called the "2 and 20," and it is used by a large majority of hedge funds currently in operation.

The 2 and 20 compensation structure means that the hedge fund's operating agreement calls for the fund manager to receive 2% of assets and 20% of profits each year. It's the 2% that gets the criticism, and it's not difficult to see why. Even if the hedge fund manager loses money, he still gets 2% of assets. A manager overseeing a $1 billion fund could pocket $20 million a year in compensation without lifting a finger. Worse yet is the fund manager who pockets $20 million while his fund loses money. He or she then has to explain to investors why their account values declined while justifying getting paid $20 million. It's a tough sell and one that doesn't usually work. In the fictional example above, my particular fund charged no asset management fee and instead took a h! igher per! formance cut - 25% instead of 20%. This gives a hedge fund manager an opportunity to make more money - not at the expense of the fund's investors, but rather alongside them. Unfortunately, this no asset management fee structure is rare in today's hedge fund world. The 2 and 20 structure still prevails, although many funds are starting to go to a 1 and 20 setup.

Hedge Funds Today and Strategies

By most estimates, thousands of hedge funds are operating today, collectively managing over $1 trillion. Hedge funds can pursue a varying degree of strategies including macro, equity, relative value, distressed securities and activism. A macro hedge fund invests in stocks, bonds and currencies in hopes of profiting from changes in macroeconomic variables such as global interest rates and countries' economic policies. An equity hedge fund may be global or country specific, investing in attractive stocks while hedging against downturns in equity markets by shorting overvalued stocks or stock indices. A relative-value hedge fund takes advantage of price or spread inefficiencies. Other hedge fund strategies include aggressive growth, income, emerging markets, value and short selling.

Another popular strategy is the "fund of funds" approach in which a hedge fund mixes and matches other hedge funds and other pooled investment vehicles. This blending of different strategies and asset classes aims to provide a more stable long-term investment return than any of the individual funds. Returns, risk and volatility can be controlled by the mix of underlying strategies and funds.

Notable hedge funds today include the Paulson Funds, a group of various hedge funds founded by John Paulson. Paulson became famous after his fund reaped billions from betting against mortgages back in 2008. Paulson has other specific hedge funds, including one that invests solely in gold, for example.

Pershing Square is a highly successful and high-profile activist hedge fund run by Bill Ackman. Ackman invests in companies that he feels are undervalued with the goal of taking a more active role in the company to unlock value. Activism typically includes changing the board of directors, appointing new management or pushing for a sale of the company. Carl Icahn, a well-known activist, also heads up very successful activist hedge funds. In fact, one of his holding companies, Icahn Enterprises (Nasdaq:IEP), is publicly traded and gives investors who can't or don't want to directly invest in a hedge fund an opportunity to bet on Icahn and his skill at unlocking value.

New Regulations for Hedge Funds

One aspect that has set the hedge fund industry apart for so long is the fact that hedge funds face little money-management regulation. Compared to mutual funds, pension funds and other investment vehicles, hedge funds are the least regulated. That's because hedge funds are only allowed to take money from "qualified" investors - individuals with an annual income that exceeds $200,000 for the past two years or a net worth exceeding $1 million excluding their primary residence. As such, the Securities and Exchange Commission deems qualified investors suitable enough to handle the potential risks that come from a wider investment mandate.

But make no mistake, hedge funds are regulated, and recently they are coming under the microscope more and more. Hedge funds are so big and powerful that the SEC is starting to pay closer attention. And breaches such as insider trading seem to be occurring much more frequently, an activity regulators come down hard on.

In September 2013, the hedge ! fund industry experienced one of the most significant regulatory changes to come along in years. In March 2012, the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) was signed into law. The basic premise of the JOBS Act was to encourage funding of small businesses in the U.S by easing securities regulation. The JOBS Act also had a major impact on hedge funds: In September 2013, the ban on hedge fund advertising was lifted. In a 4-to-1 vote, the SEC approved a motion to allow hedge funds and other firms that create private offerings to advertise to whomever they want, but they can only accept investments from accredited investors. While hedge funds may not look like small businesses, because of their wide investment latitude they are often key suppliers of capital to startups and small businesses. Giving hedge funds the opportunity to solicit capital would in effect help the growth of small businesses by increasing the pool of available investment capital.

Hedge fund advertising deals with offering the fund's investment products to accredited investors or financial intermediaries through print, television and the internet. A hedge fund that wants to solicit (advertise to) investors must file a "Form D" with the SEC at least 15 days before it starts advertising. Because hedge fund advertising was strictly prohibited prior to lifting this ban, the SEC is very interested in how advertising is being used by private issuers, so it has made changes to Form D filings. Funds that make public solicitations will also need to file an amended Form D within 30 days of the offering's termination. Failure to follow these rules will likely result in a ban from creating additional securities for a year or more.

Not For Everyone

It should be obvious that hedge funds offer some worthwhile benefits over traditional investment funds. Some notable benefits of hedge funds include:

· 1. Investment strategies that have the ability to generate positive returns in both rising and falling equity an! d bond ma! rkets.

· 2. Hedge funds in a balanced portfolio can reduce overall portfolio risk and volatility and increase returns.

· 3. A huge variety of hedge fund investment styles – many uncorrelated with each other – provide investors the ability to precisely customize investment strategy.

· 4. Access to some of the world's most talented investment managers.

Of course, hedge funds are not without risk as well:

· 1. Concentrated investment strategy exposes hedge funds to potentially huge losses.

· 2. Hedge funds typically require investors to lock up money for a period of years.

· 3. Use of leverage, or borrowed money, can turn what would have been a minor loss into a significant loss.

The Bottom Line

Just as with any investment strategy, investors must look at their own specific goals and needs and decide whether hedge funds fit their current investment needs.

Budget Analysis: Impact of Budget 2013 on investments

Top Canadian Stocks To Own Right Now

On the eve of budget 2013, there was a lot of hope that the finance minister will address the middle class investors concerns on increasing inflation by increasing the tax exemption slab and provide more deductions on tax saving investments. But budget 2013 has just been unraveled and the initial reaction is that of some disappointment on the investor's front as a lot could have been done. I present you the highlights and the aspects of the budget related to investments.

Tax free bonds: In order to provide a boost to the infrastructure sector, infrastructure finance companies have been allowed to issue tax free bonds to the tune of Rs. 50000 crores in the next financial year. This is good for investors in the highest tax slab as it would provide assured and better long term returns than fixed deposits. But considering the fact the interest rates are likely to fall going ahead, it has to be seen what rates the issuers will offer.

Inflation indexed bonds: The government in consultation with RBI has proposed to introduce " Inflation indexed bonds" or savings certificates in order to help investors provide a hedge against inflation. This will ensure that investors have a better fixed income alternative to combat inflation. Only the tenure and tax implications, which will be announced later, will decide if this turns out to be a good alternative or not. These bonds are linked to inflation rates and the interest rates are periodically reset to take care of varying inflation rates.

Additional Deduction on 1st home loan: First time home loan seekers upto Rs 25 lakhs will be eligible for an additional interest deduction of Rs 1 lakh provided they take a loan in financial year 2013-14. This would amount to a total interest deduction of Rs. 2.5 lakhs which is a great positive. If the limit is not utilized in the financial year 2013-14, then the balance can be carried forward in the next financial year. Considering the present home loan interest rate of 10.5% for a 15 year period, the total additional savings will be Rs. 20000 if the investor is in the 20% tax slab and Rs. 30000 if he is in the 30% tax slab. This benefit is likely to spur first time home buyers into finally buying their dream home.

Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme (RGESS): The much delayed scheme has been proposed to be extended for 3 successive financial years and the income eligibility criteria has also been raised from Rs. 10 lakhs to 12 lakhs for next year. Under this scheme one can invest in specified stocks, Exchange traded funds or mutual funds upto Rs. 50000 a year and claim a deduction of Rs. 25000. The compulsory redemption of this scheme after 3 years is a dampener though as at the time of redemption if the markets are down, the returns might get affected.

TDS on property: From next financial year, on the sale of any property worth Rs. 50 lakhs and above there will be a compulsory deduction of TDS at the rate of 1%. This may increase paperwork for claiming the deduction for investors especially if the sale proceeds are to be invested in capital gains instruments or another property for saving tax. 

No change in Capital gains tax norms & STT: With the finance minister mentioning that the DTC (direct tax code) will be revised and introduced in the budget session, as of now the short term and long term capital gains tax parameters remain as they were earlier. Even the STT (securities transaction tax) for equities and mutual segment has been retained while the same has been reduced for equities futures category and non agricultural commodities.

It is very likely that the DTC may get the nod during the budget session and get implemented too in this financial year. That may be one of the reasons that the finance minister did not tinker with the tax slabs. The only benefit that has been provided to investors is the Rs. 2000 tax credit for income tax slab ranging from Rs. 2 lakhs to 5 lakhs. One only hopes that there is more clarity at the earliest on DTC so investors can plan their investments at the beginning of the new financial year rather than having to react to last minute clarifications.

The author is a member of The Financial Planners' Guild, India (FPGI) . FPGI is an association of Practicing Certified Financial Planners to create awareness about Financial Planning among the public, promote professional excellence and ensure high quality practice standards.

Get full Budget coverage

Is Tesla’s Stock Over the Speed Limit?

With shares of Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) trading at around $97.35, is TSLA an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

C = Catalyst for the Stock's Movement

It's now well known that Consumer Reports gave the Model S a near-perfect score. This has led to a lot of excitement for Tesla. Other reasons for excitement have included Tesla’s first profitable quarter, phenomenal revenue growth, and CEO Elon Musk purchasing over 1 million shares of Tesla stock. The purchase was at $92.24, so he's already doing pretty well. It should also be noted that Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) set a $109 price target on the stock. However, this wasn't the traditional price target. It was more of an estimated value for the stock. Mr. Jonas noted that there could be much volatility prior to the stock reaching $109.

NEW! Discover a new stock idea each week for less than the cost of 1 trade. CLICK HERE for your Weekly Stock Cheat Sheets NOW!

Tesla is attempting to do something unique. It wants to sell directly to the consumer. Texas recently rejected the proposal, which was a setback, but this is going to be a long fight. What makes it an interesting fight is that while the dealerships are a force to be reckoned with, Elon Musk will have consumers on his side. If you read the comments to any article related to this topic, you will see that the vast majority of consumers would be in favor of direct sales. Put simply, consumers don't trust car salesmen. Hopefully, Elon Musk will see that he has the potential of having massive public support. There is always strength in numbers. If the public demands a change, then it will eventually happen.

Some economists feel that current economic conditions favor Tesla. This is in regards to improved housing and stock market conditions as well as thawing credit. However, the housing boom is largely based on speculation. We know what happened last time there was a housing boom based on speculation. This round isn't as broad-based and intense, but it would be difficult to argue that there is a genuine and family-based housing recovery. The stock market is a whole other story. Everyone has already formed their opinions, so there is no sense delving into it here. As far as credit goes, it has been improving. All that said, the consumer doesn't seem to be strengthening much, and unemployment just ticked up to 7.6 percent. If the price for Tesla vehicles remains as high as they are now and the consumer doesn't strengthen considerably, then it would be difficult to see the company reaching its full potential in the near future.

Tesla also has some scary numbers. The table chart below can offer more details on that front. The most important numbers (not seen on the chart below) is that Tesla has consistently lost money on an annual basis. Another important number is that Tesla is currently trading at 94 times forward earnings. That being the case, any significant and unexpected bad news will derail the stock in a vicious manner. The momentum is still up, but this makes Tesla a scary stock to own.

In regards to company culture, according to Glassdoor.com, employees have rated their employer a 3.3 of 5. A decent 64 percent of employees would recommend the company to a friend, and a relatively impressive 80 percent of employees approve of CEO Elon Musk.

The chart below compares fundamentals for Tesla, General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), and Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM)

	TSLA	GM	TM
Trailing P/E	N/A	11.81	14.83
Forward P/E	93.61	7.86	11.09
Profit Margin	-31.23%	4.00%	4.36%
ROE	-183.03%	15.20%	9.09%
Operating Cash Flow	-138.70M	8.92B	31.15B
Dividend Yield	N/A	N/A	1.20%
Short Position	36.90%	7.40%	N/A

Let's take a look at some more important numbers prior to forming an opinion on this stock.

T = Technicals Are Strong

Tesla has outperformed its peers by wide margins over the past year, and that’s saying a lot.

	1 Month	Year-To-Date	1 Year	3 Year
TSLA	63.78%	187.7%	233.5%	0.10%
GM	8.77%	20.05%	58.54%	0.49%
TM	-0.89%	22.26%	49.58%	65.27%

At $97.35, Tesla is trading well above its averages.

50-Day SMA	75.13
200-Day SMA	46.40

NEW! Discover a new stock idea each week for less than the cost of 1 trade. CLICK HERE for your Weekly Stock Cheat Sheets NOW!

E = Equity to Debt Ratio Is Weak

The debt-to-equity ratio for Tesla is much weaker than the industry average of 0.80. If this doesn’t change, it has the potential to become a serious problem down the road.

	Debt-To-Equity	Cash	Long-Term Debt
TSLA	2.70	214.42M	455.54M
GM	0.48	24.31B	18.42B
TM	1.11	30.73B	179.57B

E = Earnings Have Been Poor

Earnings haven’t improved much over the years. On the other hand, revenue growth has been very strong.

Fiscal Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Revenue ($) in millions	15	112	117	204	413
Diluted EPS ($)	NA	-7.94	-3.04	-2.53	-3.69

Looking at the last quarter on a year-over-year basis, revenue and earnings both significantly improved.

Quarter	Mar. 31, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2013
Revenue ($) in millions	30.17	26.65	50.10	306.33	561.79
Diluted EPS ($)	-0.86	-1.00	-1.05	-0.79	0.09

Now let's take a look at the next page for the Trends and Conclusion. Is this stock an OUTPERFORM, a WAIT AND SEE, or a STAY AWAY?

Conclusion

Wall Street expects Q2 EPS of -$0.11 on $404.86 million in revenue. These would be substantial improvements on a year-over-year basis. The stock's momentum is clearly higher, but with the stock trading at 94 times forward earnings, there are tremendous expectations to be met. Amazingly, Tesla has the potential to meet those expectations. However, Tesla has yet to prove that it can become a profitable company. Maintaining profitability will be extremely difficult in an economy where the vast majority of consumers can't even consider buying a Tesla vehicle due to their high prices. The only long-term solution for Tesla is to find a way to cut the price tags on its vehicles. Elon Musk is a smart man, and it seems as though he's constantly looking for ways to solve this problem. He might eventually figure it out, but it's going to be a long and windy road.

Can an R-Rated Comic Book Movie Work? We'll Know Soon

Neither DC nor Marvel will be the ones to profit if this summer proves an R-rated comic book movie has the chops to draw a wide audience. Who will? Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA  ) , and studio subsidiary NBCUniversal, says Fool contributor Tim Beyers in the following video.

Aug. 2 brings 2 Guns from BOOM! Studios. Two weeks later, Kick-Ass 2 kicks off. Both movies are smaller-budget comic book adaptations, with Kick-Ass 2 the sequel to 2010's Kick-Ass. Universal is distributing both films, Tim says.

You can bet executives at Time Warner (NYSE: TWX  ) and Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS  ) will be watching carefully. Both have an interest in expanding their comic book movie lineups by offering darker fare. Of the two, Time Warner has been more willing to venture into R-rated territory, with DC Comics adaptations such as 2010's RED, a commercial success that earned $199 million worldwide. A sequel debuts on July 19, during the weekend of the annual San Diego Comic-Con.

Disney hasn't been as bold, which is a shame. Marvel is home to a variety of dark characters with the chops to sustain an action-packed R-rated comic book movie. All that's missing is the will to get them made. Box office success for 2 Guns and Kick-Ass 2 could finally force executives into motion, Tim says.

Now it's your turn to weigh in. Do you plan to see 2 Guns or Kick-Ass 2? Neither? Both? Please watch the following video to get Tim's full take, and then leave a comment to let us know how you're investing in the comic book movie boom.

5 Best Value Stocks To Own Right Now

We all know superheroic stocks aren't easy to come by. Yet, The Motley Fool's chief investment officer believes he's found one. Find out more in the special free report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013." Just click here to access the report now, and we'll reveal the secret identity of this under-the-radar company.

Hot Financial Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Dividend investors are always on the lookout for stocks to invest in that will provide them with the income they need to meet their financial needs. Lately, though, fears about whether dividend stocks have gotten overvalued has made many would-be dividend investors leery of adding new names to their portfolios.

But with the Federal Reserve doing its best to convince the markets that it intends to keep short-term interest rates down for a considerable period of time, investors need to accept the fact that unless you're unwilling or unable to accept the risk involved with the stock market, finding dividend stocks to invest in rather than accepting low yields on bonds and bank CDs is the best way to get the income you need. With that in mind, let's take a look at the characteristics that make for the best dividend stocks right now, examining three examples you can invest in today.

What makes a perfect dividend stock?
When you're looking for the ideal dividend stocks to invest in, you need to focus on three main things. First, the stock's current dividend yield will tell you how much income you can expect right now. Second, looking at the stock's history of dividend increases will give you hints as to the possible future growth of that income. And finally, examining how the dividend compares to earnings and free cash flow will reveal whether the current dividend is sustainable, both now and in the long run.

Hot Financial Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Mckay Secs(MCKS.L)

McKay Securities PLC, a commercial property investment company, engages in the development and refurbishment of buildings in central London and the southeast of England. The company?s portfolio consists of office, industrial, retail, and residential properties. As of March 31, 2008, its property portfolio comprised 38 properties. The company was founded in 1946 and is based in Reading, the United Kingdom.

Hot Financial Stocks To Invest In Right Now: BlackRock New Jersey Municipal Income Trust (BNJ)

BlackRock New Jersey Municipal Income Trust is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc. It is managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. The fund invests in fixed income markets. It invests in various portfolios of municipal securities. The fund invests in companies operating across hospital; housing; transportation; tobacco; power; industrial and pollution control; education; and water and sewer sector. BlackRock New Jersey Municipal Income Trust was formed in 2001 and is domiciled in United States.

Top 5 Dividend Companies To Own For 2014: Blackrock Strategic Bond Trust (BHD)

BlackRock Strategic Bond Trust is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc. The fund is co managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC and BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. It invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. The fund invests in securities of companies operating across diversified sectors. The fund primarily invests in high yield bonds and investment grade corporate bonds with an average credit quality of Ba/BB or below by Moody's. BlackRock Strategic Bond Trust was formed on February 26, 2002 and is domiciled in the United States.

Hot Financial Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Dorchester Minerals L.P.(DMLP)

Dorchester Minerals, L.P. engages in the acquisition, ownership, and administration of producing and non-producing natural gas and crude oil royalty, net profits, and leasehold interests in the United States. Its net profits interests represent net profits overriding royalty interests in various properties owned by the operating partnership; and royalty properties consist of producing and nonproducing mineral, royalty, overriding royalty, net profits, and leasehold interests located in 574 counties and parishes in 25 states. Dorchester Minerals Management LP serves as the general partner of Dorchester Minerals, L.P. The company was founded in 1982 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

Hot Financial Stocks To Invest In Right Now: IFCI Ltd (IFCI)

IFCI Limited is engaged in financing business. Its products include short-term loans for different short term requirements including bridge loan, corporate Loan etc, medium-term loans for business expansion, technology up-gradation, long-term Loans for project finance for new industrial/infrastructure projects, lease financing, takeover of accounts from Banks, financing promoters contribution and purchase of standard Assets. The Company is a Nodal Agency for monitoring of Sugar Development Fund (SDF) loans for projects related to modernization and expansion, co-generation of power and production of alcohol/ethanol in the private sector. Its corporate advisory services include corporate advisory and infrastructure services, infrastructure advisory, monitoring agency for public issues, restructuring advisory services and bid process management.

Hot Financial Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Bank of the Carolinas Corporation(BCAR)

Bank of the Carolinas Corporation operates as the holding company for Bank of the Carolinas that provides commercial and consumer banking services to individuals and small-and medium-sized businesses primarily in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Its deposit products portfolio includes business and individual checking accounts, savings accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, certificates of deposit, and money market checking accounts, as well as fixed interest rate certificates with varying maturities. The company?s loan products portfolio comprises consumer and commercial loans offered to individuals and small-and medium-sized businesses for various personal, business, and agricultural purposes, including term and installment loans, commercial and equity lines of credit, and overdraft checking credit; and commercial operating and working capital loans, residential mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, other consumer loans, and loans secured by comm ercial real estate. It operates through 10 banking offices. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Mocksville, North Carolina.

Hot Financial Stocks To Invest In Right Now: AmTrust Financial Services Inc (AFSI)

Amtrust Financial Services, Inc., incorporated on November 7, 1990, is a holding company. The Company is a multinational specialty property and casualty insurer focused on generating consistent underwriting profits. The Company operates in four business segments: small commercial business, specialty program and personal lines reinsurance. The Company transacts business through 11 insurance company subsidiaries: Technology Insurance Company, Inc. (TIC), Rochdale Insurance Company (RIC), Wesco Insurance Company (WIC), Associated Industries Insurance Company, Inc. (AIIC), Milwaukee Casualty Insurance Company (MCIC), Security National Insurance Company (SNIC), AmTrust Insurance Company of Kansas, Inc. (AICK) and AmTrust Lloyd�� Insurance Company of Texas (ALIC). In January 2013, the Company acquired First Nonprofit Companies, Inc. In February 2013, the Company's subsidiary acquired Car Care Plan (Holdings) Limited (CCPH) from Ally Insurance Holdings, Inc.

Small Commercial Business

Small Commercial Business segment provides workers��compensation to small businesses that operate in low and medium hazard classes, such as restaurants, retail stores, physicians and other professional offices, and commercial package and other property and casualty insurance products to small businesses. The Company is authorized to write its Small Commercial Business products in all 50 states. The Company distributes its policies through a network of over 8,100 select retail and wholesale agents who are paid commissions based on the annual policy premiums written. Commercial package products provide a range of insurance to small businesses, including commercial property, general liability, inland marine, automobile, workers��compensation, and umbrella coverage.

The Company maintains Small Commercial Business property and casualty claims operations in several of its domestic offices and the commercial package claims operation is separated into four processing units: casualty, propert! y, cost-containment/recovery and a fast-track physical damage unit. As of December 31, 2012, its Small Commercial Business property and casualty claims were approximately 61% automobile and 13% property and inland marine with the remaining 26% involving general liability and umbrella losses.

Specialty Risk and Extended Warranty

The Company��Specialty Risk and Extended Warranty segment provides coverage for consumer and commercial goods and custom designed coverages, such as accidental damage plans and payment protection plans offered in connection with the sale of consumer and commercial goods in the United States and Europe, and certain niche property, casualty and specialty liability risks in the United States and Europe, including general liability, employers��liability and professional and medical liability. specialty risk business primarily covers, such as legal expenses in the event of unsuccessful litigation; property damage for residential properties; home emergency repairs caused by incidents affecting systems, such as plumbing, wiring or central heating; latent defects that materialize on real property after building or completion; payment protection to insureds if they become unable to meet financial obligations under finance contracts; guaranteed asset protection (GAP) to cover the difference between an insurer�� settlement and the asset value in the event of a total loss, and general liability, employers��liability, public liability, negligence of advisors and liability of health care providers and medical facilities.

The Company's extended warranty business covers selected consumer and commercial goods and other risks, including personal computers; consumer electronics, such as televisions and home theater components; consumer appliances, such as refrigerators and washing machines; automobiles (excluding liability coverage); furniture, and heavy equipment. The Company also serve as a third party administrator to provide claims handling and ca! ll center! services to the consumer products and automotive industries in the United States and Canada. It underwrites the specialty risk coverage on a coverage plan-level basis, which involves substantial data collection and actuarial analysis, as well as analysis of applicable laws governing policy coverage language and exclusions.

Specialty Program

The Company�� Specialty Program segment provides workers��compensation, package products, general liability, commercial auto liability, excess and surplus lines programs and other specialty commercial property and casualty insurance to a narrowly defined, homogeneous group of small and middle market companies. The type of risk covered by this segment is similar to the type of risk in Small Commercial Business but also covers, to a small extent, certain higher risk businesses. The coverage is offered through accounts with various agents to multiple insureds. Policyholders in this segment primarily include industries, such as retail, wholesale, service operations, artisan contracting, trucking, light and medium manufacturing, habitational and professional employer organizations. As of December 31, 2012, the Company underwrote 77 programs through 44 independent wholesale and managing general agents. Workers��compensation insurance consists approximately 33% of this business during the year ended December 31, 2012.

Personal Lines Reinsurance

The Company�� Personal Lines Reinsurance Segment has a 20% participation in the Personal Lines Quota Share, by which it receive 10% of the net premiums of the personal lines business. The Personal Lines Quota Share provides that the reinsurers, severally, in accordance with their participation percentages, will receive 50% of the net premium of the GMACI Insurers and assume 50% of the related net losses.

Hot Financial Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Center Bancorp Inc.(CNBC)

Center Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Union Center National Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers in Union and Morris counties, New Jersey. The company offers interest bearing and non-interest bearing checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and IRA accounts, as well as Christmas club accounts and vacation club accounts. It also provides secured and unsecured loans, mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, short and medium term loans, letters of credit, working capital loans, and real estate construction loans. In addition, the company offers safe deposit boxes, money orders, and travelers? checks, as well as automated teller machine services, collection services, wire transfers, night depository, and lock box services. Further, the company, through its subsidiary, Center Financial Group LLC, provides financial services, including brokerage services, insurance an d annuities, mutual funds, and financial planning services. Additionally, it offers various money market services; and deals in the U.S. Treasury and U.S. Governmental agency securities, certificates of deposit, commercial paper, and repurchase agreements. As of December 31, 2010, the company had operations in 10 sites in Union County, New Jersey, consisting of 6 sites in Union Township, 1 in Springfield Township, 1 in Berkeley Heights, 1 in Vauxhall, and 1 in Summit; and 1 site in Madison, 1 site in Boonton/Mountain Lakes, and 1 site in Morristown located in Morris County, New Jersey. Center Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is based in Union, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Becky Quick (CNBC): ��f you could keep one company that Berkshire owns, either a wholly-owned subsidiary, or that Berkshire owns a common equity in, which one would you keep and why?��

Top Oil Companies To Invest In Right Now

Big winners (up at least 5%): VelocityShares 3x Inverse Natural Gas ETN (NYSE: DGAZ), iPath Global Carbon ETN (NYSE: GRN), ProShares UltraShort DJ-UBS Natural Gas (NYSE: KOLD) and the ProShares MSCI UltraShort Mexico (NYSE: SMK).

Big losers (down at least 5%): ProShares Ultra DJ-UBS Natural Gas (NYSE: BOIL) and the VelocityShares 3x Long Natural Gas ETN (NYSE: UGAZ).

Unusual volume (at least 5X ADV): SPDR S&P Emerging Markets ETF (NYSE: GMM), iShares MSCI Germany Small Cap ETF (NYSE: EWGS), ProShares UltraShort MSCI Emerging Markets (NYSE: EEV), Market Vectors Russia Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: RSXJ), ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (NYSE: SDOG) and the AdvisorShares STAR Global Buy-Write ETF (NYSE: VEGA).

Top Oil Companies To Invest In Right Now: Imperial Oil Limited(IMO)

Imperial Oil Limited engages in the exploration, production, and sale of crude oil and natural gas in Canada. The company operates through three segments: Upstream, Downstream, and Chemical. The Upstream segment engages in the exploration and production of conventional crude oil, natural gas, synthetic oil, and bitumen primarily in the Western Provinces, the Canada Lands, and the Atlantic Offshore. Its primary conventional oil producing asset includes the Norman Wells oil field in the Northwest Territories. The Downstream segment engages in the transportation and refining of crude oil, as well as blending, distribution, and marketing of refined products. It owns and operates crude oil, and natural gas liquids and products pipelines in Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario. The Chemical segment engages in the manufacture and marketing of various petrochemicals, including ethylene, benzene, aromatic and aliphatic solvents, plasticizer intermediates, and polyethylene resin. As of De cember 31, 2010, Imperial Oil Limited had 1,204 million oil-equivalent barrels of proved undeveloped reserves; maintained a nation-wide distribution system, including 24 primary terminals, to handle bulk and packaged petroleum products moving from refineries to market by pipeline, tanker, rail, and road transport; and sold petroleum products through 1,850 Esso retail service stations, of which approximately 510 were company owned or leased. The company was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. Imperial Oil Limited operates as a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Caiman Valores]

  But as highlighted earlier Whitecap's Canadian light sweet crude is not as heavily discounted as Canadian heavy oil or bitumen. This does not leave it exposed to the same price risks and volatility as those companies that have a significant portion of their production made up by Canadian heavy oil and Bitumen, such as Husky Energy (HUSKF.PK), Suncor (SU), Imperial Oil (IMO) and Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ).

• [By Stephan Dube]

  Cold Lake's most notable producers:

  Husky Energy (HUSK.PK), see article here.Pengrowth Energy Corporation (PGH), see article here.Southern Pacific Resource (STPJF.PK), see article here.Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ), see article here.Devon Energy (DVN), see article here.Imperial Oil (IMO), see article here.Baytex, see article here.Bonavista Energy (BNPUF.PK), see article here.

  Athabasca's most notable producers:

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  For Imperial Oil (IMO), it�� good to have friends in high places. In this case, we��e talking about Exxon�� (XOM) 70% stake in the Canadian integrated oil firm. That relationship has provided plenty of capital and technological know-how to produce plenty of crude oil and natural gas via conventional and unconventional means.

• [By Vanin Aegea]

  Two companies that have been around for some time now are Imperial Oil (IMO) and Pembina Pipeline (PBA). Political instability in the Middle East has also given an extra relevance to the reserves found at this region, so let us see what the future holds and what gurus think of them.

Top Oil Companies To Invest In Right Now: Helmerich & Payne Inc (HP)

Helmerich & Payne, Inc., incorporated on February 29, 1944, is engaged in contract drilling of oil and gases wells for others and this business. The Company's contract drilling business is composed of three reportable business segments: U.S. Land, Offshore and International Land. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012 (fiscal 2012), the Company's U.S. Land operations drilled in Oklahoma, California, Texas, Wyoming, Colorado, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Utah, Arkansas, New Mexico, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia. Offshore operations were conducted in the Gulf of Mexico, and offshore of California, Trinidad and Equatorial Guinea. During fiscal 2012, the Company's International Land segment operated in six international locations: Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Tunisia, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates. The Company is also engaged in the ownership, development and operation of commercial real estate and the research and development of rotary steerable technology. Each of the businesses operates independently of the others through wholly owned subsidiaries. The Company's real estate investments located exclusively within Tulsa, Oklahoma, include a shopping center containing approximately 441,000 leasable square feet, multi-tenant industrial warehouse properties containing approximately one million leasable square feet and approximately 210 acres of undeveloped real estate. The Company's subsidiary, TerraVici Drilling Solutions, Inc. (TerraVici), is developing rotary steerable technology. As of September 30, 2012, it had 176 rigs under fixed-term contracts. During fiscal 2012, the Company leased a 150,000 square foot industrial facility near Tulsa, Oklahoma for the purpose of overhauling/repairing rig equipment and associated component parts.

U.S. Land Drilling

As of September 30, 2012, the Company had 282 of its land rigs available for work in the United States. During fiscal 2012, the Company's U.S. Land operations contributed approximately 85% of the Compan! y's consolidated operating revenues. During fiscal 2012, rig utilization was approximately 89%. During fiscal 2012, the Company's fleet of FlexRigs had an average utilization of approximately 97%, while the Company's conventional and mobile rigs had an average utilization of approximately 11%. As of September 31, 2012, 231 out of an available 282 land rigs were working.

Off Shore Drilling

During fiscal 2012, the Company's Offshore operations contributed approximately 6% of the Company's consolidated operating revenues. During fiscal 2012, rig utilization was approximately 79%. During fiscal 2012, the Company had eight of its nine offshore platform rigs under contract and continued to work under management contracts for four customer-owned rigs. During fiscal 2012, revenues from drilling services performed for the Company's offshore drilling customer totaled approximately 56% of offshore revenues.

International Land Drilling

During fiscal 2012, the Company's International Land operations contributed approximately 9% of the Company's consolidated operating revenues. During fiscal 2012, rig utilization was 77%. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had nine rigs in Argentina. During fiscal 2012, the Company's utilization rate was approximately 52%. During fiscal 2012, revenues generated by Argentine drilling operations contributed approximately 2% of the Company's consolidated operating revenues. The Argentine drilling contracts are with international or national oil companies. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had seven rigs in Colombia. During fiscal 2012, the Company's utilization rate was approximately 79%. During fiscal 2012, revenues generated by Colombian drilling operations contributed approximately 3% of the Company's consolidated operating revenues. During fiscal 2012, revenues from drilling services performed for the Company's customer in Colombia totaled approximately 1% of consolidated operating revenues and approximately 16% of inter! national ! operating revenues. The Colombian drilling contracts are with international or national oil companies. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had five rigs in Ecuador. During fiscal 2012, the utilization rate in Ecuador was 97%. During fiscal 2012, revenues generated by Ecuadorian drilling operations contributed approximately 2% of consolidated operating revenues. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had two rigs in Tunisia, four rigs in Bahrain and two rigs in United Arab Emirates.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP) was reinstated as Buy with a $82 price target at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

  HomeAway Inc. (NASDAQ: AWAY) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight by Morgan Stanley.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Helmerich & Payne (NYSE: HP  ) is expected to report Q3 earnings on July 26. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Helmerich & Payne's revenues will expand 3.1% and EPS will compress -2.2%.

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) is the holding company for Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Company, an international drilling contractor.
  Yield: 3.0% | Years of Dividend Growth: 41

Top 5 Value Companies To Own In Right Now: Archer Ltd (ARCHER)

Archer Ltd, formerly Seawell Limited is a Bermuda-based global oilfield service company. The Company provides drilling services, such as platform drilling, land drilling, modular rings, directional drilling, drill bits, tubular services, drilling and completion fluids, cementing tools, plugs and packers, underbalanced services, rentals and engineering. It specialises also in well services, such as wireline intervention, specialist intervention, frac valves, wireline logging, integrity diagnostics, imaging, production monitoring, coiled tubing, completion services and fishing. As of January 3, 2012, the Company's organizational structure centered on four geographic and strategic areas: North America (NAM), North Sea (NRS), Latin America (LAM) and Emerging Markets & Technologies (EMT). As of December 31, 2010, it was active through a number of subsidiaries, namely Seawell, Allis-Chalmers Energy, Gray Wireline, Rig Inspection Services and TecWel, among others.

Top Oil Companies To Invest In Right Now: Atlas Resource Partners LP (ARP)

Atlas Resource Partners, L.P. (Atlas Resource Partners), incorporated on October 13, 2011, is an independent developer and producer of natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL), with operations in basins across the United States. The Company is a sponsor and manager of investment partnerships, in which it co-invests, to finance a portion of its natural gas and oil production activities. During the year ended December 31, 2012, its average daily net production was approximately 77.2 million cubic feet equivalent. On December 20, 2012, it completed the acquisition of DTE Gas Resources, LLC from DTE Energy Company. On September 24, 2012, the Company acquired Equal Energy, Ltd.�� (Equal) remaining 50% interest in approximately 8,500 net undeveloped acres included in the joint venture. On July 26, 2012, it completed the acquisition of Titan Operating, L.L.C. On April 30, 2012, it acquired certain oil and natural gas assets from Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. In April 2012, it acquired a 50% interest in approximately 14,500 net undeveloped acres in the oil and NGL area of the Mississippi Lime play in northwestern Oklahoma.

Through December 31, 2012, the Company owned production positions in the areas of the Barnett Shale and Marble Falls play in the Fort Worth Basin in northern Texas; the Appalachia basin, including the Marcellus Shale and the Utica Shale; the Mississippi Lime and Hunton plays in northwestern Oklahoma, and the Chattanooga Shale in northeastern Tennessee, the Niobrara Shale in northeastern Colorado, the New Albany Shale in southwestern Indiana and the Antrim Shale in Michigan. During 2012, the Company had ownership interests in over 525 wells in the Barnett Shale and Marble Falls play and 569.3 billion cubic feet equivalent of total proved reserves with average daily production of 31.9 million cubic feet equivalent. During 2012, the Company had ownership interests in over 10,200 wells in the Appalachian basin, including approximately 270 wells in the Marcellus Shale and 1! 12.6 billion cubic feet equivalent of total proved reserves with average daily production of 35.6 million cubic feet equivalent. During 2012, it owned 21 billion cubic feet equivalent of total proved reserves with average daily production of 1.9 million cubic feet equivalent in the Mississippi Lime and Hunton plays in northwestern Oklahoma. During 2012, the Company had average daily production of 7.8 million cubic feet equivalent in the Chattanooga Shale in northeastern Tennessee, the Niobrara Shale in northeastern Colorado, the New Albany Shale in southwestern Indiana, and the Antrim Shale in Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  The management team at oil and gas company�Atlas Energy (NYSE: ATLS  ) has really taken Warren Buffett's advice to heart. Buffett's old adage to "be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful" seems to be that team's approach. After selling its shale assets to Chevron at the top of the market, the company has been diligently acquiring natural gas assets at the market's low. That blueprint continues to be followed as evidenced by the recently announced acquisition of substantial natural gas assets via its master limited partnership, Atlas Resource Partners (NYSE: ARP  ) .

Top Oil Companies To Invest In Right Now: Stone Energy Corporation(SGY)

Stone Energy Corporation, an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, exploitation, development, and operation of oil and gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico and the Appalachia region. As of December 31, 2010, it had estimated proved oil and natural gas reserves of approximately 473.9 billion cubic feet of gas equivalent. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana with additional offices in New Orleans, Louisiana; Houston, Texas; and Morgantown, West Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Caiman Valores]

  But its reserves are lower than U.S. domiciled small-cap Stone Energy (SGY) and mid-cap Whiting Petroleum (WLL). However, in the case of Stone Energy a larger portion of its proved and probable reserves are lower margin and less profitable natural gas, with natural gas making up 51% of its reserves and oil and NGLs the remaining 49%.

Top Oil Companies To Invest In Right Now: Abraxas Petroleum Corp (AXAS)

Abraxas Petroleum Corporation is an independent energy company primarily engaged in the acquisition, exploitation, development and production of oil and gas in the United States and Canada. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� estimated net proved reserves were 29.0 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBoe), (including reserves attributable to its 34.7% equity interest in the proved reserves of Blue Eagle), of which 53% were classified as proved developed, 54% were oil and natural gas liquids (NGL��) and 94% by PV-10 were operated. Its daily net production during the year ended December 31, 2011, was 3,484 barrels of oil equivalent per day, of which 45% was oil or liquids. Its oil and gas assets are located in four operating regions in the United States, the Rocky Mountain, Mid-Continent, Permian Basin and onshore Gulf Coast, and in the province of Alberta, Canada.

The Company�� properties in the Rocky Mountain region are located in the Williston Basin of North Dakota and Montana and in the Green River, Powder River and Unita Basins of Wyoming and Utah. In this region, its wells produce oil and gas from various reservoirs, including the Niobrara, Turner, Bakken and Three Forks formations. Well depths range from 7,000 feet down to 14,000 feet. The Company�� properties in the Mid-Continent region are primarily located in the Arkoma Basin and principally produce gas from the Hartshorne coals at 3,000 feet. Its properties in the Permian Basin region are primarily located in two sub-basins, the Delaware Basin and the Eastern Shelf. In the Delaware Basin, its wells are located in Pecos, Reeves, and Ward Counties, Texas and produce oil and gas from multiple stacked formations from the Bell Canyon at 5,000 feet down to the Ellenburger at 16,000 feet.

In the Eastern Shelf, its wells are principally located in Coke, Scurry, Midland, Mitchell and Nolan Counties, Texas and produce oil and gas from the Strawn Reef formation at 5,000 to 7,500 feet and oil from the shallower Clea! rfork formation at depths ranging from 2,300 to 3,300 feet. The Company�� properties in the onshore Gulf Coast region are located along the Edwards trend in DeWitt and Lavaca Counties, Texas and in the Portilla field in San Patricio County, Texas. In the Edwards trend, its wells produce gas from the Edwards formation at a depth of 14,000 feet and in the Portilla field, its wells produce oil and gas from the Frio sands and the deeper Vicksburg from depths of approximately 7,000 to 9,000 feet. In addition, the Company also owns a 34.7% equity interest in a joint venture targeting the Eagle Ford in South Texas. Its properties in the province of Alberta, Canada are located in the Pekisko fairway and the Nordegg/Tomahawk area of Central Alberta.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company leased approximately 20,835 net acres, primarily in counties located on the Nesson Anticline and in areas west, including Rough Rider and Lewis & Clark in North Dakota and in Sheridan County, Montana, which are prospective for the Bakken and Three Forks formations. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company drilled two operated wells and participated in an additional 19 gross (1.0 net) non-operated wells. In July 2011, Abraxas purchased a used Oilwell 2000 horsepower diesel electric drilling rig. In August 2010, the Company formed a joint venture, Blue Eagle, with Rock Oil to develop its acreage in the Eagle Ford Shale play. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned a 34.7% interest in Blue Eagle. During 2011, Blue Eagle drilled, completed or participated in three gross (2.4 net) wells and added approximately 3,800 net acres to its holdings, principally in McMullen County, Texas.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company leased a total of approximately 20,720 gross (17,800 net) acres in the southern Powder River Basin, of which 17,800 gross (15,700 net) acres were located in the Brooks Draw field of Converse and Niobrara Counties, Wyoming. In addition, it owns approximately 2,100 net acres in sout! hern Camp! bell County, Wyoming which are held by production and are near the Crossbow field operated by EOG Resources, Inc. and other recent horizontal activity. As of December 31, 2011, the Company leased 6,880 net acres in western Alberta. In 2011, it drilled or completed six gross (6 net) wells in the Twining area. In the emerging southern Alberta Basin Bakken play of Toole and Glacier Counties, Montana, the Company leased approximately 10,000 gross/net acres under long-term leases or direct mineral ownership. As of December 31, 2011, it leased approximately 5,600 gross/net acres in Nolan County, Texas. In 2011, the Company drilled three wells in the Spires Ranch offsetting the prolific Nena Lucia field.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Penn Virginia has gained 6.9% to $7.15 at 11:56 p.m. today, while Sanchez Energy (SN) has advanced 5.2% to $29.10, Abraxas Petroleum (AXAS) has risen 2.4% to $2.97 and Gulfport Energy (GPOR) is up 1.3% at $67.31.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Friday
  The market is typically quiet on Friday, but that's certainly not the case during earnings season. Abraxas Petroleum (NASDAQ: AXAS  ) checks in with its latest quarterly results on Friday morning. The San Antonio-based crude oil and natural gas exploration and production company is expected to post breakeven results.

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  In the energy world, it's never much of a surprise when an oil company picks up natural gas assets or vice versa. But a coal company getting into the oil business? Now that's a rarity. This week, Natural Resources Partners (NYSE: NRP  ) �did just that. The company announced that it's taking a working interest in some of Abraxas Petroleums (NASDAQ: AXAS  ) assets in the Bakken. While the $35 million purchase was not that large, it's a rare case where a coal company branches out into other natural resources.�

Top Oil Companies To Invest In Right Now: Caiterra International Energy Corp (CTI.V)

CaiTerra International Energy Corporation (Caiterra), formerly Cyterra Capital Corp., is a Canada-based company is engaged in the exploration and development of oil and gas properties. The Company�� project includes Faust, Amadou and Lac La Biche. On March 9, 2012, the Company completed its qualifying transaction with West Pacific Petroleum Inc. (WPP), pursuant to which the Company acquired all of WPP�� working interests in certain petroleum and natural gas leases and an oil sand lease in the Lac La Biche and Amadou Projects located in Alberta, Canada and certain other assets (the QT Oil and Gas Properties) from West Pacific Petroleum Inc. (WPP). On December 17, 2012 the Company acquired the Faust Property located just north of the Swan Hills oil field and south of the Town of Slave Lake.

Top Oil Companies To Invest In Right Now: Statoil ASA (STO)

Statoil ASA (Statoil), incorporated on September 18, 1972, is an integrated energy company primarily engaged in oil and gas exploration and production activities. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had business operations in 41 countries and territories. Effective from January 1, 2011, the Company�� segments were Development and Production Norway; Development and Production International; Marketing, Processing and Renewable Energy; Fuel & Retail, Other. As of 31 December 2011, the Company had proved reserves of 2,276 million barrels (mmbbl) and 3,150 billion cubic meters (bcm) (equivalent to 17,681 trillion cubic feet (tcf)) of natural gas, corresponding to aggregate proved reserves of 5,426 mmboe. In December 2011, the Company acquired Brigham Exploration Company. On April 14, 2011, Statoil's formation of a joint venture and sale of 40% of the Peregrino field off the coast of Brazil to the Sinochem Group was closed. With effect from January 2011, Statoil formed a joint venture with PTTEP of Thailand in its oil sands business and, as part of that transaction, sold PTTEP a 40% interest in the leases in Alberta, Canada. Statoil retains 60% ownership and operatorship of the oil sands project. In June 2012, the Company divested its 54% interest in Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA to Alimentation Couche-Tard.

Development and Production Norway

Development and Production Norway (DPN) consists of the Company�� field development and operational activities on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). Development and Production Norway is the operator of 44 developed fields on the NCS. Statoil's equity and entitlement production on the NCS was 1.316 mmboe per day in 2011, which was about 71% of Statoil's total production. Acting as operator, DPN is responsible for approximately 72% of all oil and gas production on the NCS. In 2011, its average daily production of oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) on the NCS was 693 mboe, while its average daily gas production on the NCS was 99.1 mmcm (3.5 b! illion cubic feet (bcf)). The Company has an ownership interests in exploration acreage throughout the licensed parts of the NCS, both within and outside its production areas. It participates in 227 licenses on the NCS and is the operator for 171 of them. As of 31 December 2011, Statoil had a total of 1,369 mmbbl of proved oil reserves and 444 bcm (15.7 tcf) of proved natural gas reserves on the NCS. Total entitlement liquids and gas production in 2011 amounted to 1,316 mmboe per day.

Statoil's NCS portfolio consists of licenses in the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea. It has organized its production operations into four business clusters: Operations South, Operations North Sea West, Operations North Sea East and Operations North. The Operations South and Operations North Sea West and East clusters cover its licenses in the North Sea. Operations North covers the Company�� licenses in the Norwegian Sea and in the Barents Sea, while partner-operated fields cover the entire NCS and are included internally in the Operations South business cluster. During 2011, it two Statoil-operated oil discoveries: the Aldous discovery (PL265) in the North Sea and the Skrugard discovery (PL532) in the Barents Sea. The Aldous Major South discovery in PL265 on the Utsira Height in the Sleipner area is situated 140 kilometers west of Stavanger and 35 kilometers south of the Grane field. The Skrugard discovery is located about 250 kilometers off the coast from the Melkoya LNG plant in Hammerfest.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� fields under development included the Gudrun, Valemon, Visund South, Hyme, Stjerne, Vigdis North-East, Skuld, Vilje South, Skarv, and Marulk. In 2011, the Company�� total entitlement oil and NGL production in Norway was 252 mmbbl, and gas production was 36.2 bcm (1,287 bcf). The main producing fields in the Operations South area are Statfjord, Snorre, Tordis, Vigdis, Sleipner and partner-operated fields. Operations North Sea East is a gas area tha! t also co! ntains quantities of oil. The area includes the Troll, Fram, Vega, Oseberg and Tune fields. The Company�� producing fields in the Operations North area are Asgard, Mikkel, Yttergryta, Heidrun, Kristin, Tyrihans, Norne, Urd, Alve, Njord, Snohvit and Morvin.

Development and Production International

Development and Production International (DPI) is responsible for the development and production of oil and gas outside the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). In 2011, the segment was engaged in production in 12 countries: Canada, the United States, Brazil, Venezuela, Angola, Nigeria, Iran, Algeria, Libya, Azerbaijan, Russia and the United Kingdom. In 2011, DPI produced 28.9% of Statoil's total equity production of oil and gas. Statoil has exploration licenses in North America (Gulf of Mexico, Canada and Alaska), South America and sub-Saharan Africa (Brazil, Cuba, Suriname, Venezuela, Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania), Middle East and North Africa (Libya and Iran) and Europe and Asia (the Faeroes, Greenland, the United Kingdom, Azerbaijan and Indonesia). The main sanctioned development projects in which DPI is involved are in the United States, Angola and Canada. The Brigham Exploration Company acquisition added production of approximately 21 mboe per day (as of December) to Statoil's production and gave access to 1,500 square kilometers (375,000 acres) in the Bakken and Three Forks formations in the Williston Basin.

The Company has exploration licenses in North America (Gulf of Mexico, Canada and Alaska), South America and sub-Saharan Africa (Brazil, Cuba, Suriname, Venezuela, Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania), Middle East and North Africa (Libya and Iran), and Europe and Asia (the Faroes, Greenland, the United Kingdom, Azerbaijan and Indonesia). It completed 16 wells in 2011. Five were announced as discoveries: the Mukuvo and Lira discoveries in Angola, the Gavea and Peregrino South discovery in Brazil and the Logan discovery in Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Statoil acquired in! terests i! n six new licenses in Indonesia in 2011. Statoil has activities in the United States, with approximately 300 exploration leases in the GoM and 66 in Alaska. It is also an operator and partner in exploration licenses off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada. Statoil is operator and partner in exploration licenses off the coast of Newfoundland (11,138 square kilometers). It has exploration licenses in Brazil, Cuba, Suriname, Venezuela, Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania. The Company has licenses in Libya, Iran, Faroes, Greenland, the United Kingdom, Azerbaijan and Indonesia. In 2011, Statoil's petroleum production outside Norway amounted to an average of 334 mboe per day of entitlement production and 534 mboe per day of equity production.

The Company has activities in the United States Gulf of Mexico, the Appalachian region, south-west Texas, the Williston Basin, off the East Coast of Canada and in the oil sands of Alberta, Canada. It also has a representative office in Mexico City. Offshore, the Company has production interests in Hibernia and Terra Nova, and interests in two development projects. Its development and production activities in South America and sub-Saharan Africa comprise the Peregrino operatorship in Brazil, the Petrocedeno project in Venezuela, the Agbami offshore field in Nigeria and four Angolan offshore blocks. Statoil's development and production in the Middle East and North Africa in 2011, primarily encompassed Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Iran and Iraq. The Company�� Development and Production in Europe and Asia primarily comprises Azerbaijan, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland.

Marketing, Processing and Renewable Energy

Marketing, Processing and Renewable Energy (MPR) is responsible for the transportation, processing, manufacturing, marketing and trading of crude oil, natural gas, liquids and refined products, and for developing business opportunities in renewables. It runs two refineries, two gas processing plants, one methanol plant and three crude! oil term! inals. MPR is also responsible for marketing gas supplies originating from the Norwegian state's direct financial interest (SDFI). In total, it is responsible for marketing approximately 80% of all Norwegian gas exports. In 2011, Statoil sold 36.1 bcm (1.3 tcf) of natural gas from the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) on its own behalf, in addition to approximately 33.5 bcm (1.2 tcf) of NCS gas on behalf of the Norwegian state. Statoil's total European gas sales, including third-party gas, amounted to 79.8 bcm (2.9 tcf) in 2011, of which 39.5 bcm (1.4 tcf) was gas sold on behalf of the Norwegian state. The Natural Gas business cluster is responsible for Statoil's marketing and trading of natural gas worldwide, for power and emissions trading and for overall gas supply planning. In 2011, the Company sold 36.1 bcm (1.3 tcf) of natural gas from the NCS on its own behalf, in addition to approximately 33.5 bcm (1.2 tcf) of NCS gas on behalf of the Norwegian state. Statoil's total European gas sales, including third-party gas, amounted to 79.8 bcm (2.9 tcf) in 2011, of which 39.5 bcm (1.4 tcf) was gas sold on behalf of the Norwegian state. In addition, it sold 5.5 bcm (0.2 tcf) of gas originating from its international positions, mainly in Azerbaijan and the United States, of which 2.7 bcm (0.1 tcf) was entitlement gas. As technical service provider (TSP), Statoil is responsible for the operation, maintenance and further development of the Karsto gas processing plant on behalf of the operator Gassco.

Statoil is the seller of crude oil, operating from sales offices in Stavanger, Oslo, London, Singapore, Stamford and Calgary and selling and trading crude oil, condensate, NGL and refined products. Statoil holds the lease for the South Riding Point crude oil terminal in the Bahamas, which includes, oil storage as well as loading and unloading facilities. It also operates the Mongstad terminal and has shared ownership with Petoro. The Company is a majority owner (79%) and operator of the Mongstad ref! inery in ! Norway, which has a crude oil and condensate distillation capacity of 220,000 barrels per day. It is the sole owner and operator of the Kalundborg refinery in Denmark, which has a crude oil and condensate distillation capacity of 118,000 barrels per day. In addition, it has rights to 10% of production capacity at the Shell-operated refinery in Pernis in the Netherlands, which has a crude oil distillation capacity of 400,000 barrels per day. The Company�� methanol operations consist of an 81.7% interest in the gas-based methanol plant at Tjeldbergodden, Norway, which has a design capacity of 0.95 million tons per year. It also operates the Oseberg Transportation System (36.2% interest), including the Sture crude oil terminal.

Technology, Projects and Drilling

Technology, Projects and Drilling (TPD) is responsible, as a global service provider to Statoil, for delivering projects and wells and for providing support through global expertise, standards and procurement. TPD is also responsible developing and implementing new technological solutions. Statoil's research and development portfolio is organized in seven programs covering the upstream building blocks. The research and development organization operates and develops laboratories and test facilities and has an academia program that addresses cooperation with universities and research institutes.

Global Strategy and Business Development

Global Strategy and Business Development (GSB) was established in 2011, with its main office in London. GSB sets the direction for Statoil and identifies, develops and delivers opportunities for global growth.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  In similar fashion, Noble is going to concentrate its efforts on the high-margin deepwater drilling business and leave the shallow-water business. Last May, Noble won a contract with Statoil ASA (NYSE: STO) for a North Sea project in deep water and a harsh environment that Noble hopes will lead to strategic relationship with Statoil in the coming developments in the Arctic.

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  The second issue for CIE and Lontra is that there is a lack of infrastructure in Angola to even consider using gas from the field. Oil majors like ConocoPhillips (COP) and Norway�� Statoil (STO) are looking at building liquefied natural gas (LNG) transportation facilities in the nation. However, these projects could take years to develop. At the same time, getting the gas from Lontra to these facilities would take plenty of infrastructure muscle — something that doesn�� exist yet. So, CIE�� field could be dead in the water.

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  2. Russia: 6041.28 quadrillion BTU
  Russia is a giant of natural gas, the national gas company Gazprom and Norway's Statoil (NYSE: STO  ) represent 40% of total natural gas imports in Europe, and that is just half of it. Back in March, Gazprom signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with PetroChina's (NYSE: PTR  ) �state-owned parent company to deliver 1.34 trillion cubic feet per year starting in 2018. The MOU is a long time coming -- the two countries have been working on this deal for more 15 years.

• [By Michael Fitzsimmons]

  The Oil & Gas business also provides key technology used in extraction, development, and environmental protection of shale gas. GE is the
  world leader in gas-powered generation and transportation. Under water, last year GE launched the first subsea compressor for Statoil (STO), creating an industry-leading position in a new market.