Hot Safest Companies To Own In Right Now

The New York Times called it a "moment of reckoning." Widely followed commodities trader Dennis Gartman in a note to his clients wrote that he's "never...ever...EVER" seen anything quite like it.

The references, of course, are to March 15's collapse in the price of gold, the largest single-day percentage drop in 30 years, capping a two-day decline of 13%.

The selling was triggered in part by worries that Cyprus and possibly other European nations might have to dump their gold holdings to raise funds or satisfy bailout requirements. Also, after acting as a commodities tailwind for much of the past two years, the Fed's quantitative easing program looks to be winding down, which would relax inflationary pressure.

Suddenly, the "safest" investment no longer seemed so safe. In fact, there's a good chance that gold's 12-year streak of uninterrupted gains will come to an end this year.

Top Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc (FRGI)

Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. (Fiesta Restaurant Group), incorporated on April 27, 2011, owns, operates and franchises two fast-casual restaurant brands, Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana. The Company's Pollo Tropical restaurants offer a range of tropical and Caribbean inspired food, while the Company's Taco Cabana restaurants offers a range of fresh, authentic Mexican food. As of December 30, 2012 , the Company owned and operated a total of 251 restaurants across four states, which included 91 Pollo Tropical and 160 Taco Cabana restaurants. The Company franchises its Pollo Tropical restaurants internationally. As of December 30, 2012 , the Company had 35 franchised Pollo Tropical restaurants located in Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Honduras, Trinidad, the Bahamas, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Panama and on several college campuses in Florida. As of December 30, 2012 , the Company had eight Taco Cabana franchised restaurants located in Georgia, New Mexico and Texas.

Pollo Tropical

The Company's Pollo Tropical restaurants offer tropical and Caribbean inspired menu items, featuring grilled chicken marinated in the Company's blend of tropical fruit juices and spices. The Company's diverse menu also includes a line of TropiChops (a casserole bowl of grilled chicken, roast pork or grilled vegetables served over white, brown or yellow rice and red or black beans and topped with a range of condiments and sauces), a range of chicken sandwiches, wraps, salads, roast pork, grilled ribs and wings offered with a range of salsas, sauces and Caribbean style made from scratch side dishes, including black beans and rice, Yucatan fries and sweet plantains, as well as menu items, such as french fries, corn and salads. The Company also offers Hispanic desserts, such as flan and tres leches, and at certain locations, the Company offers a range of sangria, wine and beer.

The Company's Pollo Tropical restaurants feature signature dining areas. In additiona, the Company's Pollo Tropical restaurants ! provide its guests the option of take-out, as well as the convenience of drive-thru windows. The Company's Pollo Tropical restaurants are open for lunch, dinner and late night orders seven days per week. As of December 30, 2012, its company-owned Pollo Tropical restaurants were freestanding buildings. The Company's typical free-standing Pollo Tropical restaurant ranges from 2,800 to 3,500 square feet and provide interior seating for approximately 70 guests. As of December 30, 2012 , the Company owned and operated a total of 91 Pollo Tropical restaurants, of which 89 were located in Florida and two were located in Georgia. The Company is franchising its Pollo Tropical restaurants internationally. As of December 30, 2012, the Company had 35 franchised Pollo Tropical restaurants located in Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Honduras, Trinidad, the Bahamas, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Panama and on college campuses in Florida. The Company also has agreements for the future development of franchised Pollo Tropical restaurants in Tobago, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Guatemala and India.

Taco Cabana

The Company's Taco Cabana restaurants serve Mexican food, including flame-grilled beef and chicken fajitas served on sizzling iron skillets, quesadillas, hand-rolled flautas, enchiladas, burritos, tacos, fresh-made flour tortillas, a selection of made from scratch salsas and sauces, customizable salads served in a Cabana bowl, traditional Mexican and American breakfasts and other Mexican dishes. The Company's Taco Cabana restaurants also offer a range of beverage choices, including soft drinks, frozen margaritas and beer.

The Company's Taco Cabana restaurants feature interior dining areas, as well as semi-enclosed and outdoor patio areas. In addition, the Company's Taco Cabana restaurants provide its guests the option of take-out. The Company's freestanding Taco Cabana restaurants average approximately 3,500 square feet (exclusive of the exterior dining area) and provide seating for approximatel! y 80 gues! ts, with additional outside patio seating for approximately 50 guests. As of December 30, 2012, its company-owned Taco Cabana restaurants were freestanding buildings. As of December 30, 2012, the Company owned and operated 160 Taco Cabana restaurants, of which 156 are located in Texas and four in Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Fiesta Restaurant Group (FRGI) owns, operates and franchises fast-casual restaurants under the Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana brand names. This stock closed up 10.5% to $34.73 in Friday's trading session.

  Friday's Volume: 552,000
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 220,525
  
  Volume % Change: 140%

  From a technical perspective, FRGI ripped sharply higher here right off some near-term support at $30.89 and back above its 50-day moving average of $34.23 with strong upside volume. This move pushed shares of FRGI into breakout territory, since the stock took out some near-term overhead resistance at $33.14. Shares of FRGI are now starting to move within range of triggering another key breakout trade. That trade will hit if FRGI manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance at $35.73 with high volume.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in FRGI as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $34.23 or above $33 and then once it sustains a move or close above $35.75 with volume that hits near or above 220,525 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then FRGI will set up to re-test or possibly take out its all-time high at $38.84. Any high-volume move above that level will then give FRGI a chance to trend north of $40.

• [By GURUFOCUS]

  Fiesta Restaurant Group (FRGI) was the Fund's best performing position in the fourth quarter and for all of 2013. Over the past year the stock g ained over 240 percent and added 212 basis points of return. The fast-food chain has con tinued to restructure after spinning off Burger King restaurants and is now successfully ach ieving organic growth. We continue to believe the stock is undervalued and expect further growth ahead.

• [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 Fiesta Restaurant Group (Nasdaq: FRGI  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Hot Safest Companies To Own In Right Now: Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC)

Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited is financing by way of loans for the purchase or construction of residential houses, commercial real estate and certain other purposes in India. The Company has a network of approximately 330 offices (which includes 83 offices of its wholly owned distribution company HDFC Sales Private Limited) catering to over 2,400 towns & cities spread across the country. It also has offices in Dubai, London and Singapore and service associates in the Middle East region, to provide housing loans and property advisory services to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs). Its product range includes loans for purchase and construction of a residential unit, purchase of plot, home improvement loans, home extension loans, non-residential premises loans for professionals and loan against property, while its flexible repayment options include Step Up Repayment Facility (SURF) and Flexible Loan Installment Plan (FLIP). Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  Vanguard favors India with investments in Infosys Ltd. (NSE: INFY), Reliance Industries Ltd. (NSE: RELIANCE), and Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd. (NSE: HDFC) ranking among its top 20.

Hot Safest Companies To Own In Right Now: Barclays PLC(BCS)

Barclays PLC provides various financial products and services in Europe, the United States, Africa, and Asia. It offers retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management, and investment management services. The company?s products include current account and savings products, Woolwich branded mortgages, unsecured loans, protection products, general insurance, credit cards, Sharia-compliant products, installment finance and commercial property finance, commercial loans, and personal loans. It also offers money transmission, international and private banking, investment management, fiduciary, and brokerage services, as well as payment solutions and mobile banking services. In addition, the company provides fixed income, currency and commodities, foreign exchange, emerging markets, money markets, and credit services; equities, which include cash and equity derivatives and prime services; investment banking products and services that comprise fi nancial advisory, and equity and debt underwriting; and advisory services. It serves individual, commercial, corporate, institutional, retail, and mass affluent customers. The company was formerly known as Barclays Bank Limited and changed its name to Barclays PLC in January 1985. Barclays PLC was founded in 1896 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Under normal conditions, financials should be gaining if the Fed were to start hiking rates sooner. Instead, financials were the second-worst performing sector today, as banks got hit after New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sued Barclays (BCS) over its dark pools, causing the US-listed ADRs of the British bank to fall 7.4% to $14.55. While the largest dark pools in the U.S. are operated by European banks, U.S. banks are also getting hit. Morgan Stanley dropped 1.1% to $31.89, Citigroup fell 1.2% to $47.23, JPMorgan declined 0.2% to $57.39 and Goldman Sachs finished off 0.2% at $168.01.

Hot Safest Companies To Own In Right Now: Fair Isaac Corp (FICO)

Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO), incorporated on May 15, 1987, provides products and services that enable businesses to automate, improve and connect decisions to enhance business performance. The Company operates in three segments: Applications, which include pre-configured Decision Management applications designed for a specific type of business problem or process; Scores, which includes the Company's business-to-business scoring solutions and services, its myFICO solutions for consumers, and associated professional services, and Tools segment, which include software tools that clients can use to create their own custom Decision Management applications, as well as associated professional services. In May 2012, the Company acquired Entiera Inc. In September 2012, it acquired Adeptra Ltd. On April 1, 2013, FICO acquired Infoglide Software Corp.

Applications

The Company develops industry-tailored Decision Management applications, categorized as Applications, which apply analytics, data management and Decision Management software to specific business challenges and processes. These include credit offer prescreening, insurance claims management and others. The Company's Applications primarily serve clients in the banking, insurance, healthcare, and retail sectors. The chief offerings for marketing are the Company's FICO Analytic Offer Manager and FICO Customer Dialogue Manager. These solutions offer a suite of products, capabilities and services designed to integrate the technology and analytic services needed to perform context-sensitive customer acquisition, cross-selling and retention programs and deliver mathematically optimized offers.

The Company provides solutions that enable banks, credit unions, finance companies, installment lenders and other companies to automates and improve the processing of requests for credit or service. The Company provides customer management solutions for banking, where it�� account and customer management product is the FICO TRIAD! Customer Manager. The Company markets and sells TRIAD end-user software licenses, maintenance, consulting services, and strategy designs and evaluation. The Company's fraud management products improve the Company's clients' profitability by predicting the likelihood that a given transaction or customer account is experiencing fraud.

The Company's solutions are designed to detect and prevent a range of fraud and risk types across multiple industries, including credit and debit payment card fraud; e-payment fraud; deposit account fraud; technical fraud and bad debt; healthcare fraud; Medicaid and Medicare fraud, and property and casualty insurance claims fraud, including workers' compensation fraud. FICO fraud solutions protect financial institutions, insurance companies and government agencies from losses and damaged customer relationships caused by fraud and related criminal behavior.

FICO Fraud Predictor with Merchant Profiles is used in conjunction with Falcon Fraud Manager on payment card monitoring for credit and debit to improve fraud detection rates through the inclusion of merchant profiles. In addition to the Falcon products, the Company offers FICO Card Alert Service. Card Alert Service is a solution for fighting ATM debit fraud. The Card Alert Service identifies counterfeit payment cards and reports them to issuers. The Company offers FICO Economic Impact Service, which uses time series modeling of the macro economy to allow lenders to forecast future credit risk performance based on their views of the economy. Adeptra's software as a service (SaaS) platform enables financial services institutions and other businesses to take advantage of the explosion in mobile communication in order to manage risk, fight fraud and improve the customer experience, all in real time.

The Company competes with Acxiom, Epsilon, Equifax, Experian, Harte-Hanks, InfoUSA, KnowledgeBase, Merkle, TargetBase, CGI, NICE Systems, BAE, SAS, ACI Worldwide, Emdeon, Ingenix, ViPS, MedSt! at, Veris! k Analytics and IBM.

Scores

The Company develops credit scores based on third-party data. The Company's FICO Scores are used in most United States credit decisions, by the banks and credit card organizations, as well as by mortgage and auto loan originators. These scores provide a consistent and objective measure of an individual's credit risk. Credit grantors use the FICO Scores to prescreen candidates for solicitation, to evaluate applicants for new credit and to review existing accounts. The FICO Scores are calculated based on scoring models and implemented on third-party data. The version of the FICO Score for United States and Canadian lenders is the FICO 8 Score. The Company's other solutions include The FICO Credit Capacity Index and The FICO Economic Impact Index.

The Company competes with Experian and Experian-Scorex (U.S. partner), TransUnion and TransUnion International, Equifax, VantageScore, CRIF, LexisNexis and ChoicePoint.

Tools

The Company provides software products that businesses use to build their own tailored Decision Management applications. In contrast to its packaged Applications developed for specific industry applications, the Company�� Tools support the addition of Decision Management capabilities to virtually any application or operational system. These tools are sold as licensed software, and can be used by themselves or together to advance a client�� Decision Management initiatives. The Company uses these tools as common software components for its own Decision Management applications. The principal products offered are software tools include Rules Management, Predictive Modeling and Optimization.

The Company competes with IBM, SAS, Pegasystems and Angoss.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  A recent study from Fair Isaac's (NYSE: FICO  ) FICO took a look at the demographics of credit card use lately. What they found is that outstanding credit card debt among 18- to 29-year-olds dropped from just over $3,000 in late 2007 to a bit over $2,000 last October. That move comes as part of a broader reduction in overall indebtedness, with drops in outstanding mortgage, auto, and most other debt more than offsetting a substantial rise in student-loan debt. Even more surprisingly, the proportion of young adults going without credit cards entirely has risen to nearly one in six, almost double the level from late 2005.

• [By Blake Ellis]

  FICO (FICO) announced Monday that it plans to allow any lender using FICO scores to make the scores available to consumers for free through a program called FICO Score Open Access. Barclaycard US and First Bankcard (the credit card business of First National Bank of Omaha) are the first to sign on, with free scores being made available to credit card customers starting today.

Hot Safest Companies To Own In Right Now: Lee Enterprises Incorporated (LEE)

Lee Enterprises, Incorporated provides local news, information, and advertising services primarily in midsize or small markets in the United States. The company publishes 50 daily and 39 Sunday newspapers, 300 weekly newspapers and classified, and niche publications in 22 states; and provides retail, classified, digital, and national advertising services. It also provides digital infrastructure and digital publishing services for approximately 1,500 daily and weekly newspapers and shoppers. The company was founded in 1890 and is based in Davenport, Iowa.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another newspaper publishing player that looks ready to trigger a major breakout trade is Lee Enterprises (LEE), which is a provider of local news and information and a platform for advertising, in primarily midsize markets. This stock has been on fire so far in 2013, with shares up big by 154%.

  >>Hack Earnings Season With These Serial Surprisers

  If you take a look at the chart for Lee Enterprises, you'll notice that this stock is just starting to spike higher back above its 50-day moving average of $2.89 a share with strong upside volume. Volume already today has registered over 360,000 shares, which is quickly approaching its three-month average action of 399,735 shares. This move is quickly pushing shares of LEE within range of triggering a major breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in LEE if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $3.14 a share to its 52-week high at $3.20 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 399,735 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then LEE will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $4 to $5 a share.

  Traders can look to buy LEE off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at $2.71 or at $2.60 a share. One could also buy LEE off strength once it takes out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [By George Putnam]

  Lee Enterprises (LEE) is a publisher of regional newspapers. Like many in its sector, the company struggled with competition from the Internet, and it went through a short bankruptcy at the end of 2011.

• [By Mike Arnold]

  I look at Glacier as one part Lee Enterprises (LEE) (community newspapers), one part Daily Journal Corp. (DJCO) (business/trade publications) with a splash of web start up. If Glacier were a drink, it would make for a delectable cocktail. Instead, its shares make for compelling investment aperitif at current prices.

• [By Jeff Reeves]

  Newspapers are hardly a growth industry, but after such a horrible fall from grace, publisher Lee Enterprises (LEE) may be a decent investment once more.

Hot Safest Companies To Own In Right Now: Micromem Technologies Inc (MMTIF)

Micromem Technologies Inc. (Micromem), incorporated on October 21, 1985, is a development-stage company. The Company is engaged in the development of memory technology that has the characteristics of non-volatility, which is the ability to retain information after power has been shut off. The Company is focused on magnetic sensor applications. The Company is focused on research and development of nano-magnetic random access memory (MRAM). Micromem operates in a single segment as a developer of non-volatile magnetic memory and sensor technology. The Company partners with industry to manufacture.

The Company�� technology is based on the ability to use magnetic materials in combination with a sensor to record the state of magnetization. Each magnetic element stores one bit of data based on its ability to alternate between states of magnetic polarization, which states are determined by a sensor.

The Company competes with IBM.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  At the end of last week, small cap stocks Senesco Technologies, Inc (OTCBB: SNTI), VolitionRX Ltd (OTCMKTS: VNRX) and Micromem Technologies Inc (OTCBB: MMTIF) were all trending upwards ��ending up 13.65%, 8.73% and 7.61%, respectively, on Friday. However, it�� a new trading week with the last two trading days for the year. So what direction will these three small caps head in for the end of this year and into next year? Here is a quick look to help you decide on a trading or investment strategy:

Hot Safest Companies To Own In Right Now: Sterling Financial Corporation(STSA)

Sterling Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Sterling Savings Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, commercial organizations, and corporations in the United States. Its deposit products include transaction (checking) accounts, savings accounts, money market demand accounts, certificates of deposit, interest and non-interest bearing checking accounts, and time deposits. The company?s loan portfolio comprises commercial lending products, such as lines of credit, receivable and inventory financing, equipment loans, and term real estate financing for owner-occupied properties; multifamily residential and commercial real estate loans; one-to four-family residential loans; and consumer loans for automobiles, boats and recreational vehicles, and lines of credit for personal use. Sterling Financial Corporation also markets fixed income and equity products, mutual funds, annuities, and other financial products. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 72 branches in Washington, 67 branches in Oregon, 13 branches in California, 18 branches in Idaho, and 8 branches in Montana, as well as 169 automated teller machines. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Spokane, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Washington state-based Sterling Financial Bank (NASDAQ: STSA  ) has added a California asset to its portfolio. The lender announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to buy Commerce National Bank, headquartered in affluent Orange County. The price is $15.10 per share in cash. All told, the value of the transaction is just shy of $43 million.