Thanksgiving eats into Black Friday sales

  Shopping frenzy on Black Friday NEW YORK (CNNMoney) The early take on the big holiday shopping weekend: Thanksgiving is making Black Friday a little less crazy, and your tablet and smartphone are becoming checkout counters.

Overall brick-and-mortar store sales for Thursday and Friday rose 2.3% from last year, to $12.3 billion, according to a report released Saturday by ShopperTrak, a retail industry research firm. But the earlier opening of stores on Thanksgiving cut into sales on Black Friday itself, which were down 13.2% from 2012.

"The Black Friday shopping experience is changing, with more shoppers choosing to go out on Thanksgiving Day," says Bill Martin, ShopperTrak founder, in a statement.

Sales were higher in all regions of the nation except the Northeast, according to the firm. The Northeast dealt with a storm on Wednesday, and the cold and windy aftermath the two days afterward.

While sales in stores edged up, online sales rose -- particularly on mobile devices.

IBM's survey of 800 retail websites showed sales on mobile devices grew by more than 40% from Black Friday last year, accounting for more than one in five online sales transactions Friday and more than one in four on Thanksgiving Day.

While more people browse at merchandise on their smartphones, the report shows they're more likely to touch "checkout" on their tablets. Tablet sales accounted for more than 14% of online sales on Black Friday, about twice the sales of smartphones. Tablet users also spend nearly $133 per order, 15% more than smartphone shoppers.

IBM says year-over-year total online sales grew 19.7% on Thanksgiving Day and nearly 19% on Black Friday.

More reports on holiday weekend sales are expected in coming days.

! Retail analysts are expecting lackluster holiday sales. Although the stock market is at record highs and gas prices have fallen, concern about the 2014 economy and the specter of another government fiscal crisis early in the year has "dampened confidence on the cusp of holiday shopping," Morgan Stanley analysts said.

-- CNNMoney's Hibah Yousuf contributed to this report

Top Growth Companies To Buy For 2014

Alamy Inertia used to be the silent enemy of retirement planning. People just didn't get around to signing up for employer-sponsored 401(k) plans. But thanks to the Pension Protect Act of 2006, regulators began allowing employers to automatically enroll employees in retirement plans, and suddenly, inertia became retirement planning's secret best friend. New employees were automatically signed up for 401(k) plans, and, at first, were required to contribute 2 percent to 3 percent of their base compensation. Nearly everybody complied without a peep, so some employers ratcheted up the minimum contribution to between 4 percent and 6 percent, enabling more employees to capture the maximum employer match. Large employers are more than twice as likely to auto-enroll their employees: According to a new study by Bank of America (BAC) Merrill Lynch, 33 percent of employers with less than $5 million in employee 401(k) plans enrolled employees automatically, compared to 71 percent of employers with more than $100 million in employees' 401(k) plans. As your 401(k) grows, it accounts for a greater share of your total portfolio if you have outside investments. That means you might want to consider actively steering it instead of continuing to let the account be directed by the choices you initially made when it was set up. These steps can help you change gears from passive to active management of your 401(k): 1. Figure out how much monthly income you will need in retirement. Calculate how much you need to save now to achieve that goal. Then, adjust your 401(k) contributions accordingly, depending on your other financial commitments and any employer matching contributions. The Employee Benefit Research Institute offers a suite of retirement income and savings calculators at its public service website, Choose to Save. Joleen Workman, an assistant vice president with retirement and investor services at Principal Financial, says a good rule of thumb is to save about 10 percent of your earnings over the course of your working career. That should yield a retirement income of about 85 percent of the salary you earned just before retiring. But if you're starting late or have had savings interruptions, you might need to bump up your 401(k) contributions to catch up. A relatively painless way to do that is to increase your automatic contribution by one percentage point annually until you reach 10 percent. Those over age 50 can save more in their 401(k) plans, Moore says, according to Internal Revenue Service rules. This calculator from Principal helps you understand your momentum toward your desired retirement income. 2. Review all of your benefits and ask yourself how adjusting one affects another. Your employer may provide financial planning services and educational workshops. Many of these services will give you an integrated view of all your benefits, from health to investment, Crain says. That means that you can get coaching on how to adjust, say, your health care pretax flexible spending account to channel more cash toward retirement savings. 3. Consider hiring an independent financial planner. According to the Principal Financial Well-Being Index, a quarterly survey, only 30 percent of employees work with financial professionals, but of those who do, 59 percent created their own financial goals. For example, if you review your 401(k) with an independent certified financial planner, you might explore if a target-date fund is a good move, says Frank Moore, founding partner of Vintage Financial Services in Ann Arbor, Mich. Target-date funds adjust the mix of investments as retirement approaches, moving from a focus on growth to stability. Usually, Moore says, you can adjust the mix of funds in an employer-sponsored plan at no cost, but confirm the terms before you initiate a trade.

Top Growth Companies To Buy For 2014: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets da Vinci surgical systems for various surgical procedures, including urologic, gynecologic, cardiothoracic, general, and head and neck surgeries. Its da Vinci surgical system consists of a surgeon?s console or consoles, a patient-side cart, a 3-D vision system, and proprietary ?wristed? instruments. The company?s da Vinci surgical system translates the surgeon?s natural hand movements on instrument controls at the console into corresponding micro-movements of instruments positioned inside the patient through small puncture incisions, or ports. It also manufactures a range of EndoWrist instruments, which incorporate wrist joints for natural dexterity for various surgical procedures. Its EndoWrist instruments consist of forceps, scissors, electrocautery, scalpels, and other surgical tools. In addition, it sells various vision and accessory products for use in conjunction with the da Vinci Surgical System as surgical procedures are performed. The company?s accessory products include sterile drapes used to ensure a sterile field during surgery; vision products, such as replacement 3-D stereo endoscopes, camera heads, light guides, and other items. It markets its products through sales representatives in the United States, and through sales representatives and distributors in international markets. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Carroll]

  Shares of medical robotics maker Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG  ) are in free-fall today after yesterday's earnings, with the stock plummeting 4.7% after losing a bundle yesterday as well. Earnings aren't the disappointment, however: Intuitive destroyed analyst expectations and showed solid growth in both procedures and device sales. Investors haven't been so kind to the stock, however, and with shares of the company down almost 8% in the last five days alone, it's time to ask: Why is everyone selling this stock?

• [By Brian Stoffel]

  Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG  ) maker of the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System and market-leader in technology-assisted surgery, is slated to report earnings after the market closes Thursday. For investors who have suffered through a rough 2013 -- with shares trading down almost 20% since the beginning of the year -- here are three key areas to focus on when earnings are reported.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG  )
  I know I've highlighted Intuitive Surgical as a Watchlist worthy stock previously, but following yesterday's out-of-the-blue revenue warning I think investors would be foolish not to add the robotic surgical device maker to their Watchlist if they haven't done so already.

• [By Matt Thalman]

  Two other big Dow winners came from the health-care industry as Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ  ) rose 2.28% and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) gained 2.11%. Johnson & Johnson reported earnings earlier in the week and the company beat on both the top and bottom lines, but after earnings were announced, shares closed even on Tuesday, compared to Monday's close, at $90.40. While investors surely liked the fact that estimates had been topped, they didn't seem to be thrilled with some comments by management that pricing pressure was increasing. But�a poor earnings report, an FDA warning, and weak guidance moving forward from Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) yesterday�make Johnson & Johnson's medical device unit look stronger than ever. And that's why I believe shares of J&J moved higher today.

Top Growth Companies To Buy For 2014: MEDIFAST INC(MED)

Medifast, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of weight management and disease management products, and other consumable health and diet products in the United States. The company?s product lines include weight and disease management, meal replacement, and vitamins. It also operates weight control centers that offer Medifast programs for weight loss and maintenance, customized patient counseling, and inbody composition analysis. The company markets its products under the Medifast and Essential brand names, including shakes, appetite suppression shakes, women?s health shakes, diabetics shakes, joint health shakes, coronary health shakes, calorie burn drinks, calorie burn flavor infusers, antioxidant shakes, antioxidant flavor infusers, bars, crunch bars, soups, chili, oatmeal, pudding, scrambled eggs, hot cocoa, cappuccino, chai latte, iced teas, fruit drinks, pretzels, puffs, brownie, pancakes, soy crisps, crackers, and omega 3 and digestive health products. Medifast Inc. sells its products through various channels of distribution comprising Web, call center, independent health advisors, medical professionals, weight loss clinics, and direct consumer marketing supported via the phone and the Web; Take Shape for Life, a physician led network of independent health coaches; and weight control centers. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Medifast Inc. (NYSE: MED) saw its stock down 5% in evening trading on Tuesday after the weight loss player had soft sales and guided expectations lower. Shares were still indicated down about 5%, but volume has not yet started.

Hot Dividend Companies To Invest In Right Now: TrueBlue Inc.(TBI)

TrueBlue, Inc. provides temporary blue-collar staffing services in the United States. It supplies on demand general labor to various industries under the Labor Ready brand; skilled labor to manufacturing and logistics industries under the Spartan Staffing brand; and trades people for commercial, industrial, and residential construction, and building and plant maintenance industries under the CLP Resources brand. The company also provides mechanics and technicians to the aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul, aerospace manufacturing, and assembly industries, as well as to other transportation industries under the Plane Techs brand; and temporary drivers to the transportation and distribution industries under the Centerline brand. It primarily serves small and medium-size businesses. The company was formerly known as Labor Ready, Inc. and changed its name to TrueBlue, Inc. in December 2007. TrueBlue, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of staffing agency TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI  ) jumped 10% today after the company reported earnings.

  So what: Revenue jumped 19%, to $422.3 million, and beat estimates of $420.2 million from Wall Street. Adjusted earnings per share were also up 19%, to $0.31, outpacing estimates by $0.05.�

Top Growth Companies To Buy For 2014: Checkpoint Systms Inc.(CKP)

Checkpoint Systems, Inc. manufactures and markets identification, tracking, security, and merchandising solutions for the retail and apparel industry worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Shrink Management Solutions, Apparel Labeling Solutions, and Retail Merchandising Solutions. The Shrink Management Solutions segment provides shrink management and merchandise visibility solutions. It offers electronic article surveillance systems, such as EVOLVE, a suite of RF and RFID-enabled products that act as a deterrent to prevent merchandise theft in retail stores; and electronic article surveillance consumables, including EAS-RF and EAS-EM labels that work in combination with EAS systems to reduce merchandise theft in retail stores. This segment also provides keepers, spider wraps, bottle security, and hard tags, as well as Showsafe, a line alarm system for protecting display merchandise. In addition, it offers physical and electronic store monitoring solutions, incl uding fire alarms, intrusion alarms, and digital video recording systems for retail environments; and RFID tags and labels. The Apparel Labeling Solutions segment provides apparel labeling solutions to apparel retailers, brand owners, and manufacturers. It has Web-enabled apparel labeling solutions platform and network of 28 service bureaus located in 22 countries that supplies customers with customized apparel tags and labels. The Retail Merchandising Solutions segment offers hand-held label applicators and tags, promotional displays, and queuing systems. The company serves retailers in the supermarket, drug store, hypermarket, and mass merchandiser markets through direct distribution and reseller channels. Checkpoint Systems was founded in 1969 and is based in Thorofare, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Three months after settling upon a new chief executive officer, it looks like Thorofare, N. J.-based Checkpoint Systems (NYSE: CKP  ) will soon have itself a new CFO as well.

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap Checkpoint Systems, Inc (NYSE: CKP) fights shoplifting or retail theft and other forms of�"shrink��that costs retailers over $112 billion worldwide last year (according to a study funded by the company), meaning it might be an interesting stock to take a closer look at and to compare its performance with that of SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSEARCA: XRT) and PowerShares Dynamic Retail ETF (NYSEARCA: PMR). Just how bad can shoplifting or shrink be for a retailer? Troubled retailer J.C. Penney Company, Inc (NYSE: JCP) has just reported that shoplifting took a full percentage point off the department store chain's profit margins during the quarter. Moreover and given that tens of millions of Americans are now facing higher health insurance costs thanks to Obamacare (which will likely impact consumer discretionary spending),�retailers�will need to find ways to shore up their margins and bottom lines by preventing�retail theft with solutions from company�� like Checkpoint Systems.

Top Growth Companies To Buy For 2014: Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc.(EIHI)

Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides workers compensation insurance and reinsurance products in the United States. The company?s Workers Compensation Insurance segment provides traditional workers compensation insurance coverage products, including guaranteed cost policies, policyholder dividend policies, retrospectively-rated policies, deductible policies, and alternative market products to employers. This segment distributes its workers? compensation products and services through its independent insurance agents primarily in Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, Maryland, Indiana, and Virginia. Its Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance segment offers alternative market workers compensation solutions comprising program design, fronting, claims administration, risk management, segregated portfolio cell rental, asset management, and segregated portfolio management services to individual companies, groups, and associations. Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  ProAssurance Corp.(PRA) agreed to acquire Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc.(EIHI) for about $205 million, expanding the insurance company’s casualty insurance offerings. Eastern Insurance is a domestic casualty insurance group specializing in workers’ compensation products and services, among other things. ProAssurance plans to pay $24.50 in cash for each outstanding Eastern share, a 16% premium over Monday’s closing price.

Typhoon may devastate Philippines’ economy

While it undoubtedly killed many thousands of people, the economic toll on the Philippines from Typhoon Haiyan actually could have been worse.

The storm took an estimated $14 billion toll on Filipino property, according to tktk. But the path of Haiyan meant it imposed only minor damage in and around the capital of Manila -- home to about 12% of the nation's people and a third of its annual economic output of about $430 billion.

The Filipino economy has been growing faster than 7% a year this year, after growing 6.8% in 2012. By Asian standards, that is pretty good -- it's growing faster than India, if slower than China, It is reasonably well diversified, as business-process outsourcing centers and call centers spring up to complement electronics-assembly factrories and agriculture.

A moderate national debt will work in the favor of Filipino recovery, said Rachel van.Elkan, mission chief for the Philippines at the International Monetary Fund. With an investment-grade bond rating and a debt to GDP ratio of 40% -- compared with TK% for the U.S. -- the nation will be able to finance its reconstruction after international aid pours in to address the humanitarian crisis, she said.

``Things have been looking up for the Philippines,'' van Elkan said. ``In our assessment they continue to do so.''

Metro Manila is the center of the nation's financial services business, and also has the largest share of its manufacturing because of its access to ports, van Elkan said. It is also the largest single home of the outsourcing companies that have boosted employment in the Philippines to as many as 900,000 people, according to consiuting firm Tholons.

Cebu, a city of more than 3 million people where major industries include tourism and outsourcing, was heavily damaged by the storm. U.S. companies with operations there include United Healthcare and tktk, according to Filipino press reports.

Until the storm hit, the Philippines' economy had been expected to grow 6.8% this year, accor! ding to the International Monetary Fund, and actually grew more than 7% in the first half of the year. Its government debt has an investment-grade rating, which Fitch Ratings raised earlier this year, and its consumers spend more freely than in some developing nations, but it had weak infrastructure and relatively high unemployment at 7.5% even before the storm hit, according to an analysis by accounting firm Deloitte in September.

Haiyan's total impact may reach $14 billion (U.S. dollars), said economic consulting firm Moody's Analytics. As many as 9.5 million people, or 10% of the population, may have been directly affected by the typhoon, with half the nation's sugar cane fields and a third of its rice-growing land wiped out, Moody's said.

"The economy has weathered global economic and financial downturns better than its regional peers due to minimal exposure to troubled international securities, lower dependence on exports, relatively resilient domestic consumption, large remittances from four- to five-million overseas Filipino workers, and a rapidly expanding business-process outsourcing industry,'' CIA analysts wrote in the 2013 World Factbook.

Spokespeople for the International Monetary Fund and IHS Global Insight said it's too early to make meaningful estimates of the economic damage.

About 8% of the nation's $430 billion economy comes from money sent back home by emigrants, usually to their families, Fitch said. Another 35% comes from exports.

The $430 billion works out to annual output of about $4,500 per person, placing the Philippines between 122nd and 130th among the 180-plus national economies worldwide, according to analyses by the World Bank, the IMF and the CIA.

Wal-Mart Lays Groundwork for Future as Markets Soar on News of Debt Ceiling Deal

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over daily movements, we do like to keep an eye on market changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

As of 1:05 p.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) is up 179 points, or 1.18%, to wipe out yesterday's 133-point decline. This big jump higher came shortly after the opening bell rang as senators indicated a plan was formed to get a debt ceiling compromise passed as soon as possible. But there is still a lot that needs to be done, and the deal must be voted on by both the Senate and House of Representatives. Regardless of the number of times investors have been told a deal was just around the corner, the markets are once again rallying across the board: The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ are higher by 1.16% and 1.08%, respectively.

One big Dow mover today is Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT  ) , up 1.1% after yesterday's analyst meeting in Arkansas. The company had a lot of big news to report, including the expansion of its grocery delivery service through a test offering in Denver. The service was previously only offered in the California cities of San Jose and San Francisco. The decision to expand the service comes as Amazon.com, eBay, and even Google are offering same-day delivery for different types of merchandise. This is clearly a way for Wal-Mart to fight the big tech companies at their own game. 

Furthermore, Wal-Mart reported that it expects overall sales to increase 1.9% to 3% in fiscal 2014, which is starting now for the company. That would put total revenue at $475 billion to $480 billion, higher than last year's $466 billion. Additionally, the company believes fiscal 2015 will produce 3% to 5% growth as it adjusts its sales strategies to meet those goals. The company also believes its square footage growth will be slightly smaller in the coming budget year than it had previously said. The company now plans to open 34 million square feet of store space during fiscal 2014 and 33 million square feet in 2015. Those figures are down from a range of 36 million to 40 million square feet in 2014 and 33 million to 37 million square feet in 2015.  

This is good news for Wal-Mart investors, but remember that it's just what the company plans to do -- not what it has done. These projections should be taken with a grain of salt. For example, the economy could tumble back into another recession, and the 3% expected revenue growth may fall apart as the company tries to make it through the rough patch. If you need Wal-Mart to grow revenue at 3% to make it a worthwhile investment, you should probably pass on the company and continue looking elsewhere.

Who Will Rule Retail?
The retail space is in the midst of the biggest paradigm shift since mail order took off at the turn of last century. Only those most forward-looking and capable companies will survive, and they'll handsomely reward those investors who understand the landscape. You can read about the "3 Companies Ready to Rule Retail" in The Motley Fool's special report. Uncovering these top picks is free today; just click here to read more.

Step Aside, Bill Gross: In Search of the New ETF Rock Stars

Where are the rock stars in the world of exchange-traded funds?

This was the big question on the minds of trend-watching ETF pundits as they brought the Morningstar ETF Invest Conference 2013 to a close on Friday.

While the pundits agreed that Bill Gross, manager of the PIMCO Total Return ETF (BOND), is the biggest “rock star” in the fixed-income space, they also concurred that active management of “smart beta” equity ETFs will be the next big trend.

So step aside, Mr. Gross, said ETF media mavens Matt Hougan of IndexUniverse and Tom Lydon of ETF Trends at Morningstar’s “Meet the Pundits” panel on Friday. Your days as the biggest rock star in the ETF universe are numbered as smart beta awaits the emergence of rock-star equity ETF managers who will make as big a splash as rock-star mutual fund managers did in the 1980s. (Think Sir John Templeton’s Growth Fund and John Neff’s Windsor Fund.)

“The ETF business is boring. Bill Gross is our rock star. We need to do better,” Lydon said at the panel that moderator Brendan Conway of Barron’s characterized as a “no-holds-barred, rapid-fire” review of all things ETF.

Lydon wrote an ETF Trends comment in September that looks at trends such as the growing number of quasi-actively managed strategies, or factor strategies, that use enhanced, smart-beta indexing methodologies. On Friday, he noted that as ETFs have grown in popularity over the last 20 years, ETF and index providers’ initial expectation that active management would be the next big thing has given way to “active management in a smart beta deliverable.”

While Hougan predicted that the next rock stars will be found among the ETF portfolio strategists and not the fund managers, Morningstar’s passive funds research director Ben Johnson, also on the pundits panel, said that ETF managed portfolio growth has been phenomenal. Morningstar data now puts these portfolios at a total of $80 billion, “and it’s growing at a really rapid clip,” Johnson said.

(Indeed, Morningstar is looking to add a “smart beta” category winner to its ETF awards next year, but it’s not thrilled with the term, said alternative investment researcher Scott Burns, who pointed out that smart beta assumes that there’s also “dumb beta” kicking around the ETF universe.)

With the rapid rise in smart beta ETFs, Conway pointed out that the trend has laden investors down with a lot of new information to digest. “How do you distinguish from marketing and what really works? How do you kick the tires?” he asked. “It’s time to go back to school, quite frankly,” Johnson answered. “This is some dense stuff” that’s rooted in academia and creates big challenges for ETF providers to describe smart beta in plain English to the end investor. Providers also need to do due diligence of risk factors to ensure that the new ETFs live up to what’s promised, he said.

“Benchmarking and keeping tabs on these managers is a big challenge,” Johnson said, and advisors should look for performance track records and who’s on staff, including portfolio managers, traders and compliance professionals.

“here are great people in this space running some institutional-caliber portfolios, but there are also a lot of yahoos in the space running crazy strategies,” Hougan chimed in. “They’re turning over their portfolios at a rate of 300% to 400% a year. It’s the wild, wild West. These guys are doing interesting things, but you’ve got to be careful.”

Read Morningstar Picks Best ETF Providers for 2013 at ThinkAdvisor.

4 Things to Know About Grand Theft Auto V

It’s a red letter day for video gamers.

On Tuesday, Rockstar Games, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO), released its much anticipated Grand Theft Auto V. The game allows players to navigate a large city, interacting with various unsavory and often violent criminals as they carry out missions. Players get to take part in car chases, shoot-outs and assorted examples of mayhem. The game’s latest edition remains true to the spirit of gleeful carnage found in its previous iterations, USA TODAY notes.

Here are four things to know about Grand Theft Auto V:

It is available for both Sony‘s (SNE) Playstation 3 and Microsoft‘s (MSFT) Xbox 360 consoles. It is set in a fictionalized urban landscape based on Los Angeles. It offers three main characters, unlike prior editions, which focused on one. Rockstar Games will launch an online version — Grand Theft Auto Online — next month.
Nintendo Still Won't Make a Cash Grab for Mobile Games

Yesterday, Amazon (AMZN) said that it had sold out its pre-orders of Grand Theft Auto V for Xbox consoles, though some copies for the Playstation were still available.

Shares of Take-Two climbed more than 2% in Tuesday pre-market trading.

Top Growth Companies For 2014

LONDON -- I'm always searching for shares that can help ordinary investors like you make money from the stock market.

So right now I am trawling through the FTSE 100�and giving my verdict on every member of the blue-chip index. Simply put, I'm hoping to pinpoint the very best buying opportunities in today's uncertain market.

Today, I am looking at�Prudential� (LSE: PRU  ) (NYSE: PUK  ) to determine whether you should consider buying the shares at 1,097p.

I am assessing each company on several ratios:

Price-to-earnings (P/E):�Does the share look good value when compared against its competitors?

Price Earnings Growth (PEG):�Does the share look good value factoring in predicted growth?

Yield:�Does the share provide a solid income for investors?

Dividend cover:�Is the dividend sustainable?

So let's look at the numbers: Stock Price 3-yr EPS growth Projected P/E PEG Yield 3-yr dividend growth Dividend cover Prudential 1,097p 60% 12.3 1 2.8% 22% 3

The consensus analyst estimate for this year's earnings per share is 89p (11% growth) and dividend per share is 31p (4% growth).

Top Growth Companies For 2014: Crocs Inc.(CROX)

Crocs, Inc. and its subsidiaries engage in the design, development, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of footwear, apparel, and accessories for men, women, and children. The company primarily offers casual and athletic shoes, and shoe charms. It also designs and sells a range of footwear and accessories that utilize its proprietary closed cell-resin, called Croslite. The company?s footwear products include boots, sandals, sneakers, mules, and flats. In addition, it provides footwear products for the hospital, restaurant, hotel, and hospitality markets, as well as general foot care and diabetic-needs markets. Further, the company offers leather and ethylene vinyl acetate based footwear, sandals, and printed apparels principally for the beach, adventure, and action sports markets; and accessories comprising snap-on charms. The company sells its products through the United States and international retailers and distributors, as well as directly to end-user consumers th rough its company-operated retail stores, outlets, kiosks, and Web stores primarily under the Crocs Work, Crocs Rx, Jibbitz, Ocean Minded, and YOU by Crocs brand names. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 164 retail kiosks located in malls and other high foot traffic areas; 138 retail stores; 76 outlet stores; and 46 Web stores. Crocs, Inc. operates in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company was formerly known as Western Brands, LLC and changed its name to Crocs, Inc. in January 2005. Crocs, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Niwot, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Bieglmeier]

  According to Yahoo finance, Crocs, Inc. (CROX) will release its third quarter financial results on Monday, October 21, 2013; however, the company's investor's relations page makes no note of any impending announcements. That being said, CROX normally reports Q3 EPS around October 24th. So, next Thursday-ish instead of Monday is possible.

• [By Chris Hill]

  Visa (NYSE: V  ) and Under Armour (NYSE: UA  ) hit new all-time highs. General Motors (NYSE: GM  ) appears to be turning the corner in Europe. And second-quarter profits for Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX  ) fell a whopping 43%. In this installment of Investor Beat, Motley Fool analysts David Hanson and Jason Moser discuss four stocks making moves on Thursday.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Crocs (CROX) has dropped 5.5% to $12.93 after it was cut to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

  CF Industries�(CF) has gained 3.6% to $$217.51 after it sold its phosphate business to�Mosaic�(MOS) for $1.4 billion. Mosaic edged up 0.1% to $45.98.

Top Growth Companies For 2014: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets da Vinci surgical systems for various surgical procedures, including urologic, gynecologic, cardiothoracic, general, and head and neck surgeries. Its da Vinci surgical system consists of a surgeon?s console or consoles, a patient-side cart, a 3-D vision system, and proprietary ?wristed? instruments. The company?s da Vinci surgical system translates the surgeon?s natural hand movements on instrument controls at the console into corresponding micro-movements of instruments positioned inside the patient through small puncture incisions, or ports. It also manufactures a range of EndoWrist instruments, which incorporate wrist joints for natural dexterity for various surgical procedures. Its EndoWrist instruments consist of forceps, scissors, electrocautery, scalpels, and other surgical tools. In addition, it sells various vision and accessory products for use in conjunction with the da Vinci Surgical System as surgical procedures are performed. The company?s accessory products include sterile drapes used to ensure a sterile field during surgery; vision products, such as replacement 3-D stereo endoscopes, camera heads, light guides, and other items. It markets its products through sales representatives in the United States, and through sales representatives and distributors in international markets. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  On Thursday, Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG  ) will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed kneejerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

• [By Sean Williams]

  I've stood by Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG  ) and supported the robotic surgical device maker through thick and thin all while short-sellers and skeptics have torn it apart. Last night, the ball was knocked decisively back to the pessimist's side of the court.

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, surgical-robot specialist Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG  ) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

• [By David Williamson]

  Exact Sciences' (NASDAQ: EXAS  ) phase 3 trial for its colon cancer detection test passed, but the stock dropped 20%. What gives? In this video, David Williamson goes into the details of Exact Sciences' DNA-based test. The overall effectiveness of the Cologuard test was 92%. However, the detection rate was 42%, less than colonoscopy, and the 87% overall accuracy rate leads to a higher false positive rate than most doctors would like to see. Is Exact Sciences doomed? Not really -- it has $100 million in the bank. It may be a takeover target, and David sees Intuitive Surgical� (NASDAQ: ISRG  ) as a possible buyer.

Top Low Price Stocks To Watch For 2014: Waste Management Inc.(WM)

Waste Management, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides waste management services to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in North America. It offers collection, transfer, recycling, and disposal services. The company also owns, develops, and operates waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. Its collection services involves in picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility, or disposal site; and recycling operations include collection and materials processing, plastics materials recycling, and commodities recycling. In addition, it provides recycling brokerage, which includes managing the marketing of recyclable materials for third parties; and electronic recycling services, such as collection, sorting, and disassembling of discarded computers, communications equipment, and other electronic equipment. Further, the company e ngages in renting and servicing portable restroom facilities to municipalities and commercial customers under the Port-o-Let name; and involves in landfill gas-to-energy operations comprising recovering and processing the methane gas produced naturally by landfills into a renewable energy source, as well as provides street and parking lot sweeping services. Additionally, it offers portable self-storage, fluorescent lamp recycling, and medical waste services for healthcare facilities, pharmacies, and individuals, as well as provides services on behalf of third parties to construct waste facilities. The company was formerly known as USA Waste Services, Inc. and changed its name to Waste Management, Inc. in 1998. Waste Management, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  Consider that municipalities and industrial giants such as�Waste Management� (NYSE: WM  ) �are converting their fleets -- in this case garbage trucks -- to�run on natural gas fuels�(link opens a video). It's a little easier for Waste Management, since it uses biogas generated from its managed landfills to fuel its own vehicles. Clean Energy Fuels also sources biomethane from one of its landfills in Dallas. In fact, the facility can produce up to 36,000 gasoline-equivalent gallons�each day. It's like the old saying goes: One man's trash is another man's fuel.��

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  For example, a company involved in a mundane business like running hair salons ��like Regis (RGS), dentist offices ��like Birner Dental (BDMS), grocery stores ��like Village Supermarket (VLGEA), or garbage dumps ��like Waste Management (WM), may be easy to estimate as essentially a no-growth business.

• [By Chris Hill]

  Waste Management (NYSE: WM  ) reported a slight decline in first-quarter profits but revenues increased. Shares of the trash giant hit their highest point since 1999. In this installment of Motley Fool Money, our analysts talk about the future of Waste Management.

Top Growth Companies For 2014: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Nordstrom, Inc., a fashion specialty retailer, offers apparel, shoes, cosmetics, and accessories for women, men, and children in the United States. It offers a selection of brand name and private label merchandise. The company sells its products through various channels, including Nordstrom full-line stores, off-price Nordstrom Rack stores, Jeffrey? boutiques, treasure & bond, and Last Chance clearance stores; and its online store, nordstrom.com, as well as through catalog. Nordstrom also provides a private label card, two Nordstrom VISA credit cards, and a debit card for Nordstrom purchases. The company?s credit and debit cards feature a shopping-based loyalty program. As of September 30, 2011, it operated 222 stores, including 117 full-line stores, 101 Nordstrom Racks, 2 Jeffrey boutiques, 1 treasure & bond store, and 1 clearance store in 30 states. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Andrew Marder]

  Betting on history
  While past performance isn't a guarantee of future performance, it sure as heck helps gauge the likelihood of success. Not a whole lot of companies can boast the history that Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN  ) can. The company was founded in 1901, surviving everything from World Wars to Depressions to get to where it is today. Last year, Nordstrom managed a 7.3% increase in comparable-store sales, helping to push revenue up 12% for the year.

• [By Jonathan Berr]

  Costco is one of many retailers ranging from Nordstrom (JWN) on the high end to Walmart (WMT) on the low end to generate earnings that lagged Wall Street�� forecasts. Nonetheless, judging from its earnings, COST is holding its own in these challenging economic times.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The day’s winners include Nordstrom (JWN), which gained 3.4% to $60.79 and is scheduled to report earnings on Thursday, and Mosaic (MOS), which jumped 3.2% to $43.85 and continued its strong showing following a Friday upgrade.

• [By Alex Planes]

  This graph represents the "purchase consideration" of Men's Wearhouse against some of its largest suit-selling competitors, listed as Jos. A. Bank (NASDAQ: JOSB  ) , Macy's (NYSE: M  ) , and Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN  ) , among others. The industry average has been pretty steady, but Men's Wearhouse appears to be wearing thin among millennials (and among male consumers on the bubble between the millennial generation and Generation X). If that's so, then why did Men's Wearhouse report a nice spike in profits in its latest report? Well, older consumers still like the way they look in a Zimmer-promoted suit:

Top Growth Companies For 2014: MEDIFAST INC(MED)

Medifast, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of weight management and disease management products, and other consumable health and diet products in the United States. The company?s product lines include weight and disease management, meal replacement, and vitamins. It also operates weight control centers that offer Medifast programs for weight loss and maintenance, customized patient counseling, and inbody composition analysis. The company markets its products under the Medifast and Essential brand names, including shakes, appetite suppression shakes, women?s health shakes, diabetics shakes, joint health shakes, coronary health shakes, calorie burn drinks, calorie burn flavor infusers, antioxidant shakes, antioxidant flavor infusers, bars, crunch bars, soups, chili, oatmeal, pudding, scrambled eggs, hot cocoa, cappuccino, chai latte, iced teas, fruit drinks, pretzels, puffs, brownie, pancakes, soy crisps, crackers, and omega 3 and digestive health products. Medifast Inc. sells its products through various channels of distribution comprising Web, call center, independent health advisors, medical professionals, weight loss clinics, and direct consumer marketing supported via the phone and the Web; Take Shape for Life, a physician led network of independent health coaches; and weight control centers. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Hanley]

  Consumer-goods marketer Blyth (NYSE: BTH  ) , owner of weight-loss upstart ViSalus, has been in the doghouse lately, sitting near a 52-week low due to poor results in its weight-loss unit.� Despite a large potential customer base of overweight people worldwide, the industry has had difficulty generating growth lately, with data provider Marketdata Enterprises estimating that industry sales rose only 1.7% in 2012.� However, Blyth caught a bid in late October from a proposed combination with marketing-services provider CVSL, indicating that some people see incremental value in Blyth's businesses.�So, should small investors bet on this small cap or should they focus their attention on Weight watchers International (NYSE: WTW  ) and Medifast (NYSE: MED  ) instead?

Top Growth Companies For 2014: Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc.(EIHI)

Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides workers compensation insurance and reinsurance products in the United States. The company?s Workers Compensation Insurance segment provides traditional workers compensation insurance coverage products, including guaranteed cost policies, policyholder dividend policies, retrospectively-rated policies, deductible policies, and alternative market products to employers. This segment distributes its workers? compensation products and services through its independent insurance agents primarily in Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, Maryland, Indiana, and Virginia. Its Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance segment offers alternative market workers compensation solutions comprising program design, fronting, claims administration, risk management, segregated portfolio cell rental, asset management, and segregated portfolio management services to individual companies, groups, and associations. Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  ProAssurance Corp.(PRA) agreed to acquire Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc.(EIHI) for about $205 million, expanding the insurance company’s casualty insurance offerings. Eastern Insurance is a domestic casualty insurance group specializing in workers’ compensation products and services, among other things. ProAssurance plans to pay $24.50 in cash for each outstanding Eastern share, a 16% premium over Monday’s closing price.

Top Growth Companies For 2014: CNO Financial Group Inc. (CNO)

CNO Financial Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the development, marketing, and administration of health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, and other insurance products for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. The company markets and distributes Medicare supplement insurance, interest-sensitive and traditional life insurance, fixed annuities, and long-term care insurance products; Medicare advantage plans through a distribution arrangement with Humana Inc.; and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans through a distribution and reinsurance arrangement with Coventry Health Care. It also markets and distributes supplemental health, including specified disease, accident, and hospital indemnity insurance products; and life insurance to middle-income consumers at home and the worksite through independent marketing organizations and insurance agencies. In addition, the company markets primarily graded benefit and simplified issue life insurance products directly to customers through television advertising, direct mail, Internet, and telemarketing. It sells its products through career agents, independent producers, direct marketing, and sales managers. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has strategic alliances with Coventry and Humana. The company was formerly known as Conseco, Inc. and changed its name to CNO Financial Group, Inc. in May 2010. CNO Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vanin Aegea]

  I have heard many people comment about the insurance policies for cars, houses, life, assets, etc. The arguments always revolve around the same issue: Is it really necessary? What are the chances to be hit by a Hurricane, or to meet a sudden death? Well, nobody really knows. Some individuals however, sleep better when they know a policy backs their life investments. Here, I will look into three insurance companies that concentrate on different policies, or geographies. These are: China Life (LFC), and Conseco (CNO).

• [By David Fried, Editor, The Buyback Letter]

  Insurance holding company CNO Financial Group (CNO) and its insurance subsidiaries��rincipally Bankers Life and Casualty Company, Washington National, and Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company��erve pre-retiree and retired Americans.

Top Growth Companies For 2014: Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.(BWLD)

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. engages in the ownership, operation, and franchise of restaurants in the United States. The company provides quick casual and casual dining services, as well as serves bottled beers, wines, and liquor. As of July 26, 2011, it had 773 Buffalo Wild Wings locations in 45 states in the United States, as well as in Canada. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD  )
  Just because consumers refuse to give up their ability to take a vacation doesn't mean they aren't looking for other creative ways to save a dollar. Unless you're staying with family, you don't have much choice when it comes to food -- you have to eat out. I'm going out on a limb and projecting that Buffalo Wild Wings will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of consumers who dine out this summer. If you've kept up with the company's rapid expansion, you'd notice that it's moving into warmer, hot-spot vacation destinations within the United States. In addition, it's been adding new menu items that are reasonably priced and won't break a family of four's bank. With BWW's big sports-bar appeal and NCAA sponsorship, getting traffic into its restaurants this summer shouldn't be difficult. As long as chicken prices cooperate, I expect a sizable upside surprise from BWW in the coming quarters.

• [By Chris Hill]

  Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill has trademarked the term "breastaurant." Are restaurants like these a threat to "non-breastaurants" like Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD  ) ? In this installment of MarketFoolery, our analysts discuss what it all means for investors.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Next Monday, Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD  ) will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed, knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

Can Best Buy Win Where J.C. Penney Failed?

The concept of a store-within-a-store has been around for years. It just hasn't been called store-within-a-store -- it's been called a mall. But as brands have become more important to retail than the retailer itself, the stores have gotten smaller, even choosing to be within larger stores.

This concept was supposed to be the savior for J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP  ) , with boutique-style shops lining the store's corridors. But that concept was an abysmal failure for the retailer, and the mastermind behind it -- Ron Johnson -- is now out as CEO. Now, Best Buy (NYSE: BBY  ) is expanding its store-within-a-store concept with the Samsung Experience Shop and Windows Stores, another risky bet for another floundering retailer. 

A whole new ballgame
The big difference between JC Penney's efforts and Best Buy's comes down to the draw of the brands. JC Penney was betting on Levi's, Liz Claiborne, and Joe Fresh as brands to draw in customers, and Best Buy is betting on Samsung, Microsoft, and Apple.

The draw of those three brands, which dominate electronics, will be bigger than any of the brands JC Penney offered. Best Buy is also one of the only major retailers remaining that can carry full product lines where customers can touch, test, and compare electronics products.

For brands, the draw of Best Buy will keep this partnership alive. Samsung and Microsoft see Best Buy as a way to expand in retail without building their own stores. Plus, they can train employees to be knowledgeable in their products, improving the sales experience for consumers. Apple also has a footprint in Best Buy, and that only expands the company's reach into more retail locations beyond its own stores.

Can Best Buy win?
JC Penney showed how risky the store-within-a-store concept can be, but I think Best Buy has a much better chance at success. The company's brand draw is much stronger than JC Penney's, and consumers will get a better, more in-depth experience from Microsoft, Apple, and Samsung-specific sections than they did under the old model.

The success of this model may determine whether Best Buy is a good investment and, potentially, its very survival. Revenue and earnings have dropped dramatically over the past year, so investors have to hope that stores-within-the-store will kick-start sales.

BBY Revenue TTM data by YCharts

The risk Best Buy is taking shows just how much of a paradigm shift we've seen in retail. Even the best retailers have struggled against online competition and only those most forward-looking and capable companies will survive. You can read about the 3 Companies Ready to Rule Retail in The Motley Fool's special report. Uncovering these top picks is free today; just click here to read more.

Los Angeles School District to Buy $30 Million Of iPads

The Los Angeles School Board of Education has committed to buy $30 million worth of iPads for its students starting this fall, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) announced yesterday.

Under the two-year plan, the nation's second-largest public school district will provide an iPad to every student across 47 different schools. The Los Angeles Times reports the district will be paying $678 per device. That's more than a typical unit, but they will come pre-loaded with educational software including the Pearson Common Core System of courses. Apple says apps such as iWork, iLife, and iTunes are included in addition to a range of educational third-party apps. 

LAUSD Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Jaime Aquino was quoted as saying the board unanimously voted for Apple because the iPad was the highest-quality and least expensive option. The iPad also received the highest scoring by a review panel that included students and teachers.

Apple says about 10 million iPads are already in use at schools worldwide.

link

Top Warren Buffett Stocks To Own For 2014

The�Berkshire Hathaway� (NYSE: BRK-A  ) (NYSE: BRK-B  ) annual meeting is attended by throngs of Berkshire faithful. For some shareholders at the meeting, it's probably impossible for Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett to�ever be wrong in their eyes. If we're being realistic, though, Buffett does indeed have his slip-ups. As partner-in-crime Charlie Munger put it:

"Just because Warren thought something years ago doesn't make it a law of nature."

With that in mind, I rounded up the team of Fools who attended this year's Berkshire meeting to ask in what ways Buffett disappointed them during the meeting.

Brendan Mathews: Toward the end of the meeting, a shareholder asked about IBM's (NYSE: IBM  ) moat. Warren basically sidestepped the question, saying he didn't understand IBM's moat as well as Coca-Cola's (NYSE: KO  ) . According to Buffett, He likes IBM's financial policies and thinks it will do well, but he feels more conviction in Coca-Cola, Wrigley, Heinz (NYSE: HNZ  ) , and Burlington Northern Santa Fe.

Top Warren Buffett Stocks To Own For 2014: Novellus Systems Inc.(NVLS)

Novellus Systems, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, sells, and supports equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. The company operates in two segments, Semiconductor Group and Industrial Applications Group. The Semiconductor Group segment provides equipment used in wafer processing, advanced wafer-level packaging, and light-emitting diode (LED) manufacturing. Its deposition systems use chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), and electrochemical deposition (ECD) processes to form transistor, capacitor, and interconnect layers in an integrated circuit; and High-Density Plasma CVD (HDP-CVD) and Plasma-Enhanced CVD (PECVD) systems employ chemical plasma to deposit dielectric material within the gaps formed by the etching of aluminum, or as a blanket film that can be etched with patterns for depositing conductive materials into the etched dielectric. This segment?s CVD Tungsten systems are used to deposit co nductive contacts between transistors and interconnects; PVD systems are used to deposit conductive aluminum and copper metal layers by sputtering metal atoms; and Electrofil ECD systems are used for depositing copper to form the conductive wiring on integrated circuits using copper interconnects. The Industrial Applications Group segment provides grinding, lapping, and polishing equipment for fine-surface optimization. It offers products for use in the semiconductor and LED manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, medical, green energy, and glass and ceramics industries, as well as manufacturers of products, such as pumps, transmissions, compressors, and bearings. The company markets its products through direct sales force and manufacturer?s representatives primarily in Europe, the United States, Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, and southeast Asia. Novellus Systems, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Top Warren Buffett Stocks To Own For 2014: Smiths Group(SMIN.L)

Smiths Group plc engages in the development, manufacture, sale, and support of products and services for the threat and contraband detection, energy, medical devices, communications, and engineered components markets worldwide. The company offers security equipment, including trace detection, millimetre-wave, infrared, biological detection, and diagnostics that detect and identify explosives, narcotics, weapons, chemical agents, biohazards, nuclear and radioactive material, and contraband. It also provides mechanical seals, seal support systems, engineered bearings, power transmission couplings, specialist filtration systems, and other hardware products for the oil and gas, chemical, pharmaceutical, pulp and paper, and mining sectors. In addition, the company offers medical devices aligned to specific therapies, primarily airway, pain and temperature management, infusion, needle protection, critical care monitoring, and vascular access. Further, it provides electronic and radio frequency products that connect, protect, and control critical systems for the wireless telecommunications, aerospace, defense, space, medical, rail, test, and industrial markets; and engineered components comprising ducting, hose assemblies, and heating elements that move and heat fluids and gases for the aerospace, medical, industrial, construction, and domestic markets. The company was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in London, United Kingdom.

5 Best High Tech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ITUB.N)

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A., incorporated on September 9, 1943, is a bank in Brazil. The Company has four operational segments: Commercial Banking, Itau BBA, Consumer Credit and Corporate and Treasury. Commercial banking, including insurance, pension plan and capitalization products, credit cards, asset management and a variety of credit products and services for individuals, small and middle-market companies). Itau BBA includes corporate and investment banking. Consumer credit includes financial products and services to its non-accountholders. Corporate and treasury includes the results related to the trading activities in its portfolio, trading related to managing currency, interest rate and other market risk factors, gap management and arbitrage opportunities in domestic and foreign markets. It also includes the results associated with financial income from the investment of its excess capital.

On October 24, 2010, Itau Unibanco completed the integration of customer service locations throughout Brazil. In total, 998 branches and 245 customer site branches (CSB) of Unibanco were redesigned and integrated as Itau Unibanco customer service locations, thus creating a network of approximately 4,700 units in the country under the Itau brand. The Company is a financial holding company controlled by Itau Unibanco Participacoes S.A. (IUPAR). As of December 31, 2010, it had a network of 3,747 service branches throughout Brazil. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 913 CSBs throughout Brazil. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 28,844 automated teller machines (ATMs) throughout Brazil.

Commercial banking

The commercial banking segment offers a range of banking services to a diversified base of individuals and companies. Services offered by the commercial banking segment include insurance, pension plan and capitalization products, credit cards, asset management, credit products and customized products and solu tions. The commercial banking segment comprises the special! i! zed areas and products, such as retail banking (individuals); public sector banking; personnalite (banking for high-income individuals); private banking (banking and financial consulting for wealthy individuals); very small business banking; small business banking; middle-market banking; credit cards; real estate financing; asset management; corporate social responsibility fund; securities services for third parties; brokerage, and insurance, private retirement and capitalization products.

The Company�� credit products include personal loans, overdraft protection, payroll loans, vehicles, credit cards, mortgage and agricultural loans, working capital, trade note discount and export. Its investments products include pension plans, mutual funds, time deposits, demand deposit accounts, savings accounts and capitalization plans. Its services include insurance (life, home, credit/cash cards, vehicles, loan protection, among others), exchange, brokerage and others. Its core business is retail banking, which serves individuals with a monthly income below R$7,000. In October 2010, it completed the conversion of branches under the Unibanco brand to the Itau brand and as of December 31, 2010, it had over 15.2 million customers and 4,660 branches and CSBs. Its public sector business operates in all areas of the public sector, including the federal, state and municipal governments (in the executive, legislative and judicial branches). As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 2,300 public sector customers. Itau Personnalite�� focus is delivering financial advisory services by its managers, who understand the specific needs of its higher-income customers; a portfolio of exclusive products and services; special benefits based on the type and length of relationship with the customer, including discounts on various products and services. Itau Personnalite�� customer base reached more than 600,000 individuals as of December 31, 2010. Itau Personnalite customers also have access to Itau Unibanco! ne! twor! k of ! branches and ATMs throughout the country, as well as Internet banking and phone.

Itau Private Bank is a Brazilian bank in the global private banking industry, providing wealth management services to approximately 17,951 Latin American clients as of December 31, 2010. The Company serves its customers��needs for offshore wealth management solutions in major jurisdictions through independent institutions in the United States through Banco Itau Europa International and Itau Europa Securities , in Luxembourg through Banco Itau Europa Luxembourg S.A. , in Switzerland through Banco Itau Suisse , in the Bahamas through BIE Bank & Trust Bahamas and in Cayman through Unicorp Bank & Trust Cayman. As of December 31, 2010, it had over 565 very small business banking offices located throughout Brazil and approximately 2,500 managers working for over 1,235,000 small business customers. Loans to very small businesses totaled R$5,981 million as of December 31, 2010. As of Dece mber 31, 2010, it had 374 small business banking offices located nationwide in Brazil and nearly 2,500 managers who worked for over 525,000 companies. Loans to small businesses totaled R$28,744 million as of December 31, 2010.

As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 115,000 middle-market corporate customers that represented a range of Brazilian companies located in over 83 cities in Brazil. The Company offers a range of financial products and services to middle-market customers, including deposit accounts, investment options, insurance, private retirement plans and credit products. Credit products include investment capital loans, working capital loans, inventory financing, trade financing, foreign currency services, equipment leasing services, letters of credit and guarantees. The Company also carries out financial transactions on behalf of middle-market customers, including interbank transactions, open market transactions and futures, swaps, hedging and arbitrage transactions. It also offers its middle-ma! rket cus!! tomers co! llection services and electronic payment services. The Company is able to provide these services for virtually any kind of payment, including Internet office banking. It charges collection fees and fees for making payments, such as payroll, on behalf of its customers.

The Company is engaged in the Brazilian credit card market. Its subsidiaries, Banco Itaucard S.A. (Banco Itaucard) and Hipercard Banco Multiplo S.A. (Hipercard), offers a range of products to 26 million customers as of December 31, 2010, including both accountholders and non-accountholders. As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately R$16,271 million in outstanding real estate loans. As of December 31, 2010, it had total net assets under management of R$291,748 million on behalf of approximately 2.1 million customers. The Company also provides portfolio management services for pension funds, corporations, private bank customers and foreign investors. As of December 31, 2010, it had R$184,496 mill ion of assets under management for pension funds, corporations and private bank customers. As of December 31, 2010, the Company offered and managed about 1,791 mutual funds, which are mostly fixed-income and money market funds. For individual customers, it offered 154 funds to its retail customers and approximately 287 funds to its Itau Personnalite customers. Private banking customers may invest in over 600 funds, including those offered by other institutions. Itau BBA�� capital markets group also provides tailor-made mutual funds to institutional, corporate and private banking customers.

The Company provides securities services in the Brazilian capital markets. Its services also include acting as transfer agent, providing services relating to debentures and promissory notes, custody and control services for mutual funds, pension funds and portfolios, providing trustee services and non-resident investor services, and acting as custodian for depositary receipt programs. The Company also provides brokerage ! services ! to i! nternatio! nal customers through its broker-dealer operations in New York, through its London branch, and through its broker-dealers in Hong Kong and Dubai. Its main lines of insurance are life and casualty (excluding Vida Gerador de Benefucio Livre), extended warranties and property. Its policies are sold through its banking operations, independent local brokers, multinational brokers and other channels. As of December 31, 2010, it had 9.9 million in capitalization products outstanding, representing R$2,620 million in liabilities with assets that function as guarantees of R$2,646 million. The Company distributes these products through its retail network, Itau Personnalite and Itau Uniclass branches, electronic channels and ATMs. These products are sold by its subsidiary, Cia. Itau de Capitalizacao S.A.

Itau BBA

Itau BBA is responsible for its corporate and investment banking activities. As of December 31, 2010, Itau BBA offered a portfolio of products and ser vices to approximately 2,400 companies and conglomerates in Brazil. Itau BBA�� activities range from typical operations of a commercial bank to capital markets operations and advisory services for mergers and acquisitions. As of December 31, 2010, its corporate loan portfolio was R$ 76,584 million. In investment banking, the fixed income department was responsible for the issuance of debentures and promissory notes that totaled R$18,888 million and securitization transactions that amounted to R$4,677 million in Brazil in 2010. In addition, Itau BBA advised 35 merger and acquisition transactions with an aggregate deal volume of R$16,973 million in 2010.

Itau BBA is also active in Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES) on-lending to finance large-scale projects, aiming at strengthening domestic infrastructure. In consolidated terms, total loans granted by Itau BBA under BNDES on-lending represented more than R$9,010 million in 2010. Itau BB A focuses on the products and initiatives! in the i! nternation! al busine! ss unit, such as structuring long-term, bilateral and syndicated financing, and spot foreign exchange. In addition, in 2010 Itau BBA continued to offer a large number of lines of credit for foreign trade.

Consumer Credit

As of December 31, 2010, its portfolio of vehicle financing, leasing and consortium lending consisted of approximately 3.8 million contracts, of which approximately 71.1% were non-accountholder customers. The personal loan portfolio relating to vehicle financing and leasing reached R$60,254 million in 2010. The Company leased and financed vehicles through 13,706 dealers as of December 31, 2010. Sales are made through computer terminals installed in the dealerships that are connected to its computer network. Redecard S.A. (Redecard) is a multibrand credit card provider in Brazil, also responsible for the capturing, transmission, processing and settlement of credit, debit and benefit card transactions. As of December 31, 2010, the Com pany held approximately 50% interest in Redecard�� capital stock.

The Company competes with Bradesco, Banco do Brasil S.A. (Banco do Brasil), Banco Santander, Caixa Economica Federal (CEF), BNDES, HSBC, Banco Citibank S.A, Banco de Investimentos Credit Suisse (Brasil) S.A., Banco JP Morgan S.A., Banco Morgan Stanley S.A., Banco Merrill Lynch de Investimentos S.A., Banco BTG Pactual S.A., Banco Panamericano S.A, Citibank S.A., Banco GE Capital S.A. and Banco Ibi S.A.

Top Warren Buffett Stocks To Own For 2014: Morgan Stanley China A Share Fund Inc.(CAF)

Morgan Stanley China A Share Fund, Inc. is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. It is co-managed by Morgan Stanley Investment Management Company. The fund invests in the public equity markets of China. It seeks to invest in the stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. The fund invests in the growth stocks of companies. It employs fundamental analysis with bottom-up stock picking approach to create its portfolio. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Morgan Stanley Capital International China A Share Index. Morgan Stanley China A Share Fund, Inc. was formed on July 6, 2006 and is domiciled in the United States.

Top Warren Buffett Stocks To Own For 2014: SG Spirit Gold Inc (SG)

SG Spirit Gold Inc. (SG Spirit Gold) is an exploration-stage company. As of December 31, 2011, SG Spirit Gold is focused on the acquisition and subsequent development of the Buchans Property and Bobby's Pond property located in Central Newfoundland. As of December 31, 2011, the Company has 100% interest in approximately 46,000 hectares of mineral tenure in southern BC. PJX Resources Inc. The Buchans area properties contain 512 claims totaling 13,433 hectares, including the former producing Buchans Mine - one of Canada's base metal mines, which produced 16.2 million tons between 1928 and 1984, grading 14.51% zinc, 1.33% copper, 7.56% lead, 126 gram/ton silver and 1.37 gram/ton gold. The Daniel's Pond is located within the Tulks North property, in the same mineral belt as Messina Minerals' Boomerang deposit. Bobby's Pond is located 20 kilometers west by road from Teck's Duck Pond mine. It has several properties within the Hughes Range of the western Rocky Mountains.

5 Stocks With Big Insider Buying

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Corporate insiders sell their own companies' stock for a number of reasons.

>>5 Cash-Rich Stocks That Could Pay You Triple the Gains in 2014

They might need the cash for a big personal purchase such as a new house or yacht, or they might need the cash to fund a charity. Sometimes they sell as part of a planned selling program that they have put in place for diversification purposes, which allows them to sell stock in stages instead of selling all at one price.

Other times they sell because they think their stock is overvalued and the risk/reward is no longer attractive. Some even dump their own stock because they have inside knowledge that a competitor is eating their lunch and stealing market share.

But insiders usually buy their own shares for one reason: They think the stock is a bargain and has tremendous upside.

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The key word in that last statement is "think." Just because a corporate insider thinks his or her stock is going to trade higher, that doesn't mean it will play out that way. Insiders can have all the conviction in the world that their stock is a buy, but if the market doesn't agree with them, the stock could end up going nowhere. Also, I say "usually" because sometimes insiders are loaned money by the company to buy their own stock. Those loans are often sweetheart deals and shouldn't be viewed as organic insider buying.

At the end of the day, its large institutional money managers running big mutual funds and hedge funds that drive stock prices, not insiders. That said, many of these savvy stock operators will follow insider buying activity when they agree with the insider that the stock is undervalued and has upside potential. This is why it's so important to always be monitoring insider activity, but it's twice as important to make sure the trend of the stock coincides with the insider buying.

>>3 Stocks Under $10 in Breakout Territory

Recently, a number of companies' corporate insiders have bought large amounts of stock. These insiders are finding some value in the market, which warrants a closer look at these stocks. Here's a look at five stocks whose insiders have been doing some big buying per SEC filings.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals

One specialty pharmaceutical player that insiders are loading up on here is Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX), which develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of pharmaceutical products primarily in the areas of neurology, dermatology and branded generics. Insiders are buying this stock into massive strength, since shares are up sharply in 2013 by 86%.

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Valeant Pharmaceuticals has a market cap of $37 billion and an enterprise value of $53 billion. This stock trades at a fair valuation, with a price-to-sales of 7.78 and a price-to-book of 7.35. This is not a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $596.35 million and its total debt is a whopping $17.40 billion.

The CEO just bought 184,247 shares, or about $14.99 million worth of stock, at $81.41 per share.

From a technical perspective, VRX is currently trending above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock is starting to bounce higher right above its 50-day moving average of $108.87 a share. That bounce is quickly pushing shares of VRX within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade.

If you're bullish on VRX, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above its 50-day at $108.87 or above more near-term support at $105.17 and then once breaks out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $112.40 to $112.47 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 1.13 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then VRX will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $115 to its 52-week high at $115.40 a share. Any high-volume move above $115.40 will then give VRX a chance to tag of trend north of $120 a share.

Office Depot

Another name that insiders are very active in here is Office Depot (ODP), which is a global supplier of office products and services under the Office Depot brand and other proprietary brand names. Insiders are buying this stock into notable strength, since shares have risen 59% so far in 2013.

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Office Depot has a market cap of $1.5 billion and an enterprise value of $1.2 billion. This stock trades at a fair valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 43.78 and a forward price-to-earnings of 20.04. Its estimated growth rate for this year is -33.3%, and for next year it's pegged at 1,200%. This is a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $724.74 million and its total debt is $495.17 million.

A director just bought 1,350,000 shares, or about $7.04 million worth of stock, at $5.21 per share.

From a technical perspective, ODP is currently trending above its 200-day moving average and just below its 50-day moving average, which is neutral trendwise. This stock has been trending sideways for the last month and change, with shares moving between $4.83 on the downside and $5.85 on the upside. Traders should now look for any high-volume move above the upper-end of its recent range since that could trigger a big breakout trade for shares of ODP.

If you're in the bull camp on ODP, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above some near-term support at $5.07 or above more support at $4.83 and then once it breaks out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $5.65 to $5.85 a share, and then above its 52-week high at $6.10 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 11.07 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then ODP will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory above $6.10, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $7 to $8 a share.

Horizon Pharma

One bio therapeutic drugs player that insiders are snapping up a large amount of stock in here is Horizon Pharma (HZNP) is a specialty pharmaceutical company that, through its subsidiaries, develops and commercializes medicines for the treatment of arthritis, pain and inflammatory diseases. Insiders are buying this stock into significant strength, since shares are up huge so far in 2013 by 192%.

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Horizon Pharma has a market cap of $448 million and an enterprise value of $434 million. This stock trades at a premium valuation, with a forward price-to-earnings of 84.25. Its estimated growth rate for this year is 62.4%, and for next year it's pegged at 109.4%. This is just barely a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $58.65 million and its total debt is $45.58 million.

A director just bought 668,673 shares, or about $4.34 million worth of stock, at $6.50 per share.

From a technical perspective, HZNP is currently trending above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last three months and change, with shares moving higher from its low of $2.11 to its recent high of $7.39 a share. During that uptrend, shares of HZNP have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of HZNP within range of triggering a big breakout trade.

If you're bullish on HZNP, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above some key near-term support levels at $6.64 or at $6, then once it breaks out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $6.84 to $7.15 a share and then above its 52-week high at $7.39 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average volume of 1.27 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then HZNP will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are its next major overhead resistance levels at $8.72 to $9. Any high-volume move above $9 will then give HZNP a chance to tag or trend north of $10 a share.

Nuance Communications

One technology player that insiders are jumping into large here is Nuance Communications (NUAN), which offers voice and language solutions for healthcare, mobile, consumer, enterprise customer service, and imaging markets. Insiders are buying this stock into significant weakness, since shares are down by 33%.

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Nuance Communications has a market cap of $4.6 billion and an enterprise value of $7.4 billion. This stock trades at a reasonable valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 31.40 and a forward price-to-earnings of 10.29. Its estimated growth rate for this year is -18.8%, and for next year it's pegged at 12%. This is not a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $1.01 billion and its total debt is $2.34 billion.

A beneficial owner just bought 423,400 shares, or about $5.97 million worth of stock, at $14.12 to $14.20 per share.

From a technical perspective, NUAN is currently trending below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bearish. This stock has been uptrending since gapping down sharply few weeks ago, with shares moving higher from its low of $13 to its intraday high of $14.93 a share. During that uptrend, shares of NUAN have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of NUAN within range of triggering a major breakout trade.

If you're bullish on NUAN, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above some key near-term support levels at $14 or at $13.50, and then once it takes out its gap down day high of $14.91 a share high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average volume of 6.82 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then NUAN will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone that started near $16.50 a share. Any high-volume move above $16.50 will then give NUAN a chance to tag $18 to its 200-day moving average at $18.44 a share.

Esterline Technologies

One final name with some big insider buying is Esterline Technologies (ESL), which designs, manufactures and markets highly engineered products for the aerospace and defense sectors. Insiders are buying this stock into big time strength, since shares are up sharply by 51% so far in 2013.

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Esterline Technologies has a market cap of $3 billion and an enterprise value of $3.2 billion. This stock trades at a reasonable valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 18.84 and a forward price-to-earnings of 15.14. Its estimated growth rate for this year is -0.40%, and for next year it's pegged at 12.5%. This is not a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $199.25 million and its total debt is $754.49 million.

A director just bought 103,528 shares, or about $9.50 million worth of stock, at $91.55 to $92.51 per share.

From a technical perspective, ESL is currently trending well above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last two months, with shares soaring higher from its low of $78.17 to its intraday high of $96.81 a share.

During that uptrend, shares of ESL have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That said, shares of ESL have now started to enter overbought territory, since its current relative strength index reading is 79.91. Overbought can always get more overbought, but it's also an area that can be dangerous to enter a stock from the long side.

If you're bullish on ESL, then I would look to get long this strong trending stock after it works off some of its current overbought condition. Look for a sharp pullback in shares of ESL that bring the stock down towards some key near-term support levels around the $87.50 area, or near its 50-day moving average of $83.78 a share. If ESL doesn't pullback significantly, then traders can look to go long this stock once it clears and closes above its new 52-week high at $96.81 a share with strong volume.

To see more stocks with notable insider buying, check out the Stocks With Big Insider Buying portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

RELATED LINKS:

>>3 Big Stocks on Traders' Radars

>>5 Stocks Set to Soar on Bullish Earnings

>>3 Stocks Under $10 Making Big Moves

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

FactSet Research Systems Inc. Posts Higher Q1 EPS; Misses Estimates; Adds to Buyback (FDS)

Before the bell on Tuesday, Factset Research Systems (FDS) announced its fiscal 2014 first quarter, with adjusted EPS rising 10% from last year’s same quarter.

FDS Earnings in Brief

-FDS’s Q1 revenue was up 6% to $223 million from last year’s Q1 revenue of $211 million
-The company’s adjusted net income came in at $54.289 million, up 7% from last year’s $49.769 million.
-Adjusted EPS came in at $1.22 for the quarter, up 10% from last year’s adjusted EPS figure of $1.11.
-The company came in just below analysts’ estimates of $1.23 EPS on revenues of $223.66 million.
-Looking forward to next quarter, Factset gave earnings guidance in the range of $1.20 to $1.23 per share, and Q2 revenue guidance in the range of $225 million to $228 million. The EPS guidance is below analysts’ estimate of $1.25, but the revenue guidance is in-line with analyst views.

CEO Commentary

Philip Hadley, Factset’s chairman and CEO, had the following comments about the company’s Q1 report: ”Our investment discipline and proven business model continues to generate shareholder value as illustrated by our 10% adjusted EPS growth. Our buy-side client base is experiencing a healthy business cycle, but we are facing a challenging sell-side environment, which reduced organic ASV.”

No Dividend Change; $300M Added to Buyback

Factset most recently upped its dividend payout in July of this year, so it’s no surprise that the company did not announced a dividend change in its most recent earnings report. The company has a history of announcing a raise to its dividend in May, so investors should keep an eye on this company around then. Though the company did not change its dividend, it did announced that $300 million is being added to the company’s stock repurchase program.

Stock Performance

Factset stock was inactive in pre-market trading. YTD, the company’s stock is up 30.48%.

BHP Billiton shuts Perseverance underground mine

SYDNEY--BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU) Tuesday said safety concerns meant it would no longer persevere with mining at the Perseverance underground operation in Western Australia state.

The world's biggest mining company suspended production at the mine, part of its Nickel West operations, after an earthquake in October. The company said it was unable to resume operations at the underground mine safely.

"Work to understand the broader implications of this decision on the Nickel West business has commenced and the impact on production will be reported" in the next quarterly report, BHP said in an emailed statement.

The company will continue to run its processing facilities near the town of Leinster and will continue to maintain the underground infrastructure at the Perseverance mine, it said.

Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

Google Snaps Up a $39 Million Fiber Network in Utah for $1

SALT LAKE CITY -- Terms of an agreement between Google (GOOG) and Provo, Utah, show the company will pay $1 for a fiber-optic system that cost $39 million to build. Even as Google takes ownership of the municipal network, Provo will have to pay off loans for its construction for another dozen years. Provo officials say it's a good deal because the system hasn't been able to pay for itself. They say Google will make upgrades and complete connections to every home. And Google Fiber will offer basic Internet service to those in the system at no charge for a $30 hookup fee -- far less than the current $700 activation fee. Provo households are paying off the cost of the network with a $5.35 monthly utility fee, and city officials say they'll get something for their money now.

Your smartphone already allows you to do instant price comparisons at the store, usually by scanning a barcode. There are several  apps that let you "showroom" in this way. We don't know which, if any, will be available for Glass. But assuming one of these apps gets ported over to the new hardware, you'll be able to get price comparisons just by picking up a product and looking at the barcode.

Budget deal to ease spending cuts gets Republican backing

Congressional negotiators selling a budget accord won Republican endorsements for the plan to ease automatic U.S. spending cuts for two years, remove the risk of a government shutdown and cut the deficit by $23 billion.

“I believe it'll get a majority of the majority” of House Republicans and a large number of Democratic votes, Representative Darrell Issa, a California Republican, said Wednesday after a Capitol Hill briefing. The House may vote as early as tomorrow on the plan.

Chief architects Senator Patty Murray and Representative Paul Ryan in announcing the deal said that while imperfect, the plan would provide economic certainty by establishing a bipartisan budget for the first time in four years.

“It is an important step in helping heal some of the wounds here in Congress,” Ms. Murray, a Washington Democrat, said yesterday at a Capitol Hill news conference.

The limited agreement seeks to end three years of political gridlock in Congress over spending and revenue that culminated in a 16-day government shutdown in October. Lawmakers' approval ratings in opinion polls have tumbled amid the regular partisan standoffs over the budget.

Groups that back limited government and the automatic spending cuts criticized the accord as a retreat from policies enacted in a budget deal two years ago. Club for Growth, which has intervened in Republican primaries to back candidates who support less government spending, said it would rate lawmakers seeking election in 2014 based on their budget vote.

'USING MEMBERS'

House Speaker John Boehner lashed out at the groups for criticizing the budget deal.

“They're using our members, and they're using the American people for their own goals, this is ridiculous,” Mr. Boehner said. “If you're for more deficit reduction, you're for this agreement.”

The tone in the room during the briefing was optimistic, said Representative Buck McKeon, a California Republican and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

“Paul Ryan executed what I think is a great deal, not only for our party but for the people back home,” Representative Pete Sessions, a Texas Republican, said as he predicted the proposal will pass the House.

After emerging from the briefing, lawmakers including Republican Representatives Tom Cole of Oklahoma and Matt Salmon of Arizona separately said the budget will pass.

Representative John Fleming, a Louisiana Republican, said he could vote for the proposal, saying, “it actually does reduce the deficit, although in a small way.” The deal “accomplishes a lot of good things,” he said.

The deal was faulted by some Republicans, including those backed by the small-government T! ea Party movement, who say it trades concrete spending cuts that are part of sequestration for future promises. In the House, they are poised to resist Boehner's attempt to win passage this week.

The Senate is expected to vote on the budget accord sometime next week, said Adam Jentleson, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

“There is a recurring theme in Washington budget negotiations,” Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, said Wednesday in a statement. “It's: I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today. I think it's a huge mistake to trade sequester cuts now, for the promise of cuts later.”

The bipartisan plan would set U.S. spending at about $1.01 trillion for this fiscal year, higher than the $967 billion required in a 2011 budget plan. The agreement sets spending for defense at $520.5 billion and for non-defense at $491.8 billion.

DEFICIT REDUCED

The accord would reduce the budget deficit by $20 billion to $23 billion, the lawmakers said. It would ease the automatic spending cuts known as sequestration by $40 billion in 2014 and about $20 billion in 2015.

The agreement also cushions the military from a $19 billion cut scheduled next month as part of the across-the-board cuts that lawmakers from both sides warned would hollow out the military and cost U.S. jobs.

The agreement, though, falls short of the panel's original goals. It doesn't fully replace the automatic cuts and it will have a marginal effect on the U.S. debt because it doesn't address the growing entitlement programs that are its long-term drivers. It produces a sliver of the $1 trillion to $4 trillion in savings previous budget negotiators sought to identify.

“It's underwhelming at best,” said Robert Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, which backs deficit reduction. “It leaves a lot undone, and isn't close to the grand bargain that was sought.”

The deal also doesn't touch the corporate tax breaks Democrats sought to eliminate or ra! ise the U! .S. debt limit, setting up another potential fiscal showdown after February. Still, congressional leaders of both parties lauded the compromise as a breakthrough in the divided Congress.

The agreement “will roll back the painful and arbitrary cuts of the sequester and prevent another costly government shutdown,” Mr. Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said Tuesday after the deal was announced. “We didn't get what we wanted. They didn't get what they wanted. But that's what legislation is all about.”

President Barack Obama called the accord a “good first step” toward a compromise that will meet some of his goals for spending priorities. “It's a good sign that Democrats and Republicans in Congress were able to come together and break the cycle of short-sighted, crisis-driven decision-making to get this done.”

Republicans charged with pushing the measure through the House, including Majority Leader Eric Cantor who said he's “pleased” with the deal, voiced support for it.

“This agreement represents a positive step forward by replacing one-time spending cuts with permanent reforms to mandatory spending programs that will produce real, lasting savings,” Mr. Cantor of Virginia said in a statement.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican who, like a number of Mr. Boehner's rank-and-file, has a primary challenger next year, was silent on the agreement after expressing skepticism earlier in the day.

Some Republicans oppose the deal because it pushes savings into future years and includes a variety of user fees that small-government groups are labeling tax increases.

Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, said he'll oppose the agreement. It “cancels earlier spending reductions, instead of making some tough decisions about how to tackle our long-term fiscal challenges caused by runaway Washington spending,” he said in an e-mailed statement.

Representative Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, a Republican, said it ! “bl! ows up the only real significant spending restraint passed since the Republicans assumed the majority in the 2010 election.”

While Democratic leaders spoke favorably of the deal last night, it doesn't include an extension of expiring unemployment benefits for 1.3 million Americans that Democrats favor, and that Obama urged lawmakers to pass. That could cost some Democratic votes.

The main components of the deal include raising contributions that federal employees make to their retirement plans and increasing premiums for pensions backed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

The agreement includes a grab bag of obscure savings provisions, with an emphasis on tightening eligibility criteria and eliminating fraud and overpayments in programs including unemployment insurance, Medicaid, and benefits for federal prisoners.

It also eliminates some programs including a 2005 natural gas and petroleum resources research program and caps income paid to federal contractors.

Republican leaders want to sell the deal to wary rank-and-file by emphasizing that it will reduce the deficit by an additional $2