CHARLOTTE, N.C. (TheStreet) -- Hundreds of US Airways (LCC) employees are in Washington, lobbying members of Congress to support a planned merger with American (AAMRQ), despite opposition from the Justice Department.
Supporters do not, however, include leaders and members of the International Association of Machinists, the largest union at US Airways, representing about 3,500 mechanics and 5,800 fleet service workers.
"I think it raises a red flag with members of Congress when the largest labor group is not involved with the lobbying," said Bill Wise, president of IAM Local 1725 in Charlotte.
The Justice Department's 57-page complaint opposing the merger focuses on protecting consumers by preserving the low fares offered on some one-stop routes by US Airways. But it doesn't mention that US Airways earns lower revenue per available seat mile on comparable routes than bigger competitors do, and that it compensates for lower revenue by paying its employees less than their peers at bigger rivals. Many employees were to receive contract improvements triggered by the merger: US Airways has estimated the gain in employee compensation at about $400 million annually. The biggest beneficiaries would be US Airways pilots. Pilots from both US Airways and from the former America West -- the two airlines merged in 2005 -- have below-industry standard contracts. East pilots have had bankruptcy contracts since 2003. For them, a merger means a new contract that over six years would provide $1.6 billion worth of benefits, including pay raises of 13% to 35% over existing rates and lump sum payments around $10,000 each. But US Airways mechanics and fleet service workers are looking to make contract gains through negotiations, which have been stalled since their two contracts became amendable 21 months ago on Jan. 2, 2012. IAM members, primarily fleet service workers, picketed Friday at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Talks have been delayed by the airline's merger efforts and by a failed effort by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to organize the mechanics. That effort began late in 2012 and ended in August, when the Teamsters lost a representation election .
5 Best Financial Stocks To Invest In 2015: Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG)
Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (the Fund) is an open-end investment company, or mutual fund. It seeks to track the performance of an index that measures the investment return of common stocks of companies that have a record of increasing dividends over time. Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF is an exchange-traded share class of Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund (the Fund), which employs a passive management or indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the Dividend Achievers Select Index (the Index).
The Index is a subset of the Broad Dividend Achievers Index and is administered for Vanguard by Mergent, Inc. The Fund attempts to replicate the Index by investing all, or substantially all, of its assets in the stocks that make up the Index, holding each stock in approximately the same proportion as its weighting in the Index.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jon C. Ogg]
5. Dividends, stock buy-backs, capex, and M&A all increase at a double-digit rate – This is led by a lot of cash flow, underleveraged balance sheets, and possible great places to use cash. The argument for higher cap-ex is as follows: “Pent-up demand and aging of plant, equipment and technology argue for increases in those key areas.”
ETF Recommendation: Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEArca: VIG) for dividend growers, and PowerShares Buyback Achievers (NYSEArca: PKW) for buyback stocks. Hint: the buyback ETF rose by 45.5% in 2013 after dividend adjustments versus 28.8% for the dividend growth ETF.6. The U.S. dollar appreciates as U.S. energy and manufacturing trends continue to improve.
- [By Chuck Saletta]
By increasing the money you're investing now, you can improve your nest egg when the trust funds do empty, better protecting your lifestyle from those pending benefit cuts. Here are four investments to consider as you sock away extra money to make up for Social Security's shortfall:
The S&P Depository Receipts (NYSEMKT: SPY ) is one ETF that tracks the S&P 500, providing a low-cost way to get stock market return potential to help build your nest egg. For the potential of providing portfolio ballast, the iShares Barclay's US Treasury Bond (NYSEMKT: GOVT ) ETF owns U.S. Treasury bonds. With interest rates so low, the returns from the bonds in that ETF are not likely to be stellar, but they at least do carry a government-backed guarantee of repayment. If you're worried about inflation ravaging your purchasing power over time, the iShares Barclay's TIPS Bond (NYSEMKT: TIP ) ETF offers a way to buy government bonds that will increase along with inflation. But while those bonds may be able to keep up with the official inflation rate, they won't help much if your costs, like many people's, increase faster than inflation as you age. For the potential of an income stream that may grow faster than inflation but carries more risk of potential default or reduction, Vanguard's Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEMKT: VIG ) may fit the bill. It's a low-cost way to invest in companies with solid track records of increasing their dividends. Still, there's a trade-off in that unlike Treasury bonds, there are no guarantees that dividends will get paid.No matter how you invest, the reality is that even lousy investing beats not investing at all. It certainly beats waking up sometime in the next two decades to find that your Social Security check has been slashed by a fourth and not having any alternative source of cash.
- [By Brian Pacampara]
Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSE: VIG) has earned a respected four-star ranking.
Hot International Companies To Invest In Right Now: Entropic Communications Inc.(ENTR)
Entropic Communications, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company, designs, develops, and markets systems solutions to enable connected home entertainment. Its products include integrated circuits and related software associated with home networking solutions based on the Multimedia over Coax Alliance standard; direct broadcast satellite (DBS) services; high-speed broadband access; and silicon tuners. The company?s products enable the delivery of various streams of high-definition television-quality video, standard-definition television-quality video, and other multimedia content, such as movies, music, games, and photos into and throughout the connected home. It serves telecommunications carriers, cable operators, and DBS service providers, as well as the providers of over-the-top services. Entropic Communications offers its products through its direct sales force, as well as through a network of sales representatives and distributors worldwide. The company was founded in 20 01 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Evan Niu, CFA]
What: Shares of Entropic (NASDAQ: ENTR ) got crushed today by as much as 16% after the company reported earnings.
So what: Revenue in the first quarter added up to $74.5 million, which translated into non-GAAP net income of $300,000. That rounds to $0.00 per share, which was in line with consensus forecasts. CEO Patrick Henry acknowledged that 2013 will be a transitional year for the company.
Hot International Companies To Invest In Right Now: SWS Group Inc.(SWS)
SWS Group, Inc., a diversified financial services holding company, provides a range of investment and commercial banking, and related financial services to individual, corporate, and institutional investors, as well as broker/dealers, governmental entities, and financial intermediaries in the United States. It operates in four segments: Clearing, Retail, Institutional, and Banking. The Clearing segment provides clearing and execution services for general securities broker/dealers, bank affiliated firms, and firms specializing in high volume trading. The Retail segment offers retail securities products and services, such as equities, mutual funds, and fixed income products; insurance products; and managed accounts. The Institutional segment provides securities lending, investment banking and public finance, fixed income sales and trading, proprietary trading, and agency execution services to institutional customers. The Banking segment offers various banking products and se rvices, including certificates of deposit, money market accounts, interest-bearing demand accounts, savings accounts, federal home loan bank advances, federal funds purchased, and non interest-bearing demand accounts, as well as one to four family residential loans and construction loans, lot and land development loans, commercial real estate loans, multi family loans, commercial loans, and consumer loans. SWS Group, Inc. was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lauren Pollock]
Hilltop Holdings Inc.(HTH) offered to buy the rest of SWS Group Inc.(SWS) that it doesn’t already own, valuing the financial-services company at about $231 million. Hilltop, a regional banking and insurance company, offered $7 a share, a 16% premium over Thursday’s close. SWS surged 19% to $7.20 premarket,�topping the offer price.
- [By Tim Melvin]
SWS Group (SWS) also catches my eye at the current valuation. The Dallas-based company is in the brokerage, investment banking and banking business in the Southwest. They struggled with losses at the banking subsidiary and eventually had to find a capital infusion. They ended up borrowing $100 million from noted investors Gerald Ford and Robert Bass. The core brokerage and investment banking business are well positioned and should do well over the next few years. I wouldn�� be shocked if this firm was eventually sold off, with Mr. Ford keeping the banking assets and selling the brokerage and I-Bank units to a larger firm. With the stock trading at just 65% of book value, the long-term potential is very high for this stock.
Hot International Companies To Invest In Right Now: Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.(BBBY)
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a chain of retail stores. It sells a range of domestic merchandise, such as bed linens and related items, bath items, and kitchen textiles; and home furnishings, including kitchen and tabletop items, fine tabletop, basic housewares, general home furnishings, consumables, and certain juvenile products. The company also offers giftware, household products, and health and beauty care items; and infant and toddler merchandise. It operates stores under the names of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBB), Christmas Tree Shops (CTS), Harmon and Harmon Face Values (Harmon), and buybuy BABY. As of August 27, 2011, the company had a total of 1,155 stores, including 986 BBB stores, 70 CTS stores, 54 buybuy BABY stores, and 45 Harmon stores in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Canada. It also operates two stores under the name of Home & More in the Mexico City through a joint venture. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. was foun ded in 1971 and is based in Union, New Jersey.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) shares tumbled 6.41 percent to $63.56 after the company reported a drop in its fiscal fourth-quarter profit and issued weak outlook for the current quarter. Analysts at Bank of America downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral and lowered the target price from $87 to $72.
Hot International Companies To Invest In Right Now: Crown Holdings Inc (CCK)
Crown Holdings, Inc., incorporated on February 7, 2003, is engaged in designing, manufacturing and sale of packaging products for consumer goods. Its business is organized within three divisions: Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. Its segments within the Americas Division are Americas Beverage and North America Food. Its segments within the European Division are European Beverage and European Food. Americas Beverage includes beverage can operations in the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia and Mexico. North America Food includes food can and metal vacuum closure operations in the United States and Canada. European Beverage includes beverage can operations in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. European Food includes food can and metal vacuum closure operations in Europe and Africa. Its Asia Pacific Division consists of beverage and non-beverage can operations, primarily food cans and specialty packaging. As of December 31, 2012, it acquired Superior Multi-Packaging Ltd.
The Company supplies beverage cans and ends and other packaging products to a range of beverage and beer companies, including Anheuser-Busch InBev, Carlsberg, Coca-Cola, Cott Beverages, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Heineken, National Beverage and Pepsi-Cola, among others. The Company manufactures a range of food cans and ends, including two-and three-piece cans in numerous shapes and sizes, and sells food cans to food marketers, such as Bonduelle, Cecab, ConAgra, Continentale, Mars, Simmons Foods, Nestle, Princes Group and Stockmeyer, among others.
The Company offers a range of metal vacuum closures and sealing equipment. The Company�� customers for aerosol cans and ends include manufacturers of personal care, food, household and industrial products, including Colgate Palmolive, Procter & Gamble, SC Johnson and Unilever, among others. The Company�� customers for aerosol cans and ends include manufacturers of personal care, food, household and industrial products, including Colgate Palmolive, Procte! r & Gamble, SC Johnson and Unilever, among others.
Americas Division
The Americas Division includes operations in the United States, Brazil, Canada, the Caribbean, Colombia and Mexico. These operations manufacture beverage, food and aerosol cans and ends, specialty packaging and metal vacuum closures and caps. The Americas Beverage segment manufactures aluminum beverage cans and ends and steel crowns, referred to as bottle caps. The North America Food segment manufactures steel and aluminum food cans and ends and metal vacuum closures.
European Division
The European Division includes operations in Eastern and Western Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. These operations manufacture beverage, food and aerosol cans and ends, specialty packaging and metal vacuum closures and caps. The European Beverage segment manufactures steel and aluminum beverage cans and ends. The European Food segment manufactures steel and aluminum food cans and ends, and metal vacuum closures.
Asia Pacific division
The Company's Asia Pacific Division consists of beverage can operations in Cambodia, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and non-beverage can operations, primarily including food cans and specialty packaging in China, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. As of December 31, 2012, the division operated 32 plants in six countries.
The Company competes with Ardagh Group, Ball Corporation, BWAY Corporation, Can-Pack S.A., Metal Container Corporation, Mivisa Envases S.A.U., Rexam PLC and Silgan Holdings Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lauren Pollock]
Crown Holdings Inc.(CCK) cut its third-quarter earnings guidance on lower end-user demand in some of the food-and-beverage packaging company’s markets, including European food cans and North American beverage cans.
Hot International Companies To Invest In Right Now: Saks Incorporated(SKS)
Saks Incorporated operates retail stores in the United States. Its stores offer an assortment of fashion apparel, shoes, accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, and gifts. The company operates stores under the brand name of Saks Fifth Avenue (SFA) that are principally free-standing stores in shopping destinations or anchor stores in upscale regional malls. It also operates Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH (OFF 5TH) stores, which are primarily located in upscale mixed-use and off-price centers. As of January 28, 2012, the company operated 46 SFA stores; and 60 OFF 5TH stores. Saks Incorporated also sells its products online at saks.com, as well as through catalogs. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Andrew Marder]
Earlier this week, the New York Post reported that high-end retailer Saks (NYSE: SKS ) had brought in Goldman Sachs to explore a possible sale. The company also reported its first-quarter results, and is looking fairly strong. Comparable sales grew, and earnings per share�hit analyst expectations. The combination of quarterly results and sale rumors conspired to push the stock up 11% yesterday, and overnight it rose another 18%. Is this the right time for Saks to sell, and if so, what should investors be on the lookout for?
- [By Andrew Marder]
The 1% has seen phenomenal income growth recently, and that's spurred growth at companies like Saks (NYSE: SKS ) and Nordstom (NYSE: JWN ) , both of which managed 5% increases in revenue in the last quarter.
- [By Chris Hill]
Hertz (NYSE: HTZ ) dips on good-not-great earnings. Candian retailer Hudson's Bay buys Saks (NYSE: SKS ) for $2.4 billion. Wynn Resorts' (NASDAQ: WYNN ) second-quarter profit gets hit with one-time charges. Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC ) merges with Publicis Group to form the world's largest advertising and marketing firm. In this segment from Investor Beat, Motley Fool analysts Bill Barker and Andy Cross discuss four stocks making moves on Tuesday.
Hot International Companies To Invest In Right Now: Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC (NKA)
Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC owns and operates natural gas storage assets in North America. It owns or contracts for approximately 185.5 billion cubic feet of total gas storage capacity. The company owns and operates gas storage facilities in Alberta, Canada, as well as in northern California and Oklahoma, the United States. Its gas storage customers include financial institutions, producers, marketers, power generators, pipelines, and municipalities. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Niska Gas Storage Partners (NYSE: NKA ) reported earnings on May 9. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q4), Niska Gas Storage Partners whiffed on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share. - [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
In trading on Friday, energy shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.06 percent. Among the leading sector stocks, gains came from Equal Energy (NYSE: EQU) and Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC (NYSE: NKA). Financial sector was the leading decliner in the US market today. - [By Seth Jayson]
Niska Gas Storage Partners (NYSE: NKA ) is expected to report Q1 earnings on Aug. 1. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:
The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Niska Gas Storage Partners's revenues will contract -1908.0% and EPS will contract -9.5%. - [By Emma O��rien]
S&P 500 futures lost 0.8 percent by 7:22 a.m. in Tokyo, after the measure slid 1.1 percent last week in its first decline this month. Contracts on Australia�� S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.2 percent and Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKA) futures lost 0.5 percent by 3 a.m. in Osaka. The greenback retreated 0.3 percent to 97.91 yen, while U.S. Treasury futures climbed. West Texas Intermediate oil and copper futures sank 0.8 percent.
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