Top 5 Prefered Stocks To Invest In Right Now

In major stock market news today, markets are pulling out of losses at midday after volatile morning trade. Investors pulled out of markets after Russian President Vladimir Putin today vowed to back Syria in the event of a U.S. attack. �

U.S. President Barack Obama, joining Putin at the G-20 Summit in St. Petersburg today, repeated his message that a U.S. attack would not be full scale, but would be on par with a recent attack on Damascus.

In other stock market news today, investors learned that the United States added 169,000 jobs in August as unemployment dropped slightly to 7.3% from 7.4%, according to the U.S. Labor Department. It was fewer jobs than economists anticipated.

And fewer people were looking for work as the labor force participation dropped to 63.2%, which is the lowest level since 1978, according to MarketWatch. Many investors suspect the worse-than-expected jobs data could delay the U.S. Federal Reserve's plans to ease out of its bond-buying program starting after the Sept. 17-18 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting (Septaper).

Top 5 Prefered Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Woodside Petroleum Ltd (WPL)

Woodside Petroleum Ltd (Woodside) is an Australia-based oil and gas company. Woodside, along with its subsidiaries is engaged in hydrocarbon exploration, evaluation, development, production and marketing. As of December 31, 2011, the Company produced around 700,000 barrels of oil equivalent each day from a portfolio of facilities, which it operates on behalf of some of the major oil and gas companies. It operating facilities include six liquefied natural gas (LNG) trains, five offshore platforms and four oil floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels. It is one of the non-government operators LNG plants. The Company operates six segments: North West Shelf Business Unit, Australia Oil Business Unit, Pluto Business Unit, Browse Business Unit, United States Business Unit and Other. In September 2012, it sold a minority portion of its equity in the proposed Browse LNG Development to Japan Australia LNG (MIMI Browse) Pty Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Adam Haigh]

  Energy producers advanced as crude oil prices rallied after the ousting of Egypt�� president fanned concern unrest will disrupt Middle East oil supply. Cnooc gained 2.1 percent to HK$12.80 in Hong Kong. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., the nation�� largest refiner, rose 2.5 percent to HK$5.25. Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL), Australia�� No. 2 energy producer, added 3 percent to A$35.64.

• [By Yoshiaki Nohara]

  Australia�� S&P/ASX 200 Index retreated 0.7 percent, led by energy and financial shares. Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL), Australia�� second-biggest oil and gas producer, dropped 2 percent to A$34.67. Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC), Australia�� No. 2 lender by market value, shed 1.2 percent to A$27.47.

Top 5 Prefered Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (CLV)

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. is an international mining and natural resources company. The Company is an iron ore producer and a producer of metallurgical coal. The Company�� operations are organized according to product category and geographic location: U.S. Iron Ore, Eastern Canadian Iron Ore, North American Coal, Asia Pacific Iron Ore, Asia Pacific Coal, Latin American Iron Ore, Ferroalloys, and its Global Exploration Group. The Company operates in four segments: U.S. Iron Ore, Eastern Canadian Iron Ore, North American Coal and Asia Pacific Iron Ore. In the United States, it operates five iron ore mines in Michigan and Minnesota, five metallurgical coal mines located in West Virginia and Alabama and one thermal coal mine located in West Virginia. It also operates two iron ore mines in Eastern Canada that primarily provide iron ore to the seaborne market for Asian steel producers. Its Asia Pacific operations include two iron ore mining complexes in Western Australia, serving the Asian iron ore markets with direct-shipping fines and lump ore, and a 45% interest in a coking and thermal coal mine located in Queensland, Australia. In Latin America, it has a 30% interest in Amapa, a Brazilian iron ore project, and in Ontario, Canada, it has a chromite project in the pre-feasibility stage of exploration. On May 12, 2011, the Company completed the acquisition of Consolidated Thompson Iron Mining Limited.

U.S. Iron Ore and Eastern Canadian Iron Ore

The Company is a global iron ore producer, primarily selling production from U.S. Iron Ore to integrated steel companies in the United States and Canada, and production from Eastern Canadian Iron Ore to the seaborne market for Asian steel producers. The Company manages and operates five iron ore mines located in Michigan and Minnesota and two iron ore mines in Eastern Canada. As of December 31, 2011, the United States-based mines and one of the mines in Eastern Canada had an annual rated capacity of 38.5 million gross tons of iron or! e pellet production. The second iron ore mine that the Company manages and operates in Eastern Canada had an annual rated capacity of 8.0 million gross tons of iron ore concentrate as of December 31, 2011. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company produced a total of 31.0 million tons of iron ore pellets at U.S. Iron Ore, including 23.7 million tons for its account and 7.3 million tons on behalf of steel company partners of the mines.

At Eastern Canadian Iron Ore, it produced a total of 6.9 million metric tons of iron ore pellets and concentrate during 2011, with concentrate production measured from the date of its acquisition of Consolidated Thompson in 2011. The Company produces various grades of iron ore pellets, including standard, fluxed and high manganese, for use in its customers��blast furnaces as part of the steelmaking process. As of December 31, 2011, it had approximately 1.2 million tons of pellets, respectively, in inventory at lower lakes or customers��facilities. During 2011, the Company sold 24.2 million tons of iron ore pellets, respectively, from its share of the production from the Company�� U.S. Iron Ore mines. Its Eastern Canadian Iron Ore revenues are derived from sales of iron ore pellets and concentrate to the seaborne market for Asian steel producers. The iron ore pellets produced by Eastern Canadian Iron Ore are sold to various customers. During 2011, the Company sold 7.4 million metric tons of iron ore pellets and concentrate, respectively, from its Eastern Canadian Iron Ore mines.

North American Coal

The Company owns and operates five metallurgical coal mines located in West Virginia and Alabama and one thermal coal mine located in West Virginia that had a rated capacity of 9.4 million tons of production annually in 2011. In 2011, the Company sold a total of 4.2 million tons. North American Coal�� metallurgical coal production is sold to global integrated steel and coke producers in Europe, Latin America and North Am! erica, an! d its thermal coal production is sold to energy companies and distributors in North America and Europe.

Asia Pacific Iron Ore

The Company�� Asia Pacific Iron Ore operations are located in Western Australia and include its wholly owned Koolyanobbing complex and its 50% interest in Cockatoo Island. Production in 2011, was 8.9 million metric tons. These two operations supply a total of three direct-shipping export products to Asia via the global seaborne trade market. Koolyanobbing produces a standard lump and fines product. Cockatoo Island produces a single premium fines product. The lump products are directly fed to blast furnaces, while the fines products are used as sinter feed. Koolyanobbing is a collective term for the operating deposits at Koolyanobbing, Mount Jackson and Windarling. There are approximately 60 miles separating the three mining areas. Cockatoo Island is located off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia, approximately 1,200 miles north of Perth Cockatoo Island produces a single high-grade iron ore product known as Cockatoo Island Premium Fines. During 2011, it sold 8.6 million metric tons of iron ore from its Western Australia mines.

The Company competes with ArcelorMittal Mines Canada, U.S. Steel Canada Inc., Alpha Natural Resources, Inc., Patriot Coal Corporation, CONSOL Energy Inc., Arch Coal, Inc., Walter Energy, Inc., Peabody Energy Corp. Anglo, BHP and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd., Rio Tinto plc, Vale, BHP, Teck Resources Limited and Xstrata plc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Henry Nyce]

  Cliffs Natural Resources (CLV) closed at $18.55 yesterday. At that price CLV offers 10.5% per share. Originally offered at $25.00 per share, CLV can now be purchased well below the offering price. It is designed to pay distributions of 7.00% per annum ($1.75 per annum or $0.4375 per quarter) to be paid quarterly on 2/1, 5/1, 8/1 & 11/1 to holders of record on the immediately preceding 1/15, 4/15, 7/15 & 10/15 respectively.

Top Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Qiwi PLC (QIWI)

QIWI plc., incorporated on February 26, 2007, is a provider of payment services in Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The Company has an integrated network that enables payment services across physical, online and mobile channels. In December 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of Blestgroup Enterprises Limited.

The Company has deployed over 11 million virtual wallets, over 169,000 kiosks and terminals, and enabled over 40,000 merchants to accept cash and electronic payments monthly from over 65 million consumers using the Company 's network at least once a month. The Company�� consumers can use cash, stored value and other electronic payment methods to order and pay for goods and services across physical or online environments interchangeably.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  With that in mind, the four main Russian tech leaders investors should know about are:

  VimpelCom Ltd. (ADR) (Nasdaq: VIP), a broad telecom play. The company provides both fixed and wireless web access, as well as mobile communications and services. The company has a number of subsidiaries that, taken together, have something like 215 million subscribers. Mobile Telesystems OJSC (ADR) (NYSE: MBT), a straight-up mobile play that operates in the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Armenia. Plus, it has a strategic relationship with one of Europe's major players, Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) (Nasdaq: VOD). Qiwi PLC (Nasdaq: QIWI), a leader in electronic payments through kiosks, the web, and mobile platforms. It's Russia's version of PayPal - so we better not tell Carl Icahn... he might start a campaign to break up that company, too. And Yandex NV (Nasdaq: YNDX), which is the "Google of Russia." Yandex operates the world's fourth-ranked search engine and enjoys a 60% market share in its home country. Google, with about a quarter of the market, is a very distant second there.

  That's a great rundown on Russia's tech leaders. Are there any worth buying at this level? And why?

Top 5 Prefered Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Idacorp Inc (IDA)

IDACORP, Inc. (IDACORP), incorporated on February 2, 1998, is a holding company. The Company's operating subsidiary is Idaho Power Company (Idaho Power). Idaho Power is an electric utility engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution, sale, and purchase of electric energy. Idaho Power is the parent of Idaho Energy Resources Co. (IERCo), a joint venturer in Bridger Coal Company (BCC), which mines and supplies coal to the Jim Bridger generating plant owned in part by Idaho Power. IDACORP's other notable subsidiaries include IDACORP Financial Services, Inc. (IFS), an investor in housing and other real estate investments and Ida-West Energy Company (Ida-West), an operator of small hydroelectric generation projects.

Idaho Power is a combination hydro-thermal utility with 17 hydroelectric projects, three natural gas-fired plants, one diesel-powered generator and part ownership in three coal-fired generating plants. Idaho Power serves approximately 506,000 customers in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividends4Life]

  IDACORP Inc. (IDA) Idaho Power Company, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, sale, and purchase of electric energy in the United States. Sept. 19, the company increased its quarterly dividend 13.2% to $0.43 per share. The dividend is payable Dec. 2, 2013 to IDACORP shareholders of record on Nov. 6, 2013. The yield based on the new payout is 3.6%.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Boise, Idaho-based energy company IdaCorp (IDA) raised its quarterly dividend 13.2% to 43 cents per share, payable Dec. 2 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 6.
  IDA Dividend Yield: 3.37%

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on IdaCorp (NYSE: IDA  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top 5 Prefered Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Duckwall-Alco Stores Inc.(DUCK)

Duckwall-ALCO Stores, Inc. operates as a regional broad line retailer in the central United States. The company operates ALCO stores that offer a line of merchandise consisting of approximately 35,000 items, including automotive, commodities, crafts, domestics, electronics, furniture, hardware, health and beauty aids, housewares, jewelry, pre-recorded music and video, sporting goods, seasonal items, stationery, and toys, as well as ladies?, men?s, and children?s apparel and shoes. As of March 1, 2012, it operated 216 ALCO stores in 23 states. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Abilene, Kansas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  Stocks trading at or below book value ��not counting goodwill ��are the easiest to understand. Whether we are talking about DreamWorks or Avalon Holdings or Duckwall ALCO (DUCK) or J.W. Mays (MAYS), if a stock is trading around book value your next step is to figure out how book value is calculated.