Samsung Galaxy Grand 2: Another Big Phone

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Grand 2, coming up with its second-generation, lower-cost, larger screen, Android (GOOG) smartphone between the popular Galaxy S 4 and the Galaxy Note 3 phablet.

Looking at the phone's specifications, it's obvious the new design won't be any kind of threat which might steal sales from any of Samsung's other large phones.

The new Grand 2 has a 5.25-inch display, compared to the S4's 5-inch or the Galaxy Note 3's 5.7-inch display. It sports a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor of unspecified origin, whereas the S4 has a 1.9 GHz Qualcomm  (QCOM) Snapdragon 600, and the Galaxy Note 3 has a 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 800 processor. It sports a 8 MP rear camera, while the other two have 13 MP cameras. It has the same sized battery as the S4, while the Galaxy Note 3's is much larger).

Memory is another big difference. The Grand 2 has just 1.5 GB of operational memory, versus 2 GB of RAM in the S4 and 3 GB in the Note 3. As for storage, the Grand has 8 GB built-in while the other two come with either 16 or 32 GB. All have microSD card expansion slots.

The Grand 2 runs on Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) operating system, and does not have a stylus or LTE capabilities. What it does have, however, is dual SIM card slots - a very popular feature with overseas users and avid world travelers.

Samsung hasn't announced exactly where the Grand 2 will be sold, but it's possible it will not be readily available in the United States or Canada, though it might be found in Mexico at some point. The Galaxy S4 and Note 3 are Samsung's top-of-the-line models for those markets.

Depending on the price, the Galaxy Grand 2 could challenge such worldwide favorites as Nokia Lumia phones which run Microsoft's  (MSFT) Windows Phone OS and Apple  (AAPL) iOS models including the iPhone 5c.

Written by Gary Krakow in New York.

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Honeywell International Inc. (HON): Why China Matters To Honeywell?

Honeywell International Inc.'s (NYSE: HON) future China growth should outperform, even China's overall pace of economic expansion were to slow further.

China's slower pace of economic expansion (over the past 1-2 years) may ultimately not revert toward a re-acceleration the way many aspire. However, the growth across dozens of tier 2, 3 and 4 cities (1 million persons plus) should provide significantly faster growth opportunities than the overall market as these centers industrialize while economic expansion broadens throughout the country.

Pollution presents a serious problem in several cities such as Beijing. Government appears serious toward halting the problem, although this could take a long time

[Related -Honeywell International Inc. (HON): Sales, Margins To Get A "Turbo" Boost]

"Significant business opportunities could ensue, such as more rapid growth of Honeywell's Life Safety respirator masks and building air and water filtration solutions – Honeywell filtration solution content in an "average" sized commercial building in China is roughly $5mm," Deutsche Bank analyst John Inch wrote in a note to clients.

U.S. MNCs have substantially ramped Chinese R&D by over 20x over the past 15 years, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. Chinese companies have been increasingly aligning with U.S. multi-national corporations.

Honeywell's future China (non-Aerospace, principally ACS/Turbo) growth will be derived from tier 2+ cities. The company is anticipating adding roughly 85 percent of new headcount in these cities over the next 5 years that will account for about 60 percent of the company's workforce in China.

[Related -Will The Dividend And Buyback Frenzy Continue?]

Meanwhile, aerospace growth in China in the near term is expected to be slow – particularly aftermarket – as central government cutbacks specifically reduce business-class air travel demand, resulting in spare de-stocking among Chinese airlines.

"Se! gment growth is expected to be flat this year, down from 13-15% growth last year. Spare/R&O revenues represent the high majority of Honeywell Chinese Aerospace profit. Overall, high Chinese aerospace infrastructure expansion appears to remain on track," Inch noted.

Honeywell technology (eg, Ground Based Augmentation System or GBAS) continues to distinguish the company in terms of electronics aerospace-industry product development. This quarter, HON faces tough China Aerospace comparisons because of pre-buying a year ago.

The company anticipates the proliferation of Maintenance Service Agreements (MSAs) to drive future regional segment expansion. Long term segment growth to be driven by Chinese flight hour expansion – prospectively high single digits.

"Turbocharger growth in China appears on track for sustainable double-digit growth in future years – Honeywell is the leading global turbocharger player in China along with BorgWarner. Chinese regulation to drive 40% higher fuel economy requirements to approximately 5 liters/100KM by 2020," Inch said.

Honeywell expects industry sales to at least double to 10 million units by 2018 and the company is expected to outgrow the market and is currently in the process of increasing Chinese volume capacity by 2.5x. Honeywell is launching on 13 new vehicle platforms over the next 18 months.

Meanwhile, Honeywell's Process Solutions (HPS) launch of mid-range "PlantCruise" product about15 months ago, having taken only 9 months to develop, and reportedly meeting high success – accounting for 1/3rd of 150 in-country projects currently underway. Total China process market (for Honeywell served market) approaching $3 billion.

Honeywell shares leading position with competitors Emerson and Yokogawa, among other industry players. HPS sales mix roughly 80 percent installation and 20 percent service (service growing at 2x installation growth).

"In our view, Honeywell has developed substantially greater (localized) critical mass! over the! past few years, both within the key China market and across high growth regions globally," Inch added.

With its leading positions across all segments, the company could benefit from up to a point of annual margin improvement from internal initiatives before the contribution benefit of future volume increases.

New BlackBerry buyout rumors include Google and Samsung

  How BlackBerry fell so fast NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Who isn't on the list of rumored potential BlackBerry suitors that surfaced this weekend?

Two weeks after limping-along BlackBerry received a preliminary $4.7 billion buyout offer from Fairfax Financial, a new Reuters report says the list of possible suitors has expanded significantly.

According to the Friday report, potential buyers of all or part of BlackBerry include Google (GOOG, Fortune 500), Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500), SAP (SAP), Intel (INTC, Fortune 500), LG, Samsung and private-equity firm Cerberus Capital.

Even if the rumors prove to be true, it's unclear if those companies are really interested in buying BlackBerry. The company wants "preliminary expressions of interest" by early next week, Reuters noted. But it's possible that the two sides are simply testing the waters.

Shares of BlackBerry (BBRY) gained about 4% on the news.

BlackBerry wouldn't confirm the rumors, saying simply that the company "is conducting a robust and thorough review of strategic alternatives."

Related story: BlackBerry's bleak quarterly results

An actual offer from one of these companies would put BlackBerry on much firmer ground, given that the announcement from Fairfax sparked a lot of skepticism. Fairfax's "offer" was really just a preliminary letter of intent to buy BlackBerry, and Fairfax hasn't received any financial backing for a deal. Cynics think Fairfax is simply trying to draw in other offers and cash out its 10% BlackBerry stake.

BlackBerry's appeal to a Google or a Samsung likely lies in its patent portfolio, which experts value at about $2 billion to $3 billion. Such patents are advantage in the competitive and highly litigious world of smartphones -- just look at the never-ending Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) v. Samsung lawsuits -- though BlackBerry's patents generally aren't considered as essential as those in the portfolios of its rivals. Still, those patents could give BlackBerry a much-needed lifeline.

Will Schwab Earnings Rise With Stocks at Record Highs?

Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW  ) will release its quarterly report next Tuesday, and investors aren't expecting a blowout quarter for the discount brokerage company. Yet with the stock trading near five-year highs, there's rising optimism that the company has put its worst days behind it, and that Schwab earnings could easily rise considerably from here.

As a broker, Schwab benefits from interest in the stock market, yet even though stocks have moved dramatically higher in recent years, they've done so without the usual chorus of retail investors getting back into the market. How can the broker engineer a comeback? Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Charles Schwab over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report.

Stats on Charles Schwab

Analyst EPS Estimate	$0.19
Change From Year-Ago EPS	(5%)
Revenue Estimate	$1.32 billion
Change From Year-Ago Revenue	2.7%
Earnings Beats in Past 4 Quarters	2

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

How will Schwab's earnings climb from here?
Analysts haven't made many changes in recent months to their earnings calls for Schwab, boosting their June quarter estimates by a penny per share but keeping their full-year 2013 and 2014 calls unchanged. The stock, though, has risen considerably, jumping 27% since early April.

We've already gotten a hint of how Schwab has been performing from its monthly activity reports. In May, for instance, Schwab saw a net decrease in new assets of $1.9 billion, with a single mutual-fund clearing services client accounting for a $10.3 billion outflow. Schwab anticipates more than $60 billion in additional outflows from this client in the future. Yet overall, total client assets reached a record $2.11 trillion, and daily average trades among clients rose 8% from April and 17% from the year-ago month, showing strength in customer activity.

The problem for Schwab, though, is that its competitors have seen similarly strong performance lately. TD AMERITRADE (NYSE: AMTD  ) weighed in with a 9% increase in daily average revenue trades in May, posting its best level in a year as it has gone head-to-head with Schwab with their similarly sized offerings of commission-free ETFs. Meanwhile, shares of E*TRADE Financial (NASDAQ: ETFC  ) hit a 52-week high earlier this week, as the company rode on its own success with a 15% gain in trades from May. As the industry has gotten more cutthroat, brokers have been fighting to boost business, giving out expensive incentives to draw new customers in an effort to capture long-term relationships.

Just as important for Schwab, though, is the interest rate environment. Schwab has lost money having to subsidize its money market mutual fund offerings for some time, as rock-bottom short-term rates have made extraordinary measures necessary to keep money market rates from going negative. As some begin to foresee a move higher for rates, the corresponding boost to Schwab earnings from not having to provide fund subsidies could help the stock climb higher.

In Schwab's earnings report, look for signs of how its expansion of its commission-free ETF menu earlier this year has done in bringing in new customers. With ETFs continuing to grow, staying strong in that niche could give Schwab earnings power it might not otherwise have.

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Disney Falls After Cable Division Registers Profit Drop

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) dropped in extended trading after reporting lower income at cable networks including ESPN, the company's biggest source of profit.

Disney fell as much 3.3 percent to $64.95 after releasing fourth-quarter results yesterday. The stock lost 2.7 percent to $67.15 at the close in New York and has gained 35 percent this year, compared with a 19 percent advance for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. (INDU)

Higher programming costs for football and baseball weighed on a division that typically produces 40 percent of Disney's earnings, according to Martin Pyykkonen, an analyst at Wedge Partners Corp. Profit from cable, largely ESPN and the Disney Channels, slid 7 percent, the company said yesterday.

"We remain confident in ESPN's value and continued reign as the leader in sports," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger said on a conference call.

Net income for the quarter rose 12 percent to $1.39 billion, or 77 cents a share, from a year earlier, Burbank, California-based Disney said yesterday, citing growth at its theme parks, consumer products and film studio.

Profit topped the 76-cent average of 27 analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue grew 7.3 percent to $11.6 billion in the period ended Sept. 28, beating the $11.4 billion average of estimates.

Those gains were overshadowed by the rare profit drop in cable, where ESPN faced new competition from Rupert Murdoch's new Fox Sports 1. In addition to higher programming costs, Disney recognized $172 million less in deferred affiliate revenue after recording the payments earlier in the year.

Disney Channel

Investments in the Disney Channel in Germany also crimped cable profit, Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo said on the call. In addition, Disney recorded less income from its investment in A&E Television Networks and sold ESPN U.K.

"We think the Street will view the results as soft given that cable networks revenue and operating income came in below our estimates," Vasily Karasyov, an analyst at Sterne Agee & Leach Inc., said in a note after the results were announced.

Profit at Disney's parks and resorts division increased 15 percent to $571 million in the quarter, as revenue grew 8.5 percent. New attractions at U.S. resorts spurred higher guest spending and occupancy, and let the company increase ticket prices. Disney is working on "Star Wars" attractions for the parks, Iger said on Bloomberg Television.

"There is a fair amount of development going on at Disney Imagineering right now to expand the 'Star Wars' presence in California and in Orlando, and eventually in other parks around the world," Iger said.

Johnny Depp

Popular films such as "Planes" and "Monsters University" led to growth at the consumer products division, Disney said. The unit boosted profit by 30 percent to $347 million, with sales growing 14 percent. The results were also driven by sales of merchandise tied to the Disney Junior cable network for preschoolers. They doubled to $1.8 billion at retail for the fiscal year.

Disney's film studio increased its profit to $108 million from $80 million as revenue grew 7.4 percent, while weathering a loss on the Johnny Depp film "The Lone Ranger." The company credited growth from television and subscription video on demand services, such as Netflix Inc. (NFLX)

Disney said yesterday it will produce four Marvel superhero TV series for Netflix, leveraging a brand that has produced box-office-leading returns for the company. Disney will also make more original content for other outlets. Iger cited the potential of Twitter Inc. (TWTR), which went public yesterday.

Twitter Potential

"It's yet another means of distribution," Iger said. "We're also seeing that migration in media, you know yesterday's short is today's long. I think we have to be mindful of that, too."

Disney's "Iron Man 3" is the top-performing film of 2013 with $1.22 billion in worldwide box-office sales, underscoring the growing value of Marvel to Disney. "Thor: The Dark World," also from Marvel, opens today.

The first "Star Wars" film under Disney's ownership of Lucasfilm is scheduled for release on Dec. 18, 2015.

Disney Interactive, which began selling the new Disney Infinity video-game products, posted a profit of $16 million in the quarter, reversing a year earlier loss. Revenue more than doubled to $396 million.

Profit at Disney's ABC broadcast division fell 18 percent to $158 million, with revenue growing 2 percent to $1.37 billion. The company isn't selling its local TV stations, Iger said.

"As long as we're in the network business, we'll be in the station business," Iger said on the call.

3 Things to Loathe About ARM Holdings

LONDON -- There are things to love and loathe about most companies. Today, I'm going to tell you about three things to loathe about ARM Holdings  (LSE: ARM  ) (NASDAQ: ARMH  ) .

I'll also be asking whether these negative factors make this FTSE 100 technology titan a poor investment today.

East exit
ARM was floated on the London stock exchange in 1998. In the 15 years since flotation, the company has grown spectacularly to become the world's leading designer of low-powered microchips found in smartphones and other mobile devices. Today, ARM is a member of the FTSE 100 and has a market valuation of over 14 billion pounds.

The architect of ARM's success has been Warren East, chief operating officer at the time the company joined the stock market, and chief executive since 2001. However, East will be retiring on 1 July. He'll be a hard act to follow.

Eye-watering earnings rating
ARM is proving an exception to the famous dictum of renowned small-cap growth investor Jim Slater. Slater famously said that "elephants don't gallop," meaning big companies can't grow as fast as their smaller brethren.

ARM's earnings have grown at a rip-roaring rate. Analysts see no let-up in the pace for the immediate future and are forecasting 37% growth for 2013. However, at a share price of 977 pence, investors are paying an eye-watering 48 times earnings for that growth -- three times the multiple of the wider market.

Intel in pursuit
U.S. giant Intel is going after ARM with a vengeance. Intel's Atom core chips had barely advanced in five years, but the company has just unveiled its new Silvermont architecture, which it claims will give three times the performance and five times less power consumption than existing Atom core chips.

Tech-savvy commentators reckon that with those specifications Intel can provide real competition to ARM in the smartphone and tablet markets that are currently dominated by chips based on the latter's architecture.

A poor investment?
ARM is undoubtedly a quality business, and time and again the company has beaten analysts' earnings forecasts. East's retirement doesn't look likely to derail the business: His successor is an ARM veteran and East has been glowing in his praise of the new chief executive.

The recent developments by Intel look more of a challenge to ARM, at least judging by what the tech experts are saying. However, even without Intel in pursuit, I could never, as a value-orientated investor, bring myself to pay 48 times earnings for any company.

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Electric Vehicles Speed Ahead

Electric vehicles (EVs) are generating a lot of buzz lately. At this week's Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit, influential characters repeatedly spoke of the EV revolution with gleeful enthusiasm. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Motor Show is opening up the throttle right this minute, and EVs have a lot to do with it. This is a glittery bandwagon, folks. Jump on?

Who likes EVs and why?
Michael Liebreich, Chief Executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, or BNEF, told me that he sees a real opportunity for EVs as we transition to the energy system of the 21st century. David Crane, CEO of NRG Energy, sees EVs as an integral part of the electricity distribution system of the future. Bill Richardson, former U.S. Energy Secretary, declared that EVs are "booming." Rick Geiger, executive director of utilities and smart grid at Cisco Systems, described the electric vehicle battery as the poster child for distributed energy resources. And Daniel Poneman, Acting U.S. Energy Secretary, described EVs as a critical element of electric grid modernization. Phew! That's a whole lotta love.

Here's the critical point: We cannot assess EVs in a vacuum. Honestly, we cannot assess anything in a vacuum, but certainly not anything to do with energy. As our society as a whole deals more directly with the massive challenges before it -- climate change, population growth, water scarcity -- we necessarily embark on a new energy paradigm that lightens our carbon output and improves our resilience to natural disasters. The only way to view the EV is as a part of this complex web. It's about mobility, yes, but it's more about energy.

This is the reason David Crane described EVs and solar -- together -- as catalysts for sustainable developments in grid architecture. Rooftop solar and EVs are both especially centered on the home. The former generates extra energy during peak demand; the latter stores it during off-peak times. They are complementary in managing the stressors on our modern grid.

Who's got nitrous in the tank?
There have been several announcements this week in the EV space. At the BNEF Summit, General Motors (NYSE: GM  ) announced that its Chevrolet Spark EV is setting a new benchmark for efficiency with an EPA-estimated 119 MPGe (miles per gallon gasoline equivalent), and a range of 82 miles. Pam Fletcher, chief engineer of General Motors and so-called "Queen of the Volt," acknowledged the extent to which consumers hold off on EVs because of range anxiety -- the fear that an EV will die far from a charging station -- but said GM had solved this problem with its range-extender technology.

GM's new Spark EV at the BNEF Summit. Photo credit: Sara E. Murphy.

General Motors has some experience in this arena, having launched the Chevy Volt. Fletcher said the Volt represented a step change in consumers' perceptions of what an EV really has to offer. She said that with 100% torque on demand, Volts are fun, and a pleasure to drive. According to GM surveys, 92% percent of Volt owners would buy another Volt.

Fletcher said GM is bringing its Cadillac ELR extended range electric coupe to market at the end of this year. She said the Caddy will employ the same technology as the Volt, taking the best of the Volt's all-electric propulsion with extended range, then wrapping a luxury coupe around it.

Meanwhile, at this year's Shanghai Motor Show, newly re-emerged Detroit Electric announced its partnership with China's Geely Automobile to develop EVs for the Chinese market. Lamentably, I incorrectly predicted that Detroit Electric would be hitching its wagon to BYD. I got that one wrong, but Geely is no less interesting. Geely owns Sweden's Volvo Cars, and recently withdrew as a potential bidder for Fisker Automotive, the failing California green-car start-up. It will be interesting to see if this tie-up gives Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA  ) a run for its money.

Speaking of Tesla, its founder Elon Musk tweeted on Thursday that the company would be announcing a new strategy on Friday. His exact words were, "Announcement of new @TeslaMotors strategy tomorrow. Tesla owners will like this." Wall Street got all twitterpated, and Tesla shares were up more than 3% at Thursday's closing.

Ali Izadi-Najafabadi, senior advanced transport analyst at BNEF, said Tesla had built its brand value and customer base by making "cool" cars, irrespective of their EV qualities. Be that as it may, he was enthusiastic about the EV space, in general. He noted that, as we change vehicles' drivetrain, we get more optionality on the fuel side, paving the way for new approaches like Tesla's.

Tesla has a partnership with SolarCity (NASDAQ: SCTY  )  -- another Elon Musk vehicle -- to provide Tesla drivers with solar-fueled battery-recharging stations. As I said above, EVs are complementary to renewable-energy deployment, particularly solar. In the new energy ecosystem, such partnerships will be critical to ongoing resilience.

Watch the EV space, folks, and consider getting some skin in the game. A lot of smart people think this is just the beginning for a very promising space.

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link

Rich-poor gap 'concerns me': Yellen

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Is rising income inequality un-American?

That's essentially the question Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen raised Friday in a speech on the widening gap between rich and poor in the United States.

"I think it is appropriate to ask whether this trend is compatible with the values rooted in our nation's history, among them the high value Americans have traditionally placed on equality of opportunity," the central bank chief said.

By some measures, Yellen said economic inequality is near the highest levels in the past hundred years. This continued rise of income inequality "greatly concerns me," she said.

The remarks are somewhat unusual for the nation's top monetary policy maker, since the Fed is primarily tasked with managing interest rates and fostering employment.

But income inequality has grown severe enough that the Fed is holding a conference on the topic at its Boston branch.

Since the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009, income inequality has become an increasingly populist issue. The booming stock market has disproportionately benefited the wealthy, while the recovery in jobs and also of home prices has been slow.

Yellen said it's taken several decades for the current disparity between rich and poor to reach this point, where living standards for a majority of Americans has stagnated, while wealth at the top has ballooned.

Yellen said some degree of inequality is to be expected and can create incentives for people to work hard, get an education or take other steps to improve their situation.

But she warned that greater income inequality can lead to a decline in economic mobility across generations.

Citing figures from a recently released Fed survey, Yellen said a greater amount of wealth is increasingly concentrated in the hands of few -- the wealthiest 5% of American households held 63% of all wealth in 2013, up from 54% in 1989.

Compared to that, the poorer half of all American households held just 1% of wealth in 2013, down from 3% in 1989.

"In such circumstances, society faces difficult questions of how best to fairly and justly promote equal opportunity," she said.

W! hile she did not offer specific recommendations, Yellen did identify some areas that needed to be debated.

She said research has already shown the benefits of investing in early education for children, but that there are huge challenges when it comes to paying for college. In addition, she said it's becoming harder to start a small business and noted the role inheritances play in perpetuating income inequality.

  Education gap 'terrible for our democracy'

How to Train Your Dragon: Stocks Suffer Setback as Cantor, Iraq Spook Markets

How to Train Your Dragon 2 hits theaters this week, and as with any sequel, you know that it will have to up the ante for its Viking hero Hiccup. When we last saw him, he’d managed to convince save his father and the others from a giant dragon, losing his leg in the process. This time the danger is even greater, as a villain named Drago captures dragons and prepares for war. The reviews have been stellar: Grantland’s Wesley Morris says the humans in How to Train Your Dragon 2 are “almost more graceful than the dragons', and the dragons could dance for Alvin Ailey;” NPR’s Bob Mondello notes that the film “took inspiration from the first Star Wars trilogy — not a bad model for breathing new life, and yes, a bit of fire, into one of Hollywood’s more nuanced animated franchises;” and the Wall Street Journal’s Joe Morgenstern calls it “a movie the world needs.” No wonder, then, that How to Train Your Dragon 2 is forecast to pull in $67 million at the box office. My only fear: Can I take my kids? Not only are battles big, but the stakes are supposed to be higher. I just hope it’s not too traumatic.

20th Century Fox Licensing/Merch

Stocks also faced unexpected travails this week, including Eric Cantor’s surprise primary loss and the unexpected success of a militant group in Iraq–and suffered for them. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9% to 16,775.74 this week, its biggest weekly drop since April 11, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.7% to 1,936.16. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.2% to 4,310.65, snapping a four-week winning streak, and the small-company Russell 2000 finished off 0.2% at 1,162.68.

Boeing (BA) dropped 4.3% to $132.29 this week, making it the biggest loser in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Boeing fell after Emirates cancelled an order with Airbus (EADSY), raising concerns that more cancellations could follow, RBC cut its shares and Eric Cantor lost in a primary.

Tyson Foods (TSN) plunged 12% to $35.43 this week, making it the biggest loser in the S&P 500. Tyson won a bidding war for Hillshire Foods (HSH) this week–and probably overpaid.

Vodafone (VOD) fell 5.9% to $32.88, making it the Nasdaq 100′s biggest loser. Moody’s put Vodafone’s debt on review for a downgrade.

The Bancorp (TBBK) plunged 30% to $11.37 this week, earning it the honor of the biggest loser in the Russell 2000. The Bancorp said in a filing that the FDIC had demanded it to more to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act.

Strategas Research Partners’ Jason Trennert contemplates this week’s mild uptick in volatility:

It shouldn't come as any surprise to anyone who's been in this business for any length of time that banner headlines and cover stories in newspapers and magazines can sometimes be wonderful contrarian indicators. While it will be unlikely to rival Business Week's famous "The Death of Equities" cover story from August 1979, the FinancialTimes' "Volatility Plummets After Central Bank Interventions" earlier this week may wind up being similarly off the mark. Indeed, volatility (and concomitantly trading volume) has been almost painfully low in recent weeks. The VIX now rests at a mere 12.6. But as the Fates are wont to capriciously embarrass forecasters and other expensive "experts" at inconvenient times, two revolutions of sorts were to take place in less than 48 hours after the FT's banner headline – one within the Republican Party here at home and a far more serious one now playing out in Iraqi cities like Mosul and Tikrit.

Citigroup’s Tobias Levkovich considers the S&P 500′s valuation and comes away feeling OK:

Investors continue to worry about valuation as the market scales higher but our normalized earnings yield gap analysis which captures both Cyclically Adjusted P/Es and the market-driven five-year forward swap contract assessment of the 10- year bond yield argues otherwise. At 1.4 standard deviations below average, there's a good reason to be upbeat as one can see a 92% probability of gains in the next year as valuation is in the one-to-two standard deviation below average area. In many respects we have great issue with using absolute CAPE since the correlation to one-year future returns would generate an R-squared correlation of only 0.06, while the five-year number picks up to 0.22, but few investors have the luxury to wait five years to perform before their clients probably take their money back. Thus, one has to string together a year-by-year track record and cannot look out too far anymore.

Unless of course, you do want to look out more than five years, in which case feel free to worry.

3 Stocks Spiking on Unusual Volume

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Professional traders running mutual funds and hedge funds don't just look at a stock's price moves; they also track big changes in volume activity. Often when above-average volume moves into an equity, it precedes a large spike in volatility.

>>5 Stocks Set to Soar on Bullish Earnings

Major moves in volume can signal unusual activity, such as insider buying or selling -- or buying or selling by "superinvestors."

Unusual volume can also be a major signal that hedge funds and momentum traders are piling into a stock ahead of a catalyst. These types of traders like to get in well before a large spike, so it's always a smart move to monitor unusual volume. That said, remember to combine trend and price action with unusual volume. Put them all together to help you decipher the next big trend for any stock.

>>5 Stocks Ready to Break Out

With that in mind, let's take a look at several stocks rising on unusual volume recently.

AAON

AAON (AAON), together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells air-conditioning and heating equipment in the U.S. and Canada. This stock closed up 9.2% at $31.57 in Monday's trading session.

Monday's Volume: 269,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 130,016

Volume % Change: 105%

From a technical perspective, AAON gapped up sharply higher here and broke out above some key near-term overhead resistance levels at $29.47 to $31.27 with heavy upside volume. Market players should now look for a continuation move higher in the short-term if AAON manages to clear Monday's intraday high of $31.92 with strong upside volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in AAON as long as it's trending above Monday's low of $29.97 or above its 50-day at $28.27 and then once it sustains a move or close above $31.92 with volume that hits near or above 130,016 shares. If that move gets started soon, then AAON will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at its 52-week high of $34.27.

Skechers USA

Skechers USA (SKX) designs, develops, markets and distributes footwear for men, women and children, as well as performance footwear for men and women under the Skechers GO brand name. This stock closed up 2.9% at $41.12 in Monday's trading session.

Monday's Volume: 853,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 675,310

Volume % Change: 50%

From a technical perspective, SKX ripped higher here right above some near-term support at $38 with above-average volume. This stock has been trending sideways and consolidating for the last few weeks, with shares moving between $38 on the downside and $42.31 on the upside. This spike higher on Monday is starting to push shares of SKX within range of triggering a big breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern. That trade will hit if SKX manages to take out Monday's high of $41.15 and then once it clears its 52-week high of $42.31 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in SKX as long as it's trending above some key near-term support at $38 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that's near or above 675,310 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then SKX will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $45 to $50.

Akorn

Akorn (AKRX) manufactures and markets diagnostic and therapeutic ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, niche hospital drugs and injectable pharmaceuticals in the U.S. and internationally. This stock closed up 2.6% at $25.40 in Monday's trading session.

Monday's Volume: 1.19 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 945,483

Volume % Change: 50%

From a technical perspective, AKRX spiked notably higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $23.33 with above-average volume. This spike higher on Monday pushed shares of AKRX into breakout territory, since the stock took out some near-term overhead resistance at $25.09. Market players should now look for a continuation move higher in the short-term if AKRX manages to clear Monday's intraday high of $25.47 with strong upside volume flows.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in AKRX as long as it's trending above its 50-day moving average at $23.33 and then once it sustains a move or close above Monday's high of $25.47 with volume that's near or above 945,483 shares. If that move starts soon, then AKRX will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance level at its 52-week high of $28. If that level gets taken out with volume, then AKRX will set up to tag or trend above $30.

To see more stocks rising on unusual volume, check out the Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

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Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

Burger King Flips the Script, and Sizzles as McDonald's Shrinks

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg/Getty Images Don't let the recent weakness at McDonald's (MCD) lead you to the conclusion that all burger flippers are struggling. It's just not true, and Burger King (BKW) proved that in its latest quarter. McDonald's longtime nemesis posted better than expected profitability during the first three months of the year, fueled by marginally positive comparable-restaurant sales for the period. It may not seem like much of a victory. Burger King's worldwide comps rose 2 percent, with its U.S. and Canada locations clocking in with a meager 0.1 percent increase. However, even that baby step up is better than the 1.7 percent decline at McDonald's. Unlike Ronald McDonald, Burger King isn't clowning around. The Whopper Beats the Big Mac? This would be an opportune time for Burger King to break away from the larger chain that it's been copying for years. We've seen Burger King offer up items that are blatantly similar to McCafe smoothies, Chicken McBites, Big Macs, Egg McMuffins, and even the cult fave McRibs. However, now that McDonald's is in a rut -- having posted three consecutive quarters of negative comparable-restaurant sales in this country -- it appears Burger King is ready to carve its own path. "We started off 2014 strong by generating comparable sales growth across all four regions during the first quarter," Burger King Worldwide CEO Daniel Schwartz explained in the fast food giant's earnings release. "Despite severe winter weather in the U.S. and Canada, our commitment to launching fewer, more impactful products and simplifying in-restaurant operations helped drive improved performance." If there's one thing in that statement that should stand out as a sharp contrast to the current strategy at McDonald's it's that Burger King is rolling out "fewer" products as it is "simplifying" operations. That's an entirely different strategy than the one being used by McDonald's, which seems to involve rolling out a lot of new menu items and seeing what sells. McDonald's big push for 2014 is the installation of deeper prep tables in its kitchens that will allow the chain to offer more ingredients as burger toppings. That's a pretty big gamble for McDonald's; it could easily result in a slow-down in orders or more mistakes. Burger King isn't performing perfectly. Sales did come in a bit lighter than Wall Street was forecasting. We also saw the chain close 43 more restaurants than it opened during the period. Burger King's overall restaurant count grew on the heels of its popularity overseas, but it needs to begin growing its store count closer to home to make the most of its inspiring unit-level performance. Fast Food Roundup It may not be fair to pick on McDonald's just to show that Burger King is doing relatively better. Other fast food concepts that have reported this earnings season haven't been very impressive. Yum! Brands (YUM) posted negative comps at KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut during the same three-month period. We'll get a clearer snapshot of the burger industry in the coming days. Wendy's (WEN) reports next week, and Jack in the Box (JACK) follows shortly after that. Will they be positive like Burger King or negative like McDonald's? Wendy's offered up guidance back in late February, forecasting comparable-restaurant sales to climb 2.5 percent to 3 percent this year. That implies strength for all of 2014, but we still don't know how well it navigated January storms that melted into diner apathy in February and March for McDonald's. Burger King is getting it right by not following McDonald's. Soon we will see what the rest of the industry is up to.

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The Evolution of Diesel Engines Just Took Another Step Forward (CDTI, HPTG, CMI)

Look out Clean Diesel Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDTI), and Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI), you may want to take notice too. Little HydroPhi Technologies Group, Inc. (OTCMKTS:HPTG) is about to make a big splash in your pool, which could make life very difficult and much easier (respectively) for the two of you. How's that? In simplest terms, all signs point to HydroPhi Technologies' diesel efficiency working quite well, saving those who use it money, while simultaneously saving the environment.

For those not familiar with it - and that may well been most people reading this commentary right now - HydroPhi Technologies Group is the brains and brawn behind a piece of hardware called the HydroPlant. About the size of the breadbox, a HydroPlant has turned an old-but-out-of-reach idea into a reality.... the injection of hydrogen into the airflow of a diesel engine. By so doing, a diesel engine's efficiency is improved, and greenhouse gas emissions are lowered. Problem: Where does one get a supply of hydrogen gas to inject into the airflow of a diesel engine? HPTG has solved the problem... water. The HydroPlant technology can split water molecules into its two atoms - hydrogen and oxygen - and force the two gases into the combustion chamber to create 20% better fuel efficiency and 70% cleaner exhaust. The installation of the HydroPlant is relatively simple, and the only "fuel" it needs is readily available water.

Almost needless to say, it's something a company like Clean Diesel Technologies should view as competition, while a name like Cummins should be excited about, and perhaps even downright support. See, Clean Diesel Technologies makes a somewhat-competing technology (though the two could be complementary as well), while Cummins - maker of diesel engines - has found it challenging to maintain demand in a world that's increasingly interested in electric cars and green-friendly automobiles, which includes increasingly-efficient gasoline-powered vehicles. By putting a HydroPlant device on board wherever a Cummins engine is installed, diesel power doesn't look like a bad alternative at all any longer. 

So what did HydroPhi Technologies Group "do" that should be turning heads this morning? It was in today's press release, although it wasn't the crux of the release. The purpose of today's news was to announce that a second operator of transit buses in Mexico was going to install HydroPlants on two of their buses as something of a test-drive; clearly they're interested. The more compelling part of the press release was the comment about the first organization that put the HydroPhi Technologies Group to the test by installing them on four transit buses. As it turns out, those four buses did indeed burn 20% less fuel and emitted 70% less greenhouse gases. As a result of the trial, that operator placed a large-scale order of HydroPlants for at least part of its fleet of 2700 buses.

In other words, HPTG just made its first sale. It certainly won't be its last sale, however. With a global market of hundreds of thousands of public transit buses in the world, in addition to a similar number of tractor trailer rigs, that first sale barely even scratches the surface. The first sale does, however, fully legitimize this young company.

For more on HydroPhi Technologies Group, visit the company's website here.

As Sanusi Is Suspended, Is Nigeria Still The World's New Investment Darling?

As Nigeria has shifted from a corruption-addled frontier state to one of the world's few emerging market bright spots, it has been assisted enormously by the charisma and gravitas of two of its financial leaders. One is the coordinating minister for the economy and minister of finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, familiar on the multilateral bank meeting circuit for her strong leadership, candidacy for the world Bank presidency – and her colourful headscarves. The other is central bank governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, sharp-suited and sharper-minded. It's never been entirely clear how well the two people, or at least their institutions, get along, but they present to the world a credible, smart, articulate face for a country whose finances have often been murky.

But now Sanusi, who was due to step down in June, has been suspended by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan over allegations of "financial recklessness and misconduct." Few in the west take these words – taken verbatim from a statement issued by the president through his media adviser, Reuben Abati – at face value, and the result has been to erode confidence in one of the few market darlings of frontier-spirited fund managers in recent years.

It's fair to say that Sanusi has, from the outset, taken on the big fights.

The first of them was taking on endemic financial fraud in the aftermath of a collapse in the country's whole banking system in 2009. This was difficult – he sacked eight chief executives of Nigerian banks in his first four months – but considered a success story.