5 Best Up And Coming Stocks To Watch For 2014

No other metal is quite like gold. Physically, its malleable, it does not tarnish, it conducts electricity. Gold can just as easily be pulled into a wire as it can be hammered into a thin sheet or cast in a mold. And, there is also that certain aesthetic appeal.�

But the real difference between gold and most other metals is that gold has another, intangible quality. Its an investment asset. Gold appreciated at a torrid pace from the mid 2000s through Q4 2012, but has since reversed. Has the trend been broken, or is this a temporary correction? What is driving the suddenly new world of investment gold?

Gold Price in U.S. Dollars data by YCharts.

Gold has three general uses, all of which contribute to the underlying value of the investment. There is demand for gold for use in industry, demand as a liquid asset alternative to cash, and demand as a safe harbor to market and inflation risks.

5 Best Consumer Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Weight Watchers International Inc(WTW)

Weight Watchers International, Inc. provides weight management services worldwide. It offers various services and products that are built upon its weight management plans comprising nutritional, exercise, and behavioral tools and approaches. The company, through its WeightWatchers.com offerings, provides two Internet subscription products, Weight Watchers Online and Weight Watchers eTools. Weight Watchers Online provides online content, functionality, resources, and interactive Web based weight management plans. Weight Watchers eTools is an Internet weight management tool for the Weight Watchers meetings members that helps to manage the day-to-day aspects of weight management plan online, discover various food options, stay informed, and keep track of their weight management efforts. Weight Watchers International also sells various products that complement its weight management plans, such as bars, snacks, cookbooks, food and restaurant guides with PointsPlus values, Weigh t Watchers magazines, and PointsPlus calculators primarily to its members and franchisees. In addition, it offers iPhone application, which provides subscribers with access to a suite of weight-loss tools, as well as helpful content; and iPad application, which provides subscribers with access to a set of recipe tools. The company was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michele Lerner]

  Getty Images Stress can drive people to do self-destructive things ... such as using "retail therapy" as a distraction or grabbing some Ben & Jerry's to lift the mood. Whether your emotions drive you to overeat or overspend, there are strategies to eliminate the connection between your feelings and behavior you know is bad for your wallet or your waistline. It's all about learning self-discipline, say Ellie Kay and Danna Demetre, co-authors of "Lean Body Fat Wallet."Doing so transforms your mind-set to the point where your internal motivation to do the right thing becomes natural. Getting to that point -- the point where you "realize that you don't need to eat or spend money to feel good about yourself" -- begins with thinking about why you overeat or overspend, Kay says. "For example, I've worked with military families that have a high level of debt. Some of them spend too much money just to comfort themselves when a family member is deployed." Breaking that habit -- snipping the connection between your emotions and your bad habits -- is the goal of the strategy that Kay and Demetre developed. The 3D Strategy The 3 D's are: determine, distract and delay. Kay describes the 3 Ds in action: "If you go to the mall and just buy the shoes your son needs, you start out determined not to buy anything you don't need," she says "Then you see some amazing Jimmy Choo shoes in the window that are on sale, but you know they're not in your budget. So you distract yourself by going to the other store and buying your son's shoes. Then you delay by promising yourself that you'll come back in a week or two if you can find money in your budget to buy those shoes. Chances are you won't be back." Demetre suggests starting with a 10-minute delay before eating anything or buying anything, just to exercise your discipline. During that 10 minutes, ask yourself, "Why do I want this?" "If it's immediate gratification, you may have buyer's remorse," Demetre says. "Whatever you

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of Weight Watchers International (NYSE: WTW  ) sank 3% today after Credit Suisse downgraded the weight management company from outperform to neutral.

• [By Will Ashworth]

  Motif Investing offers an investing motif called “Fighting Fat,” a portfolio which focuses on companies helping to fend off extra pounds, including Life Time Fitness. If you look at its performance year-to-date compared to the S&P 500 you��l notice that it�� trailing the index by almost 10 percentage points. That�� because almost 21% of its portfolio is invested in weight management stocks such as Weight Watchers (WTW) and Nu Skin Enterprises (NUS) which have taken it on the chin so far in 2014, down 54% and 47% respectfully.

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  Penny Stock Territory: Weight Watchers International Inc. (NYSE: WTW) rounds out the list, having traded over $85 per share as recently as 2011. Today, WTW stock is worth just over $21 per share.

5 Best Up And Coming Stocks To Watch For 2014: SPDR EURO STOXX 50 ETF (FEZ)

SPDR DJ Euro Stoxx 50 ETF (the Fund), formerly DJ Euro Stoxx 50 ETF, seeks to replicate as closely as possible the price and yield of the Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50 Index (the Index). The Index seeks to provide a blue-chip representation of the market sector leaders in the Eurozone. The Index represents the performance of the 50 largest companies within the Eurozone portion of the Dow Jones STOXX Total Market Index. The Index is a free-float market capitalization weighted index that captures approximately 60% of the underlying market and covers approximately 95% of the free-float market capitalization of the investable universe in the Eurozone.

The Fund utilizes a passive or indexing approach to invest in a portfolio of stocks to replicate the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is SSgA Funds Management, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Aspray]

  The news out of the Eurozone continues to improve as their Purchasing Managers Index rose to 51.7 in August consistent with an expanding economy. The chart shows a nice trend here suggesting that the worst by indeed be over. A deeper pullback in some of the euro ETFs like SPDR Euro STOXX 50 ETF (FEZ) should create a buying opportunity.

• [By Chris Ciovacco]

  In Thursday's ETF analysis, evidence is presented that supports increasing demand for assets that get a tailwind from a weak U.S. dollar, including emerging markets (EEM) and foreign stocks (EFA). Casting a wider economic net, our market model told us to start buying stocks last week even with the threat of a U.S. default. Wednesday, we continued with our incremental allocation shifts by adding some exposure to the energy sector. Thursday, we sat tight holding long positions in small caps (IJR), Europe (FEZ), emerging markets and technology (QQQ). The upper bounds of the bullish S&P 500 trend channel shown below may offer some resistance to the market's near vertical ascent.

5 Best Up And Coming Stocks To Watch For 2014: Manitex International Inc.(MNTX)

Manitex International, Inc. provides engineered lifting solutions. The company operates through two segments, Lifting Equipment and Equipment Distribution. The Lifting Equipment segment designs, manufactures, and distributes boom trucks and crane products that are primarily used for industrial projects and energy exploration, as well as for infrastructure development, including, roads, bridges, and commercial construction; and specialized rough terrain cranes and material handling products for the construction, municipality, and railroad industries. This segment also provides rough terrain forklifts for use in commercial and military applications; special mission oriented vehicles; and other specialized carriers, heavy material handling transporters, and steel mill equipment, as well as offers specialized custom trailers and hauling systems used for transporting heavy equipment. The Equipment Distribution segment distributes rough terrain and truck cranes, material handler s, boom trucks, and sky cranes for infrastructure development and commercial construction; supplies repair parts for various medium to heavy duty construction equipment; markets used lifting and construction equipment; and offers repair services. This segment sells its products to end users, including the rental market. Manitex International sells its products primarily in the United States, Canada, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Italy, Korea, Mexico, China, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Puerto Rico, the Netherlands, Indonesia, and Chile. The company was formerly known as Veri-Tek International, Corp. and changed its name to Manitex International, Inc. in May 2008. Manitex International was founded in 1993 and is based in Bridgeview, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James Brumley]

  Value fans also will love XRX’s forward-looking P/E of roughly 10.

  Manitex International (MNTX)

  12/2 Price: $13.28

  There might be nothing special about an obscure crane manufacturer at first glance, but a closer inspection of Manitex International (MNTX) reveals this company is driving some serious sales and earnings growth now that it has found its niche. Profits should be up 33% next year.

• [By Zacks Investment Research]

  1. Manitex International, Inc. (MNTX)
  

  Manitex manufactures lifting solutions including cranes, reach stackers and container handling equipment, rough terrain forklifts, and indoor electric forklifts. Headquartered in Illinois, it supplies crane parts to customers throughout the world.

5 Best Up And Coming Stocks To Watch For 2014: Liberty All-Star Equity Fund(USA)

Liberty All Star Equity Fund is a closed-ended equity mutual fund managed by ALPS Advisers, Inc. The fund is co-managed by Matrix Asset Advisors, Inc., Pzena Investment Management, LLC, Schneider Capital Management Corporation, Cornerstone Capital Management, Inc, and TCW Investment Management Company. It invests in the public equity markets of the United States. The fund invests in the stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It primarily invests in the combination of both value and growth stocks of large cap companies. Liberty All Star Equity Fund was formed in October 1986 and is domiciled in the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Patricio Kehoe]

  In fact, today the company announced that it will be launching a new universal life product for the Canadian market called Manulife UL by May 26 of this year. The new product will offer cost-effective insurance protection, as well as the opportunity for tax-advantaged investing, catering to customer�� demands for a more simplified insurance solution, which should help boost sales to some extent. Although the firm�� balance sheet is highly leveraged, exposing it to possible damages in the case of higher-than-expected policy liabilities, Manulife�� capital position has improved substantially over the past year. With a ratio of regulatory capital to capital required at 248%, the firm possesses excessive capital levels, well above competitors like Prudential Public Limited Company (ADR) (PUK), China Life Insurance Company Ltd. (ADR) (LFC), and Sun Life Financial Inc. (USA) (SLF), which all sport a 200% ratio. Moreover, the company�� excessive capital should allow it to maintain the above average dividend yield of 2.66% offered to shareholders.