Dan Wiener has edited a newsletter about Vanguard�� mutual funds for 23 years. But here�� a surprise: He doesn�� think much of index funds. Instead, he invests almost exclusively in Vanguard�� actively managed funds.
TOOL: Kiplinger's Mutual Fund Finder
Here�� how he puts it. ��or all the arguments about why indexing is better, low cost is the only one that means anything. And Vanguard offers very low prices on actively managed funds. I use active managers because I think I can pick funds that will do better than the indexes.��/p>
Wiener has delivered for his subscribers. Over the past ten years through February 28, his newsletter, The Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors, has returned an annualized 8.3%, compared with 7.7% for Standard & Poor�� 500-stock index, according to the authoritative Hulbert Financial Digest. Wiener has also achieved market-beating returns over other time periods. What�� more, Wiener�� portfolios have exhibited 15% less volatility, on average, than the overall stock market. That�� important because lower volatility almost always translates into smaller losses in bear markets.
Hot Safest Companies To Own For 2016: 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 Rich Duprey]
The own of upscale retailer Lord & Taylor is adding another luxury nameplate to its portfolio. Canadian shop Hudson's Bay will buy Saks (NYSE: SKS ) , the two retailers jointly announced, in a deal valued at about $2.9 billion, including debt.
- [By Holly LaFon]
During the year we made a number of portfolio changes. In addition to Forest Oil Corp., positions in Carters, Inc., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Class A shares, and General Communication, Inc., Class A shares were eliminated and Saks, Inc. (SKS) was sold due to the company's acquisition by Hudson's Bay Company (TSX:HBC) (the $16 takeover price compared to our cost of approximately $4 .25 per share). One new position, Radian Group, Inc. (RDN), was established. One of the largest private mortgage insurance companies, Radian Group, Inc. should benefit from a recovery in the housing industry and from the Federal Housing Administration's gradual pull-back from the mortgage insurance market.
- [By Andrew Marder]
For a company that is putting up solid sales growth, has a great brand, and has seen its stock price rise more than 40% in the last 12 months, Saks (NYSE: SKS ) didn't demand much of a premium. Hudson's Bay, the operator behind Lord & Taylor, picked up Saks for just $16 per share, representing a 4.5% bump to Friday's closing price.
- [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.
Top Low Price Stocks To Watch Right Now: SPDR S&P Midcap 400 ETF (MDY)
MidCap SPDRS, Standard & Poor's Depository Receipts, represent ownership interests in the MidCap SPDR Trust, Series 1 (the Trust), which is a unit investment trust that seeks to match the total return of the Standard & Poor's Midcap 400 Composite Price Index (the S&P MidCap Index). To accomplish this, the Trust utilizes a full replication approach.
The Trust's holdings comprise 400 stocks in the S&P MidCap 400 Index, which is designed to capture the price performance of the middle capitalization segment of the United States publicly traded stock market. All 400 securities of the S&P MidCap 400 Index are owned by the Trust in their approximate market capitalization weight.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By BENZINGA]
So, for those who pay attention to such things, imagine the excitement coming into Monday's session as the DJIA was flirting with 16,000, the S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY) was closing in on 1,800, the NASDAQ (NYSE: QQQ) was flirting with 4,000 (something it hasn't done in at least a decade) and while, considerably less important, the S&P Midcap (NYSE: MDY) was just above 1,300. In short, if a big, round number is important, then four of them must be monumental, right?
- [By Dan Caplinger]
Similarly, diversification within stocks didn't work well. The performance of iShares Russell 2000 (NYSEMKT: IWM ) and SPDR S&P MidCap 400 (NYSEMKT: MDY ) showed that there wasn't shelter available in small- and mid-cap stocks. International stocks often help protect against losses, but massive capital flight from emerging markets socked popular ETFs Vanguard Emerging Market (NYSEMKT: VWO ) and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (NYSEMKT: EEM ) for single-day percentage losses that were nearly double the Dow's decline. Even developed markets suffered more than the U.S., as iShares MSCI EAFE (NYSEMKT: EFA ) posted losses 50% greater than the U.S. market's.
Top Low Price Stocks To Watch Right Now: Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc. (KW)
Kennedy-Wilson Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate investment and services company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, and Japan. The company operates in two segments, KW Investments and KW Services. The KW Investments segment invests in real estate related assets, including multifamily, residential, and office properties, as well as loans secured by real estate. It invests in real estate assets and loans secured by real estate through joint ventures, separate accounts, commingled funds, and wholly owned investments. The KW Services segment provides a line of real estate services for the life cycle of real estate ownership and investment to clients, such as financial institutions, developers, builders, and government agencies. This segment offers auction and conventional sales, property management, investment management, asset management, leasing, construction management, acquisitions, dispositions, and trust services; property management services to real estate owners; and brokerage and marketing services. The company, principally through joint venture investments, also engages in acquiring, renovating, and reselling commercial and residential real estate, as well as investing in loan pools and discounted loan portfolios. As of December 31, 2012, its real estate and real estate related assets under management consisted of approximately 61 million square feet of properties, including ownership in 14,764 multifamily apartment units. The company was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Midcaps CBRE Group Inc (NYSE: CBG) and Jones Lang LaSalle Inc (NYSE: JLL) are probably the better known real estate services stocks with the latter surging 12.36% yesterday on impressive earnings, but small cap stocks Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc (NYSE: KW) and FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ: FSRV) are also important real estate services providers that you may have overlooked. After all, real estate services stocks like the following would offer exposure to real estate by being invested in property as well as generating revenue from transactions, property management and other services: ��
Top Low Price Stocks To Watch Right Now: Murphy Oil Corp (MUR)
Murphy Oil Corporation, incorporated on June 29, 1964, is a worldwide oil and gas exploration and production company with retail and wholesale gasoline marketing operations in the United States and refining and marketing operations in the United Kingdom. In August 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the spin-off of its United States retail marketing business into an independent public company called Murphy USA Inc.
Murphy's exploration and production activities are subdivided into five geographic segments, including the United States, Canada, Malaysia, the Republic of the Congo and all other countries. Murphy's refining and marketing activities are subdivided into segments for the United States and the United Kingdom.
Exploration and Production
During the year ended December 31, 2012, Murphy's principal exploration and production activities were conducted in the United States by wholly owned Murphy Exploration & Production Company - USA (Murphy Expro USA), in Malaysia, Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Suriname, Australia, Brunei, the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Cameroon, Vietnam and Equatorial Guinea by wholly owned Murphy Exploration & Production Company - International (Murphy Expro International) and its subsidiaries, in Western Canada and offshore Eastern Canada by wholly owned Murphy Oil Company Ltd. (MOCL) and its subsidiaries, and in the U.K. North Sea and the Atlantic Margin by wholly owned Murphy Petroleum Limited.
Murphy's crude oil and natural gas liquids production in 2012 was in the United States, Canada, Malaysia, the Republic of the Congo and the United Kingdom; its natural gas was produced and sold in the United States, Canada, Malaysia and the United Kingdom. MOCL owns a 5% undivided interest in Syncrude Canada Ltd. in northern Alberta, one of the producers of synthetic crude oil. Murphy's worldwide crude oil, condensate and natural gas liquids production in 2012, averaged 112,591 barrels per day. The Company's worldwi! de sales volume of natural gas averaged 490 million cubic feet per day in 2012.
In the United States, Murphy primarily has production of oil and/or natural gas from fields in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, in the Eagle Ford Shale area of South Texas and onshore in South Louisiana. The Company produced approximately 26,100 barrels of oil per day and 53 million cubic feet of natural gas per day in the U.S. in 2012. During 2012, approximately 54% of total U.S. hydrocarbon production was produced at fields in the Gulf of Mexico. The Company holds a 60% interest at Medusa in Mississippi Canyon Blocks 538/582, which produced total daily oil and natural gas of about 4,300 barrels and for million cubic feet, respectively, in 2012. At December 31, 2012, the Medusa field had total proved oil and natural gas reserves of approximately 9.2 million barrels and 9.4 billion cubic feet, respectively. Murphy has a 62.5% working interest in the Front Runner field in Green Canyon Blocks 338/339. Oil and natural gas production at Front Runner averaged about 3,900 barrels of oil per day and four million cubic feet per day in 2012. The Company also acquired additional working interests in the Thunder Hawk field in Mississippi Canyon Block 734 in 2012 and holds 62.5% of this field. In 2012 oil production from this field averaged 2,800 barrels per day and 1.7 million cubic feet per day and 3.2 million cubic feet per day due to a new well completed in 2012.
The Company is primarily concentrating drilling efforts in the areas of the Eagle Ford where oil is the primary hydrocarbon produced. Totals for 2012 oil and natural gas production in the Eagle Ford area were approximately 13,300 barrels per day and 13 MMCF per day, respectively. On a barrel of oil equivalent basis, Eagle Ford production accounted for 44% of total U.S. production volumes in 2012. At December 31, 2012, the Company's proved reserves in the Eagle Ford Shale area totaled 113.6 million barrels of oil and 108.7 billion cubic feet of natural! gas. Tot! al proved U.S. oil and natural gas reserves at December 31, 2012 were 142.6 million barrels and 209.7 billion cubic feet, respectively. The Company is developing the Dalmatian field located in DeSoto Canyon Blocks 4 and 48 in the Gulf of Mexico.
In Canada, the Company owns an interest in three non-operated assets - the Hibernia and Terra Nova fields offshore Newfoundland in the Jeanne d'Arc Basin and Syncrude Canada Ltd. in northern Alberta. In addition, the Company owns interests in one heavy oil area, two natural gas areas and light oil prospective acreage in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB). Murphy has a 6.5% working interest in Hibernia, while at Terra Nova the Company's working interest is 10.475%. Oil production in 2012 was about 5,300 barrels of oil per day at Hibernia and 1,700 barrels per day at Terra Nova. Total proved oil reserves at December 31, 2012 at Hibernia and Terra Nova were approximately 10.6 million barrels and 5.9 million barrels, respectively.
Murphy owns a 5% undivided interest in Syncrude Canada Ltd., a joint venture located about 25 miles north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. Syncrude utilizes its assets, which include three coking units, to extract bitumen from oil sand deposits and to upgrade this bitumen into a synthetic crude oil. Production in 2012 was about 13,800 barrels of synthetic crude oil per day. Total proved reserves for Syncrude at year-end 2012 were 119.1 million barrels. Daily production in 2012 in the WCSB averaged about 7,500 barrels of mostly heavy oil and about 217 million cubic feet of natural gas. Through 2012, the Company has acquired approximately 144 thousand net acres of mineral rights in the Montney area, including Tupper and Tupper West.
In Malaysia, the Company has majority interests in six separate production sharing contracts (PSCs). The Company serves as the operator of all these areas other than the Kakap field. The production sharing contracts cover approximately 2.79 million gross acres. Murphy h! as an 85%! interest in discoveries made in two shallow-water blocks, SK 309 and SK 311, offshore Sarawak. About 7,400 barrels of oil per day were produced in 2012 at Blocks SK 309/311, with almost 75% of this at the West Patricia field and the remainder mostly associated with gas liquids produced at other Sarawak fields. Total net natural gas sales volume offshore Sarawak was about 174 million cubic feet per day during 2012 . Total proved reserves of oil and natural gas at December 31, 2012 for Blocks SK 309/311 were 10.3 million barrels and 284.7 billion cubic feet, respectively.
The Company made a discovery at the Kikeh field in deepwater Block K, offshore Sabah, Malaysia. Total gross acreage held by the Company in Block K as of December 31, 2012 was 80,000 acres. Production volumes at Kikeh averaged 44,900 barrels of oil per day during 2012. Total proved reserves booked in Block K as of year-end 2012 were 85.4 million barrels of oil and 72.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas.Total proved reserves booked in Block K in 2012, were 85.4 million barrels of oil and 72.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Total gross acreage held by the Company at year-end 2012 in Block H was 1.40 million acres. Murphy has a 75% interest in gas holding agreements for Kenarong and Pertang discoveries made in Block PM 311, located offshore peninsular Malaysia.
The Company had interests in Production Sharing Agreements (PSA) covering two offshore blocks in Republic of the Congo - Mer Profonde Sud (MPS) and Mer Profonde Nord (MPN) during 2012. These interests covered approximately 1.33 million gross acres with water depths ranging from 490 to 6,900 feet, and the Company operated both blocks. Total oil production in 2012 averaged 2,100 barrels per day at Azurite for the Company's 50% interest. Anticipated production in 2013 is 1,500 barrels per day.
The Company holds six exploration permits in Australia and serves as operator of four of them. Block NT/P80 in the Bonaparte Basin, offshore northwester! n Austral! ia, was acquired in June 2009 and covers approximately 1.20 million gross acres. In May 2012, Murphy was awarded permit WA-476-P in the Carnarvon Basin, offshore Western Australia. The Company holds 100% working interest in the permit which covers 177,000 gross acres. In August 2012, Murphy was awarded permit WA-481-P in the Perth Basin, offshore Western Australia. The permit covers approximately 4.30 million gross acres, with water depths ranging from 20 to 300 meters. The Company holds a 40% working interest. The work commitment calls for tw0- dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) seismic acquisition and processing, geophysical work and three exploration wells. In November 2012, Murphy acquired a 20% non-operated working interest in permit WA-408-P in the Browse Basin. This block is adjacent to AC/P36 and is in the midst of a two-well exploration campaign. The permit comprises approximately 417,000 gross acres.
The Company has interests in four exploration licenses in Indonesia and serves as operator of all these concessions. . Following contractually mandated acreage relinquishment in 2012, the block covers approximately 745 thousand gross acres. The Company has a 28.3% interest in the block which covers about 543 thousand gross acres after a required partial relinquishment of acreage during 2012. The permit calls for a 3D seismic program and three exploration wells. Murphy has a 100% interest in the block which covers 1.22 million gross acres. In November 2012, the Company signed a production sharing contract with Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group and PetroVietnam Exploration Production Company, whereby it acquired 65% interest and operatorship of Blocks 144 and 145. The blocks cover approximately 4.42 million gross acres and are located in the outer Phu Khanh Basin. In late 2012, the Company was granted Vietnam's government approval to acquire a 60% working interest and operatorship of Block 11-2/11.
The Company operates and holds a 50% interest in the block. The Ce! ntral Doh! uk block covers approximately 153 thousand gross acres and is located in the Dohuk area of the Kurdistan region in Iraq. The Company shot seismic in 2011 and drilled an unsuccessful exploration well in 2012.The Company acquired a 100% working interest and operatorship of Block 48 offshore Suriname. The block encompasses 794 thousand gross acres with water depths ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 meters. Murphy relinquished Block 37 in July 2012.
Murphy was granted government approval to acquire a 50% working interest and operatorship of the NTEM concession. The working interest was acquired from Sterling Cameroon Limited (Sterling) via a farm-out agreement of the existing production sharing contract. Sterling retained a 50% non-operated interest in the block. The NTEM block, situated in the Douala Basin offshore Cameroon, encompasses 573 thousand gross acres, with water depths ranging from 300 to 1,900 meters. In October 2012, Murphy signed an agreement with Perenco Cameroon to acquire a 50% interest in the Elombo production sharing contract, immediately adjacent to the NTEM concession. The Company received government approval to acquire the acreage in December 2012. Perenco retained a 50% operating interest in the block. The Elombo block, situated in the Douala Basin offshore Cameroon, between the shoreline and the NTEM block, encompasses 594 thousand gross acres with water depths ranging up to 1,100 meters.
In December 2012, Murphy signed a production sharing contract for block W offshore Equatorial Guinea. Murphy has a 45% working interest and has been designated the operator. The government is expected to ratify the contract early in 2013. The block is located offshore mainland Equatorial Guinea and encompasses 557 thousand gross acres with water depths ranging from 60 to 2,000 meters. The initial exploration period of five years is divided into two sub-periods, a sub-period of three years and a second sub-period of two years. The sub-period may be extended one year and with this! extensio! n is the obligation to drill one well. Murphy has produced oil and natural gas in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea for many years. In 2012, Murphy entered into several contracts to sell all of its oil and gas properties in the United Kingdom.
Murphy's total proved undeveloped reserves at December 31, 2012 increased 42.0 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE) from a year earlier. Approximately 44.0 MMBOE of proved undeveloped reserves were converted to proved developed reserves during 2012. During 2012, there were 26.6 million barrels of oil per day of positive revisions for proved undeveloped reserves. At December 31, 2012, proved reserves are included for several development projects that are ongoing, including natural gas developments at the Tupper West area in British Columbia and offshore Sarawak Malaysia, and an oil development at Kakap, offshore Sabah Malaysia. Total proved undeveloped reserves associated with various development projects at December 31, 2012 were approximately 219 million barrels of oil per day, which is 36% of the Company's total proved reserves.
Murphy Oil USA, Inc. (MOUSA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Murphy Oil Corporation and markets its refined products through a network of Company stations, unbranded wholesale customers and bulk products customers in a 30-state area, primarily in the Southern and Midwestern United States. Murphy's Company stations are located in 23 states and are primarily located in the parking lots of Walmart Supercenters using the brand name Murphy USA. The Company stations also include stand-alone locations using the Murphy Express brand. During 2012, Company stations sold over 3.8 billion gallons of motor fuel. At December 31, 2012, the Company marketed fuel and convenience merchandise through 1,165 Company stations. Of these Company stations, 1,015 are located on parking lots of Walmart Supercenters or other Walmart stores and 150 are stand-alone Murphy Express locations.
The Company owns land und! erlying 9! 08 of the Company stations on Walmart parking lots. No rent is payable to Walmart for the owned locations. For the remaining 104 Company stations located on Walmart property that are not owned, Murphy has master agreements that allow the Company to rent land from Walmart. The master agreements contain general terms applicable to all rental sites on Walmart property in the United States. In addition to the motor fuel sold at the Company's Company stations, its stores carry a broad selection of snacks, beverages, tobacco products, and other non-food merchandise. The Company's merchandise offerings include two private label products, an isotonic drink offered in several flavors and a private label energy drink. In 2012, the Company purchased more than 88% of its merchandise from a single vendor, McLane's Company, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.
Murphy owns an interest in a crude oil pipeline that connects storage at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) at Clovelly, Louisiana, to the formerly owned Meraux refinery. Murphy owns a 40.1% interest in its 22 miles of this pipeline from Clovelly to Alliance, Louisiana, and 100% of the remaining 24 miles from Alliance to Meraux. Murco Petroleum Limited (Murco), a wholly owned U.K. subsidiary, owns 100% interest in a refinery at Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The refinery is located on a 938 acre site owned by the Company; 430 acres are used by the refinery and the remainder is rented for agricultural use. The refinery consistently performed near nameplate capacity during 2012. Murphy has announced its intention to sell the Milford Haven refinery and United Kingdom marketing assets.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Smith]
Sometime in the second half of this year, Murphy Oil� (NYSE: MUR ) will split in two. When that happens, the company announced today, its current president and CEO, Steve Cosse, will be leaving Murphy proper to join the spun-off business running the firm's current downstream operations, Murphy USA.
- [By Bryan Murphy]
Right along the border between Namibia and Angola lies the Owambo Basin. On the Namibia side of the basis is a 5.3 million acre concession that's sitting on an estimated 1.1 billion barrels of oil, with nearly 300 million barrels of that oil deemed recoverable. More, however, may be uncovered or determined to be recoverable with more seismic exploration. And to the extent that other oil companies being interested in exploring the area matters, Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) are both revving up their E&P efforts in the region. Murphy Oil has a 50% working interest in the Azurite Field in the Congo, just north of Angola. And, Exxon Mobil is working on a $16 billion offshore project just off the coast of Angola. Point being, if the big boys are poking around, there must be something to it.��
- [By Joshua Bondy]
Murphy Oil (NYSE: MUR ) has already spun off its US retail operations into Murphy Oil USA�and�is exploring the possibility of spinning off its U.K. refining operations. Divesting its refineries will help direct excess cash to developing new fields.�
Top Low Price Stocks To Watch Right Now: Sama Resources Inc (SME)
Sama Resources Inc./Ressources Sama Inc., formerly Sama Resources Inc., is a Canada-based, exploration-stage company. The Company is engaged in mineral exploration and development business. The Company�� property includes Samapleu Property and Lola Property. The Lola Project is 100% owned by the Company and is located in eastern Guinea, adjacent to the Company's Samapleu project, which is just across the border in Cote d'Ivoire. The Samapleu poroject is located approximately 600 kilometer northwest of Abidjan and encompasses approximately 446 square kilometer. On December 11, 2012, the Company commenced a 3,300 line/kilometer airborne helicopter time domain electromagnetic and magnetic survey over the Company�� Samapleu Property. In April 2012, the Company commenced a 1,500 meter drilling program at its newly discovered Gogota Deposit. As of September 30, 2012, the Company�� subsidiaries include Sama Nickel Corporation, Sama Nickel Cote d��voire SARL and Sama Resources Guinee. Advisors' Opinion:- [By GURUFOCUS]
Kingdee International Software Group Co. Ltd. (HKSE:00268) appreciated 56% during the third quarter. Kingdee is a leading provider of enterprise management software and cloud and e-commerce platforms in China, with a focus on the small/medium enterprise (SME) sector. During the third quarter, the company announced financial results, suggesting that the reorganization of its sales priorities was beginning to bear fruit. We also believe the stock's performance was aided by anticipated government reforms, which are likely to support the software sector, as well as the company's SME clients. (Michael Kass)
Top Low Price Stocks To Watch Right Now: Lattice Inc (LTTC)
Lattice Inc., incorporated on October 31, 1994, develops and delivers secure telecommunication solutions. The Company provides products and services, such as Nexus Call Control system, wholesale services, direct services, government services, Aquifer software, SensorView software, and The OneVoice system. The Company derives its revenues from three primary resources, such as providing telecommunications services to correctional facilities and service providers who provide telecommunication services within the industry, selling or licensing the Company's technology, and providing engineering services to other technology companies and government agencies. The Company continues to wholesale call control technology and services to service providers offering communication services to inmates of correctional institutions. In September 2013, Lattice Incorporated established Lattice Communications Inc. in Canada. In November 2013, the Company purchased InnoVisit's video conferencing technology.
Nexus Call Control System (Nexus)
The Company�� Nexus Call Control system is built on the Company's BubbleLink software architecture. BubbleLink is a transaction processing platform that is used to develop and enhance a variety of customizable communications applications. This open source platform is a combination of integrated computer telephony hardware and software. The Nexus Call Control system is capable of handling thousands of call transactions per hour and provides telecom service providers with tools to manage telephone calls. The Nexus Call Control system can manage small to facilities without sacrificing features or performance. Nexus provides call control and management tools targeted at investigation and law enforcement in the inmate telephone control industry.
Nexus includes live monitoring, debit, video visitation, kiosk integration, and recording features. The Nexus system can be structured to use pre-paid collect and pre-paid debit cards that support specialized tarif! fs and call timing. With pre-paid services, Nexus provides complete control and security. Nexus call control systems are supported by an integrated array of administrative and investigative programs that provide a management solution suite. All programs interact in real-time with Nexus calls and databases via an Ethernet local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN).
Wholesale Services
The Company provides transaction based services to other service providers based on the feature set of the Nexus platform. Service providers utilize the Company's services to provide telecommunication services to facilities that require a secure call management solution. The features the Company offers vary based on the specific needs of the service provider. With the scalability of the Nexus system, the Company is able to provide services across the country without requiring a capital deployment for new facilities.
Direct Services
The Company's Nexus platform allows the Company to provide correctional facilities with a feature rich secure call control service that enables inmates to make phone calls while providing the security and investigative features required in correctional facilities. In addition to telecommunications services the Nexus based system provides capabilities to provide services, such as video visitation, kiosk management, e-mail, and other inmate services not readily available through less advanced systems. With the Nexus based platform, because it is centrally located, the Company is able to provide a suite of features to smaller facilities, enabling the Company to provide services traditionally unavailable to this section of the market.
Government Services
The Company�� government services division provides engineering services coupled with technology solutions to agencies of the federal government. The Company has developed data management applications, Internet server technology, and information systems within! federal ! agencies.. The Company's technology and services helps the Company's customers reduce development time for projects, manage the deployment of applications across the Internet to desktops around the world and implement military grade security on all systems where the applications are deployed. The Company has designed, developed and implemented advanced business management applications, integration technologies and enterprise geospatial systems.
The Company supports several operational systems in all of these categories for organizations and defense commands using Web-based technologies and the consolidation of custom and commercial off-the-shelf software to unite dissimilar applications into integrated systems. In addition, the Company provides network engineering, architectural guidance, database management, programming, and functional area analysis to its department of defense clients. The government services division derives approximately 90% of its revenues from the department of defense. The Company's contracts with the federal government consist of three contract types: time and materials, fixed price, and cost plus. In addition, the Company has a mix of prime contracts, where the contract is awarded to the Company, and subcontracts where the Company is a sub on another organization's prime contract. The Company has approximately 90% of its revenues being generated from prime contracts.
Aquifer Software
The Company develops and markets the Aquifer application services platforms, a software product embedded in the applications developed for its customers. Aquifer is an out-of-the-box application framework for secure, Web-enabled, multi-platform applications. It implements application and data security that exceeds military and commercial standards. Built on Web services, Aquifer provides developers with a simplified, clear path to implement applications in a service oriented architecture (SOA). Using Aquifer, developers accelerate the creation, conversion, d! eployment,! and maintenance of next generation, Internet-ready, multi-tiered business applications.
SensorView Software (SensorView)
The Company�� SensorView is a command, control, and monitoring system that provides a secure plug and play (SPnP) backbone for the integration of numerous CBRNE, weather, navigation, video, motion, and other sensor types using a variety of standard wired and wireless interfaces. It can be used with both fixed and mobile units to provide real time monitoring and protection. SensorView software is microsoft windows and Internet browser based for ease of use with a customizable interface that is easy to learn and modify to the specific display needs of the user. SensorView can be used with or without encryption and can be exported for use by Allied Coalition partner nations.
The OneVoice System (OneVoice)
The Company�� OneVoice system, also known as the JWARN Component Interface Device (JCID) on a Chip, or JoaC, is a universal network card that allows non-standard CBRNE or other sensor types to communicate with JWARN and other standardized command and control sensor platforms. OneVoice acts as a protocol translator for legacy sensors, allowing connectivity through both the JWARN JCID interface (JJI) and the common chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRN) sensor interface (CCSI). The system can be integrated directly with a sensor, or hung externally as a dongle to provide the needed connectivity. The OneVoice network card also contains onboard RAM and Flash memory, as well as an integrated global positioning system (GPS), providing the ability to perform data fusion and computation at the node itself, which delivers added power to mesh network sensor configurations.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Graham]
Small cap stocks Timios National Corp (OTCMKTS: HOMS) and Lattice Inc (OTCMKTS: LTTC) surged 54.29% and 20.83%, respectively, while Unique Pizza & Subs Corp (OTCMKTS: UPZS) sank 27.27% last Friday. But today is a new trading week with the last two trading days for the year. So what will these three small caps do today, tomorrow and after New Years�� Here is a closer look:
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