Top 5 Shipping Companies To Buy For 2015

FedEx said e-commerce is growing globally at three to four times the rate of traditional retail buying in brick and mortar stores.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) With stores offering big online sales discounts, FedEx expects this year's Cyber Monday to be the busiest day in its shipping history.

Each year, the big online shopping day hits the Monday after post-Thanksgiving holiday sales and many retailers offer special discounts on online purchases. This year, Cyber Monday falls on Dec. 2.

On that day, FedEx (FDX, Fortune 500) expects to ship more than 22 million shipments, its highest ever.

The global package shipping company said that e-commerce is growing globally at three to four times the rate of traditional retail buying in brick and mortar stores.

Top 5 Shipping Companies To Buy For 2015: Avon Products Inc. (AVP)

Avon Products Inc. manufactures and markets beauty and related products worldwide. Its product categories include color cosmetics, fragrances, skin care, and personal care; fashion jewelry, watches, apparel, footwear, and accessories; and gift and decorative products, housewares, entertainment and leisure, and children?s and nutritional products. Avon Products Inc. markets its products through direct selling and independent representatives, as well as through distributorships. The company was founded in 1886 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  Avon Products (NYSE: AVP  ) plans to lay off more than 400 full-time employees and exit Ireland�as part of its $400 million cost-cutting initiative, the company announced today.

Top 5 Shipping Companies To Buy For 2015: Blackrock Strategic Bond Trust (BHD)

BlackRock Strategic Bond Trust is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc. The fund is co managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC and BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. It invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. The fund invests in securities of companies operating across diversified sectors. The fund primarily invests in high yield bonds and investment grade corporate bonds with an average credit quality of Ba/BB or below by Moody's. BlackRock Strategic Bond Trust was formed on February 26, 2002 and is domiciled in the United States.

Top Low Price Stocks For 2015: Boise Inc (BZ)

Boise Inc., incorporated on February 1, 2007, is a manufacturer of packaging and paper products, including corrugated containers and sheets, containerboard, protective packaging products, imaging papers for the office and home, printing and converting papers, label and release papers, newsprint and market pulp. The Company operates in the United States, Europe, Mexico, and Canada. The Company operates in three segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Company�� newsprint is sold primarily to newspaper publishers in the southern and southwestern the United States. During the year ended December 31, 2012, approximately 38% of the Company�� uncoated freesheet paper was sold to OfficeMax Incorporated, its customer.

Packaging

In the Packaging segment, the Company manufactures and sells linerboard, containerboard, corrugated containers and sheets, protective packaging products, and newsprint. Linerboard is a paperboard, which when combined with corrugating medium is used in the manufacture of corrugated sheets and containers. Corrugated sheets are containerboard sheets that are sold primarily to converters that produce a variety of corrugated products. Corrugated containers are corrugated sheets that have been fed through converting machines to create containers, which are used in the packaging of fresh fruit and vegetables, processed food, beverages, and other industrial and consumer products. Stock boxes are corrugated containers manufactured to pre-set dimensions.

Protective packaging products include multi-material customized packaging solutions, which may utilize kraft paper-based honeycomb corrugated packaging, foamed plastics, and air pocket packing materials Newsprint is a paper commonly used for printing newspapers, other publications, and advertising material. During the year ended December 31, 2012, its Packaging segment produced approximately 613,000 short tons of linerboard, and its Paper segment produced approximately 135,000 short tons! of corrugating medium. It manufactures linerboard and newsprint on two machines at its mill in DeRidder, Louisiana. It also manufactures corrugated containers and sheets and protective packaging products at 26 plants located in North America and Europe.

Paper

In its Paper segment, the Company manufactures and sells three general categories of products: communication-based papers; packaging-based papers, and market pulp. Its communication-based papers include cut-size office papers, and printing and converting papers. Its Packaging-Demand-Driven Papers include Label and release papers, Flexible packaging papers, and Corrugating medium. Printing and converting papers are used by commercial printers or converters to manufacture envelopes, forms, and other commercial paper products.

Its packaging-based papers include label and release papers and corrugating medium. The Label and release papers include label facestocks, as well as release liners. The coated and uncoated papers sold to customers create packaging products for food and nonfood applications. Market pulp is sold to customers in the open market for use in the manufacture of paper products. The Company manufactures its Paper segment products at three mills, all located in the United States.

Corporate and Other

The Company�� Corporate and Other segment includes transportation assets, such as rail cars and trucks, which it uses to transport its products from its manufacturing sites. The Company provides transportation services not only to its own facilities but also, on a limited basis, to third parties. Rail cars and trucks are typically leased.

The Company competes with International Paper Company, Rock-Tenn Company, Georgia-Pacific LLC, Packaging Corporation of America, Longview Fibre Paper, Packaging, Inc, Green Bay Packaging Inc., KapStone Paper, TexCorr, L.P., Resolute Forest Product, SP Newsprint Co. and Domtar Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Sterman]

  That was precisely the rationale behind Packaging Corp. of America's (NYSE: PKG) just-announced $2 billion (in cash and assumed debt) acquisition of rival Boise (NYSE: BZ). The deal will create a $6 billion (in sales) behemoth in the cardboard box industry.

• [By Sue Chang]

  PCA, the Packaging Corp. of America (PKG) ,�is likely to post third-quarter earnings of 89 cents a share. The company said last month it would buy Boise Inc. (BZ) �for $12.55 a share, or about $1.28 billion in total. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Lake Forest, Ill.-based PCA makes a wide line of linerboard and corrugated paper packaging products at four mills and 71 plants, according to its website.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Packaging Corp. of America�(PKG) has jumped 6.3% to $57.99 after it said it would buy Boise (BZ) for $1.28 billion. Boise has gained 26% to $12.55.

Top 5 Shipping Companies To Buy For 2015: Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ANAC)

Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering, developing, and commercializing novel small-molecule therapeutics derived from its boron chemistry platform. The company�s lead product candidates include tavaborole, an antifungal product candidate that is in Phase III clinical development for the treatment of onychomycosis; and AN2728, an anti-inflammatory product candidate, which completed Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. It also develops AN5568, a Phase I human clinical trial product targeting human African trypanosomiasis; and other compounds to treat animal health indications. The company�s clinical pipeline also includes AN2718, a topical antifungal product candidate, which is in Phase I clinical trials for the treatment of onychomycosis and fungal infections of the skin; AN2898, a topical anti-inflammatory product candidate that completed the Phase IIa clinical trials for the treatment of atopic dermatitis and psoriasis; and AN3365, an antibiotic for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria. It has research, development, and collaboration agreements with GlaxoSmithKline LLC, Eli Lilly and Company, Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation, and Medicines for Malaria Ventures. The company was formerly known as AnaMax, Inc. and changed its name to Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in October 2002. Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.(VRX.T) will pay $142.5 million to Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ANAC) to resolve all outstanding disputes between the two companies. The settlement resolves litigation over alleged breaches of contract involving Valeant units Dow Pharmaceuticals Sciences Inc. and Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp.

Top 5 Shipping Companies To Buy For 2015: ON Semiconductor Corporation(ONNN)

ON Semiconductor Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets semiconductor components for electronic systems and products worldwide. The company provides computing and consumer products, including analog IC solutions for power management in VCORE, DDR, and chipsets for audio, video, and graphics processing subsystems; and AC-DC conversion solutions for the power supplies in computing and consumer applications. It also offers automotive-grade low-dropout (LDO) voltage regulators, drivers, and ignition IGBTs; mixed-signal custom application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and automotive application specific standard products (ASSPs) for industrial, medical imaging, computing, and consumer applications; clock and timing management products for industrial, communications, and consumer applications; ASICs and ASSPs that are used in defibrillators, pacemakers, neurostimulators, hearing health applications, glucose meters and patient monit oring product; and standard-cell ASICs conversions for the military/aerospace, industrial, communications, computing, and consumer markets, as well as serial non-volatile memories (EEPROM) solutions for data parameter storage in a range of electronic products. In addition, the company provides standard products comprising diodes and transistors, configurable analog products, LED drivers, EEPROMs and power MOSFETs for consumer electronics, computing, wireless and wired communications, automotive electronics, industrial electronics, and medical markets. Further, it supplies analog and mixed signal integrated circuits, microcontrollers, DSPs, analog and digital tuners, intelligent power modules, memory, and discrete semiconductors for the consumer, industrial, and automotive markets. The company sells its products to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and electronic manufacturing service providers. ON Semiconductor Corporation was founded in 1999 and is headquarter ed in Phoenix, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense, and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines feature a downgrades for both Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) and ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN  ) . But the news isn't all bad, so before we address those two, let's start on a bright note.

Top 5 Shipping Companies To Buy For 2015: Cartier Resources Inc (ECR.V)

Cartier Resources Inc. engages in the acquisition and exploration of mining properties in Quebec, Canada. It primarily explores for gold, as well as for zinc, silver, and copper. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Val d'Or, Canada.

Top 5 Shipping Companies To Buy For 2015: Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (HRZN)

Horizon Technology Finance Corporation, a specialty finance company, lends to and invests in development-stage companies in the United States. It provides secured loans to companies backed by established venture capital and private equity firms in the technology, life science, healthcare information and services, and cleantech industries. Horizon Technology Finance Corporation was founded in 2008 and is based in Farmington, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By BDC Buzz]

  I believe investors should look past the current low dividend yields and relatively higher multiples of NAV per share for BDCs such as FDUS, MAIN, and TCAP, but should consider the total return for these companies. The table below compares FDUS and MAIN to both ACAS which does not pay dividends and Horizon Technology Finance (HRZN) that pays a higher than average dividend but after taking into account dividend growth, special dividends, and NAV per share growth (using last twelve months actual for projection purposes) it is clear that the expected investor return is based on more than the current dividend yield.

Top 5 Shipping Companies To Buy For 2015: Chesnara(CSN.L)

Chesnara plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in life assurance and pension businesses in the United Kingdom and Sweden. It underwrites various life risks, such as those associated with death, disability, and health, as well as provides a portfolio of investment contracts for the savings and retirement needs of customers through asset management in United Kingdom. The company also underwrites life, accident, and health risks, as well as provides a portfolio of investment contracts in Sweden. It markets its products primarily through independent financial advisers. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Preston, the United Kingdom.

Top 5 Shipping Companies To Buy For 2015: Skilled Healthcare Group Inc.(SKH)

Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, hospices, home health providers, and a rehabilitation therapy business. Its skilled nursing facilities provide specialty care, such as chemotherapy, enteral/parenteral nutrition, tracheotomy care, and ventilator care, as well as offers various services, including room and board, special nutritional programs, social services, recreational activities, and related healthcare and other services. These skilled nursing facilities include Express Recovery, a unit that provides skilled nursing care and rehabilitation therapy for patients recovering from conditions, such as joint replacement surgery, and cardiac and respiratory ailments. The company?s assisted living facilities provide residential accommodations, activities, meals, security, housekeeping, and assistance in the activities of daily living to seniors who are independent or who require some support , but not the level of nursing care provided in a skilled nursing facility. Skilled Healthcare Group also offers ancillary services, such as physical, occupational, and speech therapy, as well as rehabilitation therapy service to third-party skilled nursing operators. In addition, the company offers hospice services comprising palliative and clinical care, education, and counseling with a focus on the physical, spiritual, and psychosocial needs of terminally ill individuals and their families. As of December 31, 2010, it owned or leased 78 skilled nursing facilities and 22 assisted living facilities, together comprising 10,830 licensed beds in California, Texas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, and New Mexico. The company has a joint venture with APS?Summit Care Pharmacy, LLC that operates a pharmacy in Austin, Texas. Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. is based in Foothill Ranch, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Foothill Ranch, Calif.-based Skilled Healthcare (NYSE: SKH  ) needs a new CEO.

  On Monday, the assisted living facilities operator announced that Chief Executive Officer Boyd Hendrickson plans to retire from the company at the end of this year. A search for a replacement is now under way.

Top 5 Shipping Companies To Buy For 2015: Marenica Energy Ltd(MEY.AX)

Marenica Energy Limited engages in the exploration and development of uranium deposits in Namibia and Australia. The company also explores for lead, zinc, silver, gold, and copper. Its principal project includes the Marenica Uranium project that covers an area of 527 square kilometers located in the Damara Province, Namibia. The company was formerly known as West Australian Metals Ltd and changed its name to Marenica Energy Limited in November 2009. Marenica Energy Limited was incorporated in 1978 and is based in West Perth, Australia.

Top 5 Shipping Companies To Buy For 2015: Bona Film Group Limited(BONA)

Bona Film Group Limited distributes films in the People?s Republic of China. It distributes films to movie theaters, as well as to non-theatrical distribution channels, including DVD and Blu-ray and other home video products; Internet and digital distribution; in-flight entertainment; and cable, satellite, and broadcast televisions. The company also invests in the production of Chinese and Hong Kong films in order to obtain the distribution rights for movie theaters and non-theatrical channels. In addition, Bona Film Group operates six movie theaters in five cities of the People?s Republic of China; operates a talent agency business that represents artists; and involves in film advertising and television production businesses. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  With just a quick glance at the chart, Bona Film Group Ltd (NASDAQ:BONA) doesn't look like anything other than an erratic mess. When you take a step back and take a look at the longer-term chart of BONA, however, you can see the last several weeks have ushered in a major bullish change of direction for the stock... meaning now's a great time to start wading into a position.

Top 5 Shipping Companies To Buy For 2015: Visa Inc.(V)

Visa Inc., a payments technology company, engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company owns and operates VisaNet, a global processing platform that provides transaction processing services. It also offers a range of payments platforms, which enable credit, charge, deferred debit, debit, and prepaid payments, as well as cash access for consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company provides its payment platforms under the Visa, Visa Electron, PLUS, and Interlink brand names. In addition, it offers value-added services, including risk management, issuer processing, loyalty, dispute management, value-added information, and CyberSource-branded services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By DailyFinance Staff]

  Investors took a wait-and-see attitude Tuesday, but airline stocks lost altitude. The market is in a holding pattern until 2 p.m. Wednesday, when the Fed reveals details of this week's FOMC policy meetings, and whether it's ready to begin cutting back on its main economic stimulus program. If it does begin to taper, the next debate will begin immediately: Is that good or bad for investors? On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) edged down 9 points, the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) fell nearly 6, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) lost 5 points. The Dow's gainers were led by a pair of companies hiking their dividends. 3M (MMM), which makes everything from Post-It notes to medical equipment, rose 3 percent after increasing its payout by 35 percent. And Boeing (BA) rose 1 percent. It boosted the dividend by 50 percent and announced a big stock buyback. The other big blue chip winner was Visa (V), which gained another 2.5 percent. Its stock is now up 43 percent from a year ago. On the downside, Verizon (VZ), IBM (IBM), McDonald's (MCD) and Microsoft (MSFT) all lost about one percent. Microsoft says it will not name a new CEO until next year. And airline stocks were broadly lower. United (UAL) and Delta (DAL) both fell 3 percent. American Airlines (AAL), which completed its merger with U.S. Airways last week, fell 2 percent. And Southwest (V) also lost 2 percent. Brokerage recommendations gave a boost to several issues. Data storage companies Seagate (STX), up 3 percent, and Western Digital (WDC), up 2.5 percent, following JP Morgan upgrades. And iRobot (IRBT) surged 17 percent after Raymond James gave it a 'strong buy.' Shares of Facebook (FB) rose 2 percent, hitting an all-time high. The social media giant is rolling out new video ads this week. That's expected to boost revenue. The question is, will it alienate users? On the downside, Targacept (TRGT) lost more than a third of its value. A clinical trial of its schizophreni

• [By Charles Carlson]

  The only three Dow stocks that do not are actually, interestingly, two of the newest members, Goldman Sachs (GS) and Visa (V), and the third stock is UnitedHealth Group (UNH), which is also a fairly new member to the Dow.

• [By Grace L. Williams]

  Many critics of that settlement have said Amex’s existing surcharging rules would prevent them from surcharging Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA) credit cards.

• [By Lennox Yieke]

  In light of this, payments bigwigs Visa (NYSE: V  ) and MasterCard (NYSE: MA  ) have increased their presence in the continent. Not only have Visa and MasterCard increased issuance of plastic money, but they have also made bold mobile money initiatives. Could this spur the next round of prolonged growth for the two bigwigs?