U.S. prosecutors say they have evidence like this to support their case that bankers at Credit Suisse Group helped U.S. customers evade taxes on at least $4 billion in hidden assets.
Investigations are heating up for Credit Suisse, the Swiss banking giant.
The Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations scheduled a hearing for next Wednesday that would focus on the alleged practices. It didn't name the bank that would be in focus, but sources familiar with the matter identified it as Credit Suisse.
The hearing is designed in part to help invigorate slow-moving settlement talks. People familiar with the talks say Credit Suisse has discussed a settlement of about $800 million.
But some U.S. officials are pushing for a tougher line. U.S. guidelines for failing to report foreign bank accounts call for penalties of 50% of the account values. In the Credit Suisse case, that would mean $2 billion.
10 Best Clean Energy Stocks For 2015: Tupperware Corporation(TUP)
Tupperware Brands Corporation operates as a direct seller of various products across a range of brands and categories through an independent sales force. The company engages in the manufacture and sale of kitchen and home products, and beauty and personal care products. It offers preparation, storage, and serving solutions for the kitchen and home, as well as kitchen cookware and tools, children?s educational toys, microwave products, and gifts under the Tupperware brand name primarily in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company provides beauty and personal care products, which include skin care products, cosmetics, bath and body care, toiletries, fragrances, nutritional products, apparel, and related products principally in Mexico, South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, and Uruguay. It offers beauty and personal care products under the Armand Dupree, Avroy Shlain, BeautiControl, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics, Nuvo, and Swissgar de brand names. The company sells its Tupperware products directly to distributors, directors, managers, and dealers; and beauty products primarily through consultants and directors. As of December 26, 2009, the Tupperware distribution system had approximately 1,800 distributors, 61,300 managers, and 1.3 million dealers; and the sales force representing the Beauty businesses approximately 1.1 million. The company was formerly known as Tupperware Corporation and changed its name to Tupperware Brands Corporation in December 2005. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Teresa Rivas]
We think KMB will be perceived as the safest of the multinationals. Its sales outside the US are about 55% of total; this compares to 65%-70% for Procter & Gamble (PG) and Coty (COTY) and 80%-90% for Colgate (CL), Avon and Tupperware (TUP). In general, its risk to the most volatile currencies is below average (its exposure to Eastern Europe is less than 2% of sales), though it is still translating results in Venezuela (about 3% of sales and profit) at the official rate of 6.3 VEF/$ (the parallel rate just hit 175 VEF/$) and Argentina (also 3% of sales) may devalue again. The cost of important raw materials has started to weaken; as they follow oil�� decline they could boost gross margins in 2H15. Of note, polypropylene and natural gas are off 17% 4Q-to-date; pulp prices, while not declining much, seem manageable.
Hot Value Companies For 2014: Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR)
Dollar Tree, Inc. operates discount variety stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer merchandise primarily at the fixed price of $1.00. The company operates its stores under the names of Dollar Tree, Deal$, Dollar Tree Deal$, Dollar Giant, and Dollar Bills. Its stores offer consumable merchandise, including candy and food, and health and beauty care, as well as household consumables, such as paper, plastics, household chemicals, in select stores, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise, which includes toys, durable housewares, gifts, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, and other items; and seasonal goods, such as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas merchandise. As of April 30, 2011, it operated 4,089 stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 88 stores in Canada. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images Like millions of Americans, Darnel Ware needs to save money, even if it's 40 cents on a bag of flour. He searches for those savings during his daily visits to the Family Dollar Store near his home in Fraser, Michigan, sometimes stopping by as many as 10 times a week "if there are things I need," said the 51-year-old home care provider. "I buy a lot of everything; merchandise and food products." He said he typically spends about $30 a trip on items such as the soft drinks, paper cups and cookies he bought on a recent afternoon at the small store in a strip mall alongside other discount retailers and small factories five miles from Detroit. The small but frequent purchases of low-income customers such as Ware add up: Family Dollar Stores (FDO), which operates about 8,200 stores in mainly urban sections of the U.S., is the target of an $9 billion cash takeover offer from rival Dollar General and an $8.5 billion cash and stock offer from Dollar Tree. Both competitors are betting not only on the health of the deep discount retail sector but also on the intractability of poverty in America. Mid-market retailers such as Walmart Stores (WMT), Macy's (M) and J.C. Penney (JCP) have been struggling in recent years as consumers have been slow to return to their pre-recession, freer spending ways. On Wednesday, Target (TGT) said it was cutting its full-year earnings and slashing prices. But the popularity of so-called dollar stores is growing. Shopping by the 46.5 million Americans living below the poverty line poor helped boost the annual U.S. market for deep discount stores by 45.7 percent to $48.2 billion between 2008 and 2013, according to London-based market researcher Euromonitor International. The firm projects the sector to grow to $57 billion in 2018. The U.S. Census sets the poverty line at $24,000 a year or less for a family of four. Such forecasts help explain the battle over Family Dollar, the number-two de
- [By MONEYMORNING.COM]
Retail Stocks to Watch No. 4: Family Dollar Stores Inc. (Nasdaq: FDO)
One-year retail sales growth: 11.4%
Total 2013 U.S. sales: $10.4 billion
The poor economy has been good to Family Dollar, which has gained customers seeking the lowest possible prices. To accommodate such demand, FDO added 1,000 new items, many of them groceries. It also added 506 new stores to bring its total to 7,916. Although it has agreed to sell itself to Dollar Tree Inc. (Nasdaq: DLTR) for $8.5 billion, Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) keeps making new offers. FDO is up 36.8% over the past three months as a result. FDO closed at $80.22. - [By Lawrence Meyers]
The finance sector, as mentioned, can make money in many ways. The second-highest growth sector is expected to be consumer discretionary, with a 6.2% increase. When you look at earnings from luxury brands like Tiffany & Co. (TIF), and that the hotel sector continues to do very well, it suggests that those people who are in good financial shape are spending their money. Meanwhile, dollar players like Dollar Tree (DLTR) continue to perform very well, suggesting that folks with less money are spending it on cheaper items.
Hot Value Companies For 2014: Schlumberger N.V.(SLB)
Schlumberger Limited, together with its subsidiaries, supplies technology, integrated project management, and information solutions to the oil and gas exploration and production industries worldwide. The company?s Oilfield Services segment provides exploration and production services; wireline technology that offers open-hole and cased-hole services; supplies engineering support, directional-drilling, measurement-while-drilling, and logging-while-drilling services; and testing services. This segment also offers well services; supplies well completion services and equipment; artificial lift; data and consulting services; geo services; and information solutions, such as consulting, software, information management system, and IT infrastructure services that support oil and gas industry. Its WesternGeco segment provides reservoir imaging, monitoring, and development services; and operates data processing centers and multiclient seismic library. This segment also offers variou s services include 3D and time-lapse (4D) seismic surveys to multi-component surveys for delineating prospects and reservoir management. The company?s M-I SWACO segment supplies drilling fluid systems to improve drilling performance; fluid systems and specialty tools to optimize wellbore productivity; production technology solutions to maximize production rates; and environmental solutions that manages waste volumes generated in drilling and production operations. Its Smith Oilfield segment designs, manufactures, and markets drill bits and borehole enlargement tools; and supplies drilling tools and services, tubular, completion services, and other related downhole solutions. The company?s Distribution segment markets pipes, valves, and fittings, as well as mill, safety, and other maintenance products. This segment also provides warehouse management, vendor integration, and inventory management services. Schlumberger Limited was founded in 1927 and is based in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Vanina Egea]
To explore and produce, a great investment is required in tools, and one of the leading equipment suppliers is Schlumberger (SLB). A key to remaining on top of the industry is innovation, and of that the company has a whole load. Throughout 2014 alone, the firm has introduced a microseismic surface acquisition system, a new fracturing technique for unconventional reserves, launched a degradable alloy technology to improve well productivity, a multilayer bed boundary detection service for clastic and carbonate fields, and a rotary steerable system that increases directional control and drilling efficiency. These product introductions have been done during the first quarter of 2014, making a strong statement about the company�� research and development pipeline. Gurus, however, mostly dropped the stock during the end of 2013. Let us see whether you can take advantage of the dumping and take a large position with long-term prospects.
- [By Jonas Elmerraji]
2013 has been a stellar year for shares of oil service giant Schlumberger (SLB). Since the calendar flipped over to January, SLB has rallied more than 25%, beating the broad market's impressive pace by double digits. As oil prices linger on the high end of their historic range, SLB is well positioned to keep ticking higher.
Schlumberger provides must-have services to national and supermajor oil firms as well as smaller E&Ps, offering up niche services like seismic surveys and well drilling and positioning. In a nutshell, SLB's job is to pull oil out of the ground as efficiently as possible. Oil firms turn to Schlumberger because the tasks they need to accomplish are too nuanced or proprietary to pull off in-house. So as long as the company continues to pour cash into R&D for drilling technology and software, the firm should continue to score lucrative contracts.
Some of Schlumberger's most attractive opportunities right now come from overseas. The firm is one of the largest oil servicers in Russia, a key growth market in the years ahead. It's also got an important presence in smaller oil markets, where it's a big fish in a small pond. A big scale and stellar reputation should guarantee Schlumberger an attractive piece of the oil pie for years to come.
- [By Teresa Rivas]
Schlumberger (SLB) was down in Thursday afternoon trading after a mixed first quarter.
The oilfield giant said first quarter earnings were $1.59 billion, or $1.21 a share, up from 94 cents in the year-ago period and one penny ahead of estimates. Revenue rose 6.3% to $11.24 billion, just below the $11.49 billion analysts were expecting.
The Middle East and Asia a was the strongest region, with sales up 19%, followed by North America, with 12%. Revenue edged ahead by 0.6% in Europe and Africa, while Latin America saw a 7.7% decline.
Stephens analyst Michael Marino reiterated an Overweight rating on the stock: ��hile SLB’s geographically diversified footprint will likely limit exposure to the accelerating margin trends in North America this year, global oilfield spending continues to grow at a modest pace. Overall, we continue to see slow and steady revenue growth for the Company and solid incremental margins on higher deepwater mix, overall efficiency gains and potential pricing gains in North America.��/p>
FBR Capital Markets��Thomas Curran and Juan Avendano reiterated their Outperform rating on the stock, noting the company�� share repurchases and reiteration of gudiance:
Reveals several awards, confirming it claimed lion’s share of Pemex’s Mega-Tenders. In (1) Mexico, SLB officially announced that it won the largest combined award in Pemex’s recent Mega-Tender round: three multi-year IPM contracts worth, in aggregate, over $1.9B in revenues or nearly 50% of the spoils; (2) Norway, the Company inked a 5-year (plus two option periods of one year) IPM contract, of undisclosed value, with Det norske oljeselkap ASA for exploration drilling and development of the Ivar Aasen field in northern North Sea; (3) Australia, SLB completions signed a $40M contract with INPEX covering the upper and intermediate completions for its first 20 wells at the offshore Ichthys field; and (4) Brazil, SLB artificial lift won
Hot Value Companies For 2014: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)
Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. It operates through three lines of businesses: Machinery, Engines, and Financial Products. The Machinery business offers construction, mining, and forestry machinery, including track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. It also manufactures diesel-electric locomotives; and manufactures and services rail-related products and logistics services for other companies. The Engines business provides diesel, heavy fuel, and natural gas reciprocating engines for Caterpillar machinery, electric power generation systems, marine, petrol eum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications. It offers industrial turbines and turbine-related services for oil and gas, and power generation applications. This business also remanufactures Caterpillar engines, machines, and engine components; and offers remanufacturing services for other companies. The Financial Products business provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels, as well as offers loans and various forms of insurance to customers and dealers. It also offers financing for vehicles, power generation facilities, and marine vessels. The company markets its products directly, as well as through its distribution centers, dealers, and distributors. It was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc. in 1986. Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 squeaked out new highs today, while the Nasdaq Composite and small caps dropped, following stronger-than-forecast manufacturing data out of China and a U.S. manufacturing survey that had to be corrected twice. Caterpillar (CAT) and Broadcom�(BRCM) gained, while Express Scripts (ESRX) and Puma Biotechnology (PBYI) tumbled.
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