According to new research, mobile payments are increasing all over the globe, and are expected to reach at least $235 billion in value this year. That's quite a difference from the $163 billion transacted in 2012, and you would be forgiven for thinking that much of this expansion must be because of companies like Google (NASDAQ: GOOG ) , through its Google Wallet offering, or through communication giants such as Verizon (NYSE: VZ ) and AT&T (NYSE: T ) and their joint payment venture Isis.
Money transfers and coffee top the list
Surprisingly, money transfers dominate worldwide mobile payments, which put banks and other financial entities that offer banking apps in the lead. For mobile purchases in North America, the crown goes to Starbucks� (NASDAQ: SBUX ) , whose payment app was responsible for the bulk of the $500 million in mobile payments transacted in that part of the globe last year.
Consumers have consistently shunned services�such as Google Wallet and Isis, which have yet to improve upon the good old fashioned credit card. Though near field communications -- the technology upon which most mobile wallets are based -- is now available in 13 countries, adoption has been painfully slow. Berg Insight expects that will change, however, as more NFC-enabled phones hit the market.
Best Dividend Stocks To Own Right Now: Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.(CBRL)
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the development and operation of the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurant and retail concept in the United States. Its restaurants provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The company?s gift shops offer various decorative and functional items, such as rocking chairs, holiday and seasonal gifts, apparel, toys, music CD?s, cookware, old-fashioned-looking ceramics, figurines, a book-on-audio sale-and-exchange program, and various other gift items, as well as candies, preserves, pies, cornbread mixes, coffee, syrups, pancake mixes, and other food items. As of November 22, 2011, it operated 608 company-owned locations in 42 states. The company was formerly known as CBRL Group, Inc. and changed its name to Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. in December 2008. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Lebanon, Tennessee.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
On Monday, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ: CBRL ) will release its latest quarterly results. But with the stock having recently hit all-time record highs, can the restaurant chain's earnings deliver enough to justify its stock's performance?
- [By Eric Volkman]
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ: CBRL ) investors will be slathering an extra schmear of dividend onto their snacks. The company has declared a quarterly distribution of $0.75 per share, to be paid on August 5 to shareholders of record as of July 19. That amount is 50% higher than each of the firm's previous three payouts of $0.50 apiece, the most recent of which was disbursed at the beginning of May.
10 Best Services Stocks To Buy Right Now: Neogenomics Inc (NEO)
NeoGenomics, Inc. (NeoGenomics) operates a network of cancer-focused testing laboratories. The Company offers testing services, including Cytogenetics testing, which is the study of normal and abnormal chromosomes and their relationship to disease; fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) testing, which is a branch of cancer genetics that focuses on detecting and locating the presence or absence of specific deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences and genes on chromosomes; flow cytometry testing, which is a way to measure the characteristics of cell populations; immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing, this is the process of identifying cell proteins in a tissue section utilizing the principle of antibodies binding specifically to antigens, and molecular testing, which is a cancer diagnostic tool focusing on the analysis of DNA and ribonucleic acid (RNA), as well as the structure and function of genes at a molecular level.
The cancer testing services, that the Company offers to community-based pathologists are designed to be a natural extension of, and complementary to, the services that they perform within their own practices. In areas where the Company does not provide services to community-based pathology practices, it may directly serve oncology, dermatology, urology and other clinician practices that prefer to have a direct relationship with a laboratory for cancer-related genetic and molecular testing services. NeoGenomics services these types of clients with a global service offering where it performs both the technical and professional components of the tests ordered.
The Company offers tech-only flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry testing services. These types of testing services generally allow the professional interpretation component of a test to be billed separately from the technical component. Its NeoFISH, NeoFLOW and other tech-only service offerings allow properly trained and credentialed community-based pathologists to extend their own practices by performing ! professional interpretations services.
The Company's tech-only services are designed to give pathologists the option to choose, on a case by case basis, whether they want to order just the technical information and images relating to a specific test so they can perform the professional interpretation, or order global services and receive a test report, which includes a NeoGenomics Pathologist�� interpretation of the test results.
The Company also offers a set of global services to meet the needs of those clients who are not credentialed and trained in interpreting genetic tests and who are looking for specialists to interpret the testing results for them. In its global service offerings, its lab performs the technical component of the tests and its doctor of medicine (M.D.s) and doctor of philosophy (Ph.D) s to provide the interpretation services. Its genetic pathology solutions (GPS) report summarizes all relevant case data from its global services on one summary report.
The Company competes with General Electric Healthcare Services and Novartis, A.G.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
One way or the other, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: MACK), Covidien plc (NYSE: COV), NeoGenomics, Inc (NASDAQ: NEO) and�CollabRx Inc (NASDAQ: CLRX) are targeting Barrett's Esophagus�or�esophageal cancer�(the former often leads to the latter) ��a form of cancer that may not be on the top of your list of cancers but is nevertheless on the rise. Approximately 3 million Americans suffer from Barrett's Esophagus, �a condition that�develops as a result of chronic injury from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) where the�normal esophageal lining is replaced with abnormal cells (known as Barrett�� tissue), putting patients at greater risk of developing cancer of the esophagus. And although less than 1% of these patients develop cancer each year, esophageal carcinoma is frequently not detected until later stages, at which point therapy options are limited, extremely invasive, and often ineffective.�This means that�early detection is important�along with�regular surveillance is recommended.�
10 Best Services Stocks To Buy Right Now: Isle of Capri Casinos Inc.(ISLE)
Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates gaming facilities and lodging and entertainment facilities in the United States. It owns and operates 14 casino gaming facilities located in Black Hawk, Colorado; Lake Charles, Louisiana; Lula, Biloxi, Natchez, and Vicksburg, Mississippi; Kansas City, Caruthersville, and Boonville, Missouri; Bettendorf, Davenport, Waterloo, and Marquette, Iowa; and Pompano Beach, Florida. The company?s properties feature approximately 15,000 slot machines; 370 table games, including 110 poker tables; 3,000 hotel rooms; and 40 restaurants. It also operates a harness racing track at its casino in Florida. Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. was formerly known as Casino America, Inc. and changed its name to Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. in October 1998. The company was founded in 1990 and is based in St Louis, Missouri.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Paul Ausick]
The REIT is expected to spend as much as $500 million in acquisitions in 2014, according to Barron��, and some potential acquisition targets include Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. (NASDAQ: ISLE) which has a market cap of around $323 million or Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: DDE) with a market cap of around $47 million.
10 Best Services Stocks To Buy Right Now: Air Methods Corporation(AIRM)
Air Methods Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides air medical emergency transport services and systems in the United States. It transports persons requiring intensive medical care from either the scene of accident or general care hospitals to highly skilled trauma centers or tertiary care centers. The company operates through three segments: Community-Based Services, Hospital-Based Services, and United Rotorcraft. The Community-Based Services segment provides air medical transportation services, including aircraft operation and maintenance, medical care, dispatch and communications, and medical billing and collection services. This segment operates 201 helicopters and 15 fixed wing aircraft in 29 states. The Hospital-Based Services segment offers air medical transportation services, and medically equipped helicopters and airplanes for hospitals. It operates 212 helicopters and 6 fixed wing aircraft in 34 states. The United Rotorcraft segment designs, manufa ctures, installs, and certifies modular medical interiors, multi-mission interiors, and other aerospace and medical transport products for domestic and international customers, as well as provides quality assurance and certification services. Air Methods Corporation was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Brian Pacampara]
What: Shares of air medical transportation company Air Methods (NASDAQ: AIRM ) sank 12% today after its preliminary quarterly results disappointed�Wall Street. �
- [By John Kell]
Air Methods Corp.(AIRM) issued a preliminary fourth-quarter profit outlook that missed Wall Street’s expectations, due to flight volume weakness and poor weather that led to cancellations. Shares dropped 5.8% to $48.40 premarket.
- [By Chris Hill]
We closed today's show with two stocks to watch. Motley Fool analyst Jason Moser has Air Methods (NASDAQ: AIRM ) on his radar. And analyst Matt Argersinger is watching Universal Display (NASDAQ: OLED ) .
10 Best Services Stocks To Buy Right Now: GP Strategies Corp (GPX)
GP Strategies Corporation (GP Strategies), incorporated in 1966, is a global performance improvement solutions provider of sales and technical training, e-learning solutions, management consulting and engineering services. The Company operates in five segments: Learning Solutions, Professional & Technical Services, Sandy Training & Marketing, RWD and Energy Services. Its clients include companies and governmental and other commercial customers in a variety of industries. It serves companies in the automotive, steel, oil and gas, power, chemical, electronics and technology, manufacturing, software, financial, retail, healthcare and food and beverage industries, as well as government agencies. On December 31, 2011, GP Strategies Corporation merged with and into its operating subsidiary, General Physics Corporation (General Physics). On August 1, 2011, the Company acquired TK Holdings Ltd and its subsidiary Beneast Training Ltd. In September 2012, the Company acquired Rovsing Dynamics. In October 2012, it acquired BlessingWhite. In June 2013, the Company announced that it has acquired Prospero Learning Solutions. In June 2013, GP Strategies Corp announced that it has acquired Lorien Engineering Solutions (LES).
On April 15, 2011, the Company acquired the consulting business of RWD Technologies, LLC (RWD). On April 1, 2011, the Company acquired Ultra Training Ltd. On February 1, 2011, through its wholly owned subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Shanghai, the Company acquired the training business and certain related assets of Cathay/Communication Consulting Limited. The Company conducts its business outside of the United States in over 40 countries primarily through its wholly owned subsidiaries located in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Singapore, China and India. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operates in five segments: Learning Solutions, Professional & Technical Services, Sandy Training & Marketing (Sandy), RWD and Energy Services. On October 1, 2011, the C! ompany made two management reporting changes, which resulted in a change to its segments. The Learning Solutions group and the Europe group, which were both formerly part of the Manufacturing & BPO segment are aggregated into a separate segment named Learning Solutions. In addition, the Manufacturing group, which was also part of the Manufacturing & BPO segment, assumed management responsibility for the former Process & Government group and this newly combined group is a separate reportable segment named Professional & Technical Services.
The Company offers a range of training business process outsourcing (BPO) services, including design, delivery and global management of comprehensive learning programs, to national and multinational businesses and government organizations and can deliver its services individually or as a complete, integrated training solution. The Company�� consulting, engineering, and technical support services range from traditional business consulting, which include lean enterprise consulting services, to specialized engineering and technical support services, such as design and evaluation services regarding facilities, processes and systems. The Company�� consulting and engineering customers typically operate in industries, such as oil and gas, power, chemical, aerospace, transportation and manufacturing industries, and include customers, such as Pratt & Whitney, General Dynamics Corporation, Rockwell Automation, Luminant Energy, NRG Energy and Ameren Energy.
Learning Solutions
The Learning Solutions segment delivers training, curriculum design and development, e-Learning services, system hosting, training business process outsourcing and consulting services primarily to companies in the electronics and semiconductors, healthcare, software, financial and other industries as well as to government agencies. This segment�� ability to deliver a range of training services on a global basis allows it to take over the entire learning function f! or the cl! ient, including their training personnel.
Professional & Technical Services
The Professional & Technical Services segment is engaged in providing training, consulting, engineering and technical services, including lean consulting, emergency preparedness, safety and regulatory compliance, chemical demilitarization and environmental services primarily to companies in the manufacturing, steel, pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries, federal and state government agencies and government contractors. This segment also provides services to users of alternative fuels, including designing and constructing liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen fueling stations, as well as supplying fuel and equipment.
Sandy Training & Marketing
The Sandy segment provides custom product sales training and serving manufacturing customers in the United States automotive industry. Sandy provides custom product sales training designed to better educate customer sales forces with respect to new vehicle features and designs, in effect rapidly increasing the sales force knowledge base and enabling them to address detailed customer queries. In addition, Sandy helps its clients assess their customer relationship marketing (CRM) strategy, measure performance against competitors and connect with their customers on a one-to-one basis. This segment also provides technical training services to automotive customers.
RWD
The RWD segment provides human capital management and information technology (IT) consulting services, end user training, change management, knowledge management and operator effectiveness management solutions. The Segment operates in industries, such as manufacturing, aerospace, healthcare, life sciences, consumer products, financial, telecommunications, services and higher education, as well as the public sector.
Energy Services
The Energy Services segment provides engineering services, products and training primarily! to elect! ric power utilities. The Company�� EtaProTM Performance Monitoring and Optimization System provides a suite of performance solutions for power generation plants and is installed at approximately 900 power generating units in over 30 countries. In addition to providing custom training solutions, this segment provides Web-based training through its GPiLearn portal to over 30,000 power plant personnel in the United States and in over 40 countries.
The Company provides custom training services and products to support existing, as well as the launch of new, plants, products, equipment, technologies and processes. The range of services includes fundamental analysis of a client�� training needs, curriculum design, instructional material development (in hard copy, electronic/software or other format), information technology service support and delivery of training. Training products include custom instructor and student training manuals, and instructional materials suitable for Web-based and blended learning solutions. The Company�� instructional delivery capabilities include traditional classroom, structured on-the-job training (OJT), just-in-time methods, computer-based, Web-based, video-based and the spectrum of e-Learning technologies.
The Company provides end-to-end business process outsourcing solutions, including the management of its customers training departments, as well as administrative processes, such as tuition assistance program management, vendor management, call center / help desk administration and learning management system (LMS) administration. The Company�� training BPO services encompass a spectrum of learning engagements from transactional multi-week assignments focused on a single aspect of a learning process to multi-year contracts where it manages the learning infrastructure of its customer. In addition, the Company automates a huge amount of its customers tuition reimbursement programs by utilizing its own software.
The consulting servi! ces inclu! de not only training-related consulting services, but also traditional business management, engineering and other disciplines. The Company also provides engineering consulting services to support regulatory and environmental compliance, modification of facilities and processes, plant performance improvement, reliability-centered maintenance practices and plant start-up activities. Consulting services also include IT consulting and enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation services, operations continuity assessment, planning, training and procedure development. Consulting products include training and reference materials.
The technical support services include procedure writing and configuration control for capital intensive facilities, plant start-up assistance, logistics support (inventory management and control), implementation and engineering assistance for facility or process modifications, facility management for high technology training environments, staff augmentation and help-desk support for standard and customized client desktop applications. Technical support products include the Company�� EtaPRO and Virtual Plant software applications that serve the power generation industry.
Advisors' Opinion:- [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 GP Strategies (NYSE: GPX ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
10 Best Services Stocks To Buy Right Now: Morvest Business Group Ltd (MOR)
Morvest Business Group Limited (Morvest) is a South Africa-based company. The company is an outsourcing and technology services and solutions company. The Company operates in three segments: Business Support Services focuses on consulting professional services and outsourcing services; ICT Solutions focuses on the application implementation and infrastructure services and Retail and Consumer Services, which is engaged in renders management services to the Company. As of May 31, 2012, the Company�� subsidiaries include, Morvest Shared Services (Pty) Limited, Foster Melliar (Pty) Limited, Morvest Human Capital Management (Pty) Limited, Morvest Professional Services (Pty) Limited, ITQ Business Solutions Group (Pty) Limited, Morvest Information Communication and Technology Limited and Morvest Mithratech (Pty) Limited. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Holly LaFon]
MorphoSys (MOR) is a German biotechnology company with proprietary technology to develop human antibodies for specific diseases. Over the quarter, the company signed two licensing deals (with GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Celgene Corp., not held by the fund) for its proprietary compounds, providing outside validation for its technology as well as upfront cash and future royalty payments.
10 Best Services Stocks To Buy Right Now: Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD)
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, incorporated on August 2, 1977, is a brewing company. The Company produces, markets, distributes and sells a balanced portfolio of approximately 200 beer brands. These include global flagship brands Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck��; multi-country brands, such as Leffe and Hoegaarden, and many local champions, such as Bud Light, Skol, Brahma, Quilmes, Michelob, Harbin, Sedrin, Klinskoye, Sibirskaya Korona, Chernigivske and Jupiler. The Company also produces and distributes soft drinks, particularly in Latin America. The Company operates in seven segments: North America, Latin America North, Latin America South, Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific and Global Export & Holding Companies. On October 20, 2010, Companhia de Bebidas das Americas-AmBev (AmBev) and Cerveceria Regional S.A. closed a transaction pursuant, to which they combined their businesses in Venezuela, with Regional owning an 85% interest and AmBev owning the remaining 15% in the new company. On February 28, 2011, the Company closed a transaction with Dalian Daxue Group Co., Ltd and Kirin (China) Investment Co., Ltd to acquire a 100% equity interest in Liaoning Dalian Daxue Brewery Co., Ltd. The Company�� beer portfolio is divided into global, multi-country and local brands. Beer can be differentiated into the categories, such as premium brands; mainstream or core brands, and value, discount or sub-premium brands. The Company also has a presence in the soft drink market in Latin America through its subsidiary AmBev and in the United States through Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. (Anheuser-Busch). Soft drinks include both carbonated soft and non-carbonated soft drinks. Its soft drinks business includes both its own production and agreements with PepsiCo related to bottling and distribution. The brands that are distributed under these agreements are Pepsi, 7UP and Gatorade. AmBev has long-term agreements with PepsiCo whereby AmBev has the exclusive right to bottle, sell and distribute certain brands of PepsiCo�� portfolio of carbonated soft drinks in Brazil. In the United States, Anheuser-Busch also produces non-alcoholic malt beverage products, including O��oul�� and O��oul�� Amber, energy drinks and related products. In the United States, its indirect subsidiary, Metal Container Corporation, manufactures beverage cans at eight plants and beverage can lids at three plants for sale to its Anheuser-Busch beer operations and United States soft drink customers. Anheuser-Busch also owns a recycling business, which buys and sells used beverage containers and recycles aluminum and plastic containers; a manufacturer of crown liner materials for sale to its North American beer operations, and a glass manufacturing plant which manufactures glass bottles for use by its North American beer operations. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sean Williams]
As the owner of both hard liquor and beer lines, Diageo must split its focus along two fronts. In spirits it must grapple against its two primary foes, Brown-Forman� (NYSE: BF-B ) , maker of Jack Daniel's and Southern Comfort, and Beam (NYSE: BEAM ) , which (surprise, surprise!) makes Jim Beam, as well as Maker's Mark and other brands of spirits. In beer, it goes up against domestic and global giants like Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD ) and Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP ) .
- [By Justin Loiseau]
Anheuser-Busch Inbev (NYSE: BUD ) today announced that it has officially (and finally) received government approval to acquire the part of Grupo Modelo it doesn't already own for $20.1 billion.
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