Billy and I like to share our foreign country medical experiences with our readers because we believe it gives firsthand insight into what goes on. We have been proponents of medical tourism for more than two decades now, and these personal experiences allow you to hear how the service went, if there were problems encountered, and what the pricing is like.
Hopefully, it gives you a clear idea of what it's like to receive medical care in another country.
Regardless of how good one's health is, most people have had dental work. It's not an unfamiliar circumstance, and of all the categories of medical tourism, this one seems to have the safest image.
The beginning
Since we were going to be in Chapala, Mexico, for several months, we decided to have our teeth cleaned and checked out.
Because this isn't one of my favorite things to do and I have had trouble with my teeth all my life, I can be a bit resistant to actually going to a dentist to begin with. I keep meaning to do it, but, well, there are so many other things I would prefer to do. And the dentist I had been using for cleaning was in a town a few bus stops away -- and the long and short of it is was I never got it together.
Top 5 Companies To Buy For 2015: Brown-Forman Corp (BFB)
Brown-Forman Corporation, incorporated on October 19, 1933, primarily manufactures, bottles, imports, exports, markets, and sells a variety of alcoholic beverage brands. The Company�� principal brands are Jack Daniel�� Tennessee Whiskey, Jack Daniel�� Tennessee Whiskey, Pepe Lopez Tequilas, Jack Daniel�� Single Barrel, Woodford Reserve Bourbons, Jack Daniel�� Ready-to-Drinks, Canadian Mist Blended Canadian Whiskies, Jack Daniel�� Tennessee Honey, Chambord Liqueur, Jack Daniel�� Winter Jack Chambord Vodka, Gentleman Jack, Collingwood Canadian Whisky, Southern Comfort, Early Times Bourbon, Southern Comfort Ready-to-Drinks, Early Times flavored line extensions, Southern Comfort flavored line extensions, Early Times Kentucky Whisky, Finlandia Vodkas, Korbel California Champagnes, Finlandia Ready-to-Drinks, Little Black Dress Vodkas, Antiguo Tequila, Maximus Vodkas, el Jimador Tequilas, Old Forester Bourbon, el Jimador New Mix Ready-to-Drinks, Sonoma-Cutrer Wines, Herradura Tequilas, and Tuaca Liqueur.
The Company�� products are sold in more than 150 countries around the world. The Company�� international markets include Australia, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Germany, Poland, France, Russia, Japan, Turkey, Canada, Spain, Czech Republic, South Africa, Brazil and Italy.
The Company competes with Bacardi Limited, Beam Inc., Davide Campari-Milano S.p.A., Diageo plc, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.A., Pernod Ricard S.A., and Remy Cointreau S.A.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Brown-Forman (NYSE: BFB ) reported earnings on June 5. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended April 30 (Q4), Brown-Forman met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share. - [By Maria Armental var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach]
Brown-Forman Corp.(BFB) said its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings jumped 17% as the Jack Daniel’s whiskey maker posted higher sales and wider margins. Earnings beat expectations.
- [By Laura Brodbeck]
Wednesday
Earnings Expected From: Christopher & Banks Corporation (NYSE: CBK), Brown Forman Corporation (NYSE: BFB), Express, Inc. (NYSE: EXPR), Avago Technologies (NASDAQ: AVGO) Economic Releases Expected: US nonfarm employment change, US trade balance, Canadian trade balance, US new home sales, US ISM non-manufacturing PMIThursday
Top Safest Companies For 2014: Cereplast Inc (CERPQ)
Cereplast, Inc. (Cereplast), incorporated on September 29, 2001, is engaged in developing and commercializing bio-based resins through two product families: Cereplast Compostables Resins, which are compostable, renewable, ecologically sound substitutes for petroleum-based plastics, and Cereplast Sustainables resins (including the Cereplast Hybrid Resins product line), which replaces up to 90% of the petroleum-based content of traditional plastics with materials from renewable resources. The Company primarily conducts its operations through product families, such as Cereplast Compostables resins, Cereplast Hybrid Resins and Cereplast Algae Plastic resins. In October 2011, the Company purchased a manufacturing plant in Assisi (Cannara).
Cereplast Compostables resins are compostable and bio-based, ecologically sound substitutes for petroleum-based plastics targeting primarily compostable bags, single-use food service products and packaging applications. The Company offers 13 commercial grades of Compostable resins in this product line. Cereplast Sustainables resins are partially or fully bio-based, ecologically sound substitutes for fully petroleum-based plastics targeting primarily durable goods, packaging applications. The Company offers six commercial grades of Sustainable resins in this product line. Cereplast Hybrid Resins products replace up to 55% of the petroleum content in conventional plastics with bio-based materials, such as industrial starches sourced from plants. The Hybrid resins line is designed to offer similar properties to traditional polyolefins, such as impact strength and heat deflection temperature, and is compatible with existing converter processes and equipment. The first commercial product with Cereplast Algae Plastic resin is being produced and sold as part of the Company's Sustainables resin family.
The Company's Compostable resins are renewable substitutes for petroleum-based plastics targeting primarily single-use disposables. The Company's Compost! able Resins have been used to produce foodservice ware, including the first line of fully biodegradable and compostable foodservice ware. Cereplast Hybrid Resins uses renewable materials such as starches from corn and tapioca.
Cereplast competes with BASF, Dow Chemical, Lyondell Basell, DuPont, SABIC, Novamont, NatureWorks and Telles.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bryan Murphy]
The whole thing may seem a little "out there" at first glance, but truth be told, what Metabolix, Inc. does isn't terribly unusual anymore. It's just a little less sexy than what traders and stock speculators usually want to see and hear with their picks. Kraton Performance Polymers Inc. (NYSE:KRA) and the now-bankrupt Cereplast Inc. (OTCMKTS:CERPQ) are/were in the same business, along with several others. [Don't let the Cereplast bankruptcy filing deter you - it wasn't a lack of opportunity that up-ended CERP.]
Top Safest Companies For 2014: Griffin Land & Nurseries Inc.(GRIF)
Griffin Land & Nurseries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in real estate and landscape nursery businesses in the United States. The company?s real estate business consists of the ownership, construction, leasing, and management of commercial and industrial properties, as well as the development of residential subdivisions on real estate owned by it in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. Its landscape nursery business comprises the growing of containerized plants for sale principally to independent retail garden centers, rewholesalers, mass merchandisers, home centers, and landscape contractors. Griffin Land & Nurseries, Inc. was founded in 1970 and is based in New York City, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dividends4Life]
Memberships and Peers: ADM is a member of the S&P 500, a Dividend Aristocrat, a member of the Broad Dividend Achievers��Index and a Dividend Champion. The company's peer group includes: Bunge Limited (BG) with a 1.6% yield, Ingredion Incorporated (INGR) with a 2.4% yield and Griffin Land & Nurseries Inc. (GRIF) with a 0.7% yield.
Top Safest Companies For 2014: LSI Industries Inc.(LYTS)
LSI Industries Inc. provides corporate visual image solutions primarily in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Latin America. It operates in three segments: Lighting, Graphics, and Technology. The Lighting segment manufactures and markets outdoor and indoor lighting, canopy lighting, landscape lighting, light emitting diodes (LED) lighting, light poles, and photometric layouts products, as well as lighting analysis services. The Graphics segment manufactures and sells exterior and interior visual image elements for use in visual image programs. It offers signage and canopy graphics; pump dispenser graphics; building fascia graphics; decals; interior signage and marketing graphics; aisle markers; wall mural graphics; fleet graphics; prototype program graphics; and solid state LED video screens for the sports and advertising markets, as well as installation services for graphics products. The Technology segment designs, produces, and supports light engines and large fo rmat video screens using LED technology; and specialty LED lighting. Additionally, the company offers menu board systems. It serves commercial, industrial, and multi-site retail markets; petroleum/convenience stores; sports and advertising; and entertainment markets. The company sells its products through regional sales managers, independent sales representatives, and distributors. LSI Industries was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
In Daktronics' report, be sure to look at how the company compares to results that industrial-lighting and display competitor LSI Industries (NASDAQ: LYTS ) announced late last month. Even with a 5% gain in revenue for its March quarter, LSI posted a loss, showing the difficulty in producing high-margin business in the industry. For its part, if Daktronics can keep pushing past its operational challenges, it should be in better position to stay profitable both this quarter and well into the future.
Top Safest Companies For 2014: Ishares Trust S & P Global (IXC)
iShares S&P Global Energy Sector Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Standard & Poor�� Global Energy Sector Index (the Index). The Index is a subset of the Standard & Poor�� Global 1200 Index, and measures the performance of companies that Standard & Poor�� deems to be part of the energy sector. Component companies in the Index include those engaged in oil equipment and services, oil exploration and production, and oil refineries.
The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Russ Koesterich]
The list above is based on my team's analysis of whether sector valuations appropriately price in each sector's expected earnings growth, profitability and risk. Based on these factors, I have a preference for the energy and informational technology sectors, accessible through the iShares S&P Global Energy Sector Fund (IXC) and the iShares S&P Global Technology Sector Fund (IXN). And as I write in my new Investment Directions commentary piece, if it turns out that we do see more investors rotating out of defensives and into more attractively priced cyclicals, these two sectors are poised to especially benefit.
Top Safest Companies For 2014: MVC Capital (MVC)
MVC Capital, Inc. (MVC) is a Business Development Company specializing in acquisition financing, management buyouts, leveraged buildups, corporate partnerships, PIPE transactions, going private transactions, private company recapitalizations, operational turnarounds, and growth and expansion capital transaction financing. It seeks to invest in mature, small, and middle-market companies. The firm seeks to invest in companies in the consumer products, industrial manufacturing and services, food and food service, financial services, value-added distribution, specialty chemicals, and security sectors. It prefers to invest in companies based in the United States. The firm typically invests between $3 million and $25 million for control and non-control stakes in companies with revenues between $10 million and $200 million and EBITDA between $3 million and $25 million. It prefers to be the lead investor in transactions and also co-invests in companies with other private equity sp onsors. The firm invests in the form of preferred and common equity, and warrants or rights to acquire equity interests; bridge loans; term loans; debt; cash flow loans; senior and subordinated loans; convertible securities; venture capital; mezzanine; and private equity investments. MVC Capital, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in Purchase, New York with an additional office at Chicago, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Holly LaFon]
Sorting by market cap, the largest, MVC Capital Inc. (MVC), has exhibited relatively little stock price movement in the past three years. Its current price of $12.10 a share is only 2.7% off of its three-year high of $12.44. Three insiders bought this stock, according to the screener, in the past month.
Top Safest Companies For 2014: H&E Equipment Services Inc.(HEES)
H&E Equipment Services, Inc. operates as an integrated equipment services company. The company rents, sells, and provides parts and service support for hi-lift or aerial work platform equipment, crane, earthmoving equipment, and industrial lift truck categories. It offers heavy construction and industrial equipment for rent on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. As of December 31, 2011, the company?s fleet consisted of 17,538 pieces of equipment. It also sells new heavy construction and industrial equipment in various categories. In addition, the company sells used equipment from its rental fleet, as well as inventoried equipment that is acquired through trade-ins from its customers and selective purchases; and new and used parts. Further, it provides maintenance and repair services; and ongoing preventative maintenance services and warranty repairs, as well as offers ancillary equipment support activities, including transportation, hauling, parts shipping, and loss damag e waivers. The company provides its services to industrial and commercial companies, construction contractors, manufacturers, public utilities, municipalities, and maintenance contractors, as well as for other industrial accounts. As of February 28, 2012, it operated a network of 65 full-service facilities, serving approximately 29,800 customers across 22 states in the West Coast, Intermountain, Southwest, Gulf Coast, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The company markets its equipment rental services, and new and used equipment through its sales force. H&E Equipment Services, Inc. was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Margins matter. The more H&E Equipment Services (Nasdaq: HEES ) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. Healthy margins often separate pretenders from the best stocks in the market. That's why we check up on margins at least once a quarter in this series. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, so I can compare them to current and potential competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong H&E Equipment Services's competitive position could be.
No comments:
Post a Comment