Imagine how wonderful credit cards would be if they didn't charge interest. You'd get the safest way to pay, plus perks, extra consumer protections, and miles, points or cash back all for free -- unless you opted to pay an annual fee for extra services. For close to half of Americans, that's already a reality, because they never carry forward balances to the following month. The rest, probably a small majority, do sometimes, often or always have credit card debt. And they pay a high price.
Credit card rates today
According to the IndexCreditCards.com�rates monitor, the average consumer non-rewards card was charging 15.48 percent APR in mid-August, while the same figure for a consumer rewards card was 17.83 percent. That "APR" stands for "annual percentage rate," and represents the actual yearly cost of borrowing over the entire term of a loan. So short-term loans can be less expensive than they sound. For example, if you borrow $100 for three months, the actual interest you'd pay at 17.83 percent APR would be just $4.38, according to one of this site's credit card calculators.
Best Income Companies To Watch For 2015: Lennar Corp.(LEN)
The third largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue reported exceptional Q3 results, as its earnings more than quadrupled, primarily as a result of an increase in new-home demand. The reported net income of 40c was well ahead of last year's 11c, and the forecasted 28c.
According to the company's CEO, Stuart Miller, "The homebuilding business is beginning to revert to normal, and that's a positive for the U.S. economy in general, which is in turn good for sustained recovery in the housing market. Overall demand has been improving and we've seen a consistent sales pace at improving prices."
LEN's contract backlog, which is an indicator of future sales, rose by a whopping 79% on a YoY basis. Its average selling price of delivered homes also increased to $258,000 from last year's $247,000.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Maxfield]
In addition to this much-needed buoyancy, the increase in prices is also spurring homebuilders into action. At the end of June, Lennar Corp (NYSE: LEN ) , the nation's third largest homebuilder, reported that orders for new homes in the second quarter climbed by 27% over the same time period last year. And similar trends have been observed at D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI ) and PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM ) , both of which report earnings later this week -- for charts of these two companies' quarterly home sales, click here and here, respectively.
- [By Sean Williams]
Finally, homebuilding stocks Lennar (NYSE: LEN ) and PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM ) both jumped notably higher following the aforementioned strong new-home sales data. Lennar managed to outdo PulteGroup by a hair -- 6.9% versus 6% -- but the thesis for the sector remains the same: Stronger home sales and less inventory will lead to higher selling prices and better homebuilding margins. If homebuilders can keep from flooding the market with supply they have a pretty decent shot at maintaining their pricing power. The question is, can they resist the temptation?
- [By John Maxfield]
This same trend was on display last week with the release of earnings from Lennar (NYSE: LEN ) and KB Homes (NYSE: KBH ) , two of the nation's largest homebuilders. Lennar reported a 36% year-over-year increase in home deliveries and a 55% uptick in its backlog for the three months ended May 31. And KB Homes said that its deliveries and backlog shot up last quarter by 39% and 19%, respectively, over the same time period last year.
Top Safest Stocks To Watch Right Now: Korea Electric Power Corp (KEP)
Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), incorporated on January 1, 1982, is engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and development of electric power resources in the Republic of Korea. KEPCO�� business operations include nuclear, hydro and thermal generation; transmission and distribution, and resources development. KEPCO consists of power generation companies, subsidiaries and affiliates, and other share-holding companies. On January 5, 2010, KEPCO developed the prototype of next-generation electric vehicle chargers.
KEPCO completed consulting projects in Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia, Libya, Ukraine and Paraguay, and is working on 12 projects in Western Africa, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan. KEPCO is investing in green growth business, which includes implementation of Smart Grid and electric vehicle charging infrastructure and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. KEPCO is engaged in development of renewable energy projects, including photovoltaic, wind and tidal energy to realize low carbon green growth. KEPCO��s overseas renewable energy projects include wind farms in Gansu (99 megawatts) and Inner Mongolia (1,075 megawatts) in China. KEPCO has secured an annual 520,000 tons worth of carbon emission rights. KEPCO has nine CDM projects related to wind generation project in China, out of 18 CDM projects.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Garrett Cook]
Utilities sector was the top gainer in the US market on Thursday. Top gainers in the sector included Cleco (NYSE: CNL), Korea Electric Power (NYSE: KEP), and Regency Energy Partners LP (NYSE: RGP).
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Utilities stocks gained Friday, with Korea Electric Power (NYSE: KEP) leading advancers. Meanwhile, gainers in the sector included Huaneng Power International (NYSE: HNP), with shares up 1.8 percent, and Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE: HE), with shares up 1.4 percent. - [By Garrett Cook]
Utilities sector was the top gainer in the US market on Thursday. Top gainers in the sector included Cleco (NYSE: CNL), Korea Electric Power (NYSE: KEP), and Regency Energy Partners LP (NYSE: RGP).
Top Safest Stocks To Watch Right Now: Align Technology Inc.(ALGN)
Align Technology, Inc., a medical device company, designs, manufactures, and markets clear aligner systems or Invisalign systems, intra-oral scanners, and computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) restorative models used in dentistry, orthodontics, and dental records storage in North America and Internationally. The company?s clear aligner products include Invisalign Full for the treatment of malocclusions; Invisalign Express and Invisalign Lite solutions for less complex orthodontic cases; Invisalign Teen, which is primarily marketed to orthodontists for treating malocclusion in teenage patients; Invisalign Assist for use in anterior alignment and aesthetically-oriented cases; and Vivera retainers for invisalign and non-invisalign patients. It also offers ancillary products comprising cleaning material and adjusting tools used by dental professionals during the course of treatment. In addition, the company provides iTero scanners; iOC scanners; a nd iTero dual scanner, which includes both the iTero restorative software and the iOC orthodontic software, as well as services comprising iTero restorative and OrthoCAD services. Further, it offers CAD/CAM services, such as iTero Models and Dies; OrthoCAD iCast and OrthoCAD iRecord that provides a digital alternative to traditional stone cast models, which allows for simplified storage and digital record retrieval; and OrthoCAD iQ, a computer-guided system for optimal placement of traditional brackets and customized indirect bonding tray system. The company distributes its products primarily directly to orthodontists and general practitioner dentists, as well as restorative dentists, including prosthodontists, periodontists, and oral surgeons. Align Technology, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Luke Jacobi]
Align Technology (NASDAQ: ALGN) shot up 26.24 percent to $57.98 after the company reported upbeat third-quarter results.
Athenahealth (NASDAQ: ATHN) gained 24.05 percent to $1310.83 following a strong third quarter report and a conference call that impressed traders.
- [By Michael A. Robinson]
The charting approach we use to find low-priced, fast-moving tech shares, my Real Demand Tracking System, is set up to find stocks like:
Santarus Inc. (Nasdaq: SNTS): Shares of this small-cap biotech firm have gained 835% over the past five years. Cray Inc. (Nasdaq: CRAY): This small-cap leader in high-performance computing gave shareholders a five-year return of 855%. Align Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: ALGN): Over the past five years, share of this mid-cap medical device firm are up some 720%.As impressive as these gains are, the opportunity I'm closely watching today could be among the greatest we'll see in our lifetimes.
- [By John Udovich]
Yesterday, small cap dental stock BIOLASE Inc (NASDAQ: BIOL) surged 17.69% after announcing it had received a license from the Health Canada-Medical Device Bureau to sell its EPIC dental soft-tissue diode laser systems throughout Canada, meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock along with the performance of mid cap dental stocks like Sirona Dental Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: SIRO), DENTSPLY International Inc (NASDAQ: XRAY) and Align Technology, Inc (NASDAQ: ALGN).
- [By Sean Williams]
What: Shares of Align Technology (NASDAQ: ALGN ) , a medical device and software design company for the dental and orthodontics industry, jumped as much as 12% after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter results.
Top Safest Stocks To Watch Right Now: Erie Indemnity Company (ERIE)
Erie Indemnity Company operates as a managing attorney for the Erie Insurance Exchange in the United States. The company provides sales, underwriting, and policy issuance services for the policyholders on behalf of the Erie Insurance Exchange. It operates 24 field offices in 11 states. The company was founded in 1925 and is based in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By GURUFOCUS]
Erie Indemnity Company (ERIE) operates as a managing attorney-in-fact for the subscribers at the Erie Insurance Exchange in the U.S. Dec. 4, the company increased its quarterly dividend 7.2% to $0.635 per share. The dividend is payable Jan. 22, 2014, to shareholders of record as of Jan. 7, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 3.6%.
Top Safest Stocks To Watch Right Now: Textainer Group Holdings Limited(TGH)
Textainer Group Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the purchase, ownership, management, leasing, and resale of a fleet of marine cargo containers worldwide. The company leases dry freight containers, as well as special-purpose containers to shipping lines, freight forwarding companies, and the United States military; manages a fleet of containers for and on behalf of the owners; and buys and resells used containers. It operates a fleet of approximately 1.6 million containers. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Textainer Group Holdings Limited is a subsidiary of Halco Holdings Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Joseph Hogue]
There is one particular shipping company of which investors are being especially fearful, to the point of hating it. I'm talking about Textainer Group Holdings (NYSE: TGH), a container leasing company with 2.6 million 20-foot equivalent containers, the largest fleet among its peers.
- [By Selena Maranjian]
Textainer (NYSE: TGH ) is in the business of leasing big containers for use in intermodal shipping. The shipping business can be expected to pick up as the global economy gets back on its feet. Textainer has recently been expanding into the leasing of tanks, as well. The company offers not only an appealing dividend yield of 4.9%, but it also has been raising that payout significantly, more than doubling it over the past five years. Its payout ratio is below 50%, too, suggesting plenty of room for further growth. Textainer's stock seems reasonably or attractively priced, too, with its forward P/E ratio of 8.0 below its five-year average of 8.5. Bears don't like its rising debt or negative free cash flow, though (which is partly a result of beefing up its supply of containers), but there's still a lot to like about it.
Top Safest Stocks To Watch Right Now: Home Inns & Hotels Management Inc.(HMIN)
Home Inns & Hotels Management Inc. develops, leases, operates, franchises, and manages a chain of economy hotels in the People?s Republic of China. The company operates its hotels under the Home Inn brand name. As of April 28, 2011, it had approximately 800 Home Inns in operation and 1,000 Home Inns sealed in franchise agreements. The company was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People?s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jim Jubak]
We��e been down this road with Home Inns and Hotels Management (HMIN) before. Which doesn�� make it any less scary.
The stock is down 22.2% in the last ten days��espite solid��ut certainly not spectacular��esults for the fourth quarter, reported on March 12.
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