Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Top 5 Financial Companies To Buy For 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) ��A federal appeals court has handed a defeat to a coalition of retail groups that challenged as too high the Federal Reserve's cap on how much banks can charge businesses for handling debit card transactions.

The ruling issued Friday by the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia overturned a lower court's decision in July that favored the merchants and was a setback for banks.

In the July ruling, a federal judge struck down the Fed's cap on so-called "swipe fees", saying the Fed didn't have the authority to set the limit the way it did in 2011, improperly including data that made the cap too high.

The retail groups had sued the Fed over its setting the cap at an average of about 24 cents per debit-card transaction.

Congress mandated a ceiling on debit-card swipe fees as part of the 2010 financial regulatory overhaul. Prior to the cap, fees averaged 44 cents per swipe. The Fed had initially proposed a 12-cent fee limit, and the retailers argued that the Fed buckled under pressure from bank lobbyists when it doubled that level.

Top 5 Trucking Companies To Own In Right Now: Tompkins Financial Corp (TMP)

Tompkins Financial Corporation (Tompkins) is a bank holding company. The Company is a locally oriented, community-based financial services company that offers an array of products and services, including commercial and consumer banking, leasing, trust and investment management, financial planning and wealth management, insurance, and brokerage services. The Company operates in two segments: banking and financial services. Banking services consist primarily of attracting deposits from the areas served by the Company�� banking subsidiaries��45 banking offices and using those deposits to originate a variety of commercial loans, agricultural loans, consumer loans, real estate loans, and leases in those same areas. Financial services activities consist of the results of the Company�� trust, financial planning and wealth management services, broker-dealer services, and insurance and risk management operations. On June 1, 2011, its subsidiary, Tompkins Insurance Agencies, Inc. (Tompkins Insurance), acquired Olver & Associates, Inc. (Olver), a property and casualty insurance agency. In August 2012, it acquired VIST Financial Corp.

The Company maintains a portfolio of securities, such as obligations of the United States Government agencies and the United States Government sponsored entities, obligations of states and political subdivisions thereof, and equity securities. Tompkins provides a variety of financial services to individuals and small business customers.

Commercial Services

The Company�� subsidiary banks provide financial services to corporations and other business clients. Lending activities include loans for a variety of business purposes, including real estate financing, construction, equipment financing, accounts receivable financing, and commercial leasing. Other commercial services include deposit and cash management services, letters of credit, sweep accounts, credit cards, purchasing cards, Internet-based account services, and remote deposit ser! vices.

Retail Services

The Company�� subsidiary banks provide a variety of retail banking services, including checking accounts, savings accounts, time deposits, individual retirement accounts (IRA) products, brokerage services, residential mortgage loans, personal loans, home equity loans, credit cards, debit cards and safe deposit services. Retail services are accessible through a variety of delivery systems, including branch facilities, automated teller machines (ATMs), voice response, Internet banking, and remote deposit services.

Trust and Investment Management Services

The Company offers a range of financial services to customers, including trust and estate services, investment management, and financial and insurance planning. These services are offered through Tompkins Investment Services (TIS), a division of Tompkins Trust Company, and AM&M. Tompkins Financial Advisors has office locations at all three of the Company�� subsidiary banks, and provides a range of money management services, including investment management, trust and estate, financial and tax planning, as well as life, disability and long-term care insurance services.

Broker-Dealer Services

AM&M operates a broker-dealer subsidiary, Ensemble Financial Services, Inc. Ensemble Financial Services, Inc. is an outsourcing company for financial planners and investment advisors.

Insurance Services

The Company provides property and casualty insurance services and employee benefits consulting through Tompkins Insurance. Tompkins Insurance is an independent insurance agency. Tompkins Insurance has automated systems for record keeping, claim processing and coverage confirmation, and can provide insurance pricing comparisons from a range of insurance companies. Tompkins Insurance provides employee benefits consulting to employers in Western and Central New York, assisting them with their medical, group life insurance and group disability in! surance. ! In addition to its seven offices, Tompkins Insurance shares several offices with The Bank of Castile and The Trust Company. AM&M also provides insurance services for financial planning and wealth management clients, offering risk management plans using life, disability and long-term care insurance products.

Subsidiary Activities

The Company�� subsidiaries include: three wholly owned banking subsidiaries, Tompkins Trust Company (the Trust Company), The Bank of Castile, and The Mahopac National Bank (Mahopac National Bank); AM&M Financial Services, Inc., doing business as Tompkins Financial Advisors, a wholly owned and an investment advisor (AM&M), and a wholly owned insurance agency subsidiary, Tompkins Insurance. AM&M and the trust division of the Trust Company provides an array of investment services under the Tompkins Financial Advisors division, including investment management, trust and estate, financial and tax planning, as well as life, disability and long-term care insurance services. The Trust Company has a full-service office in Cortland, New York and a full-service office in Auburn, New York. Both of these offices are located in counties contiguous to Tompkins County. The Trust Company operates 15 banking offices, including two limited-service banking offices in the counties of Tompkins, Cortland, Cayuga and Schuyler, New York.

The Bank of Castile is a New York State-chartered commercial bank and conducts its operations through its 15 banking offices, in towns situated in and around the areas commonly known as the Letchworth State Park area and the Genesee Valley region of New York State. The Bank of Castile�� lending portfolio includes loans to the agricultural industry. The Mahopac National Bank (Mahopac National Bank) operates 15 banking offices, including one limited-service office in counties north of New York City. The 15 banking offices include five full-service offices in Putnam County, New York, three full-service offices in Dutchess County,! New York! , and six full-service offices, and one limited-service office in Westchester County, New York.

Tompkins Insurance Agencies, Inc. (Tompkins Insurance) offers property and casualty insurance to individuals and businesses primarily in Western and Central New York. AM&M Financial Services, Inc. (AM&M) offers financial services through three operating companies: AM&M Planners, Inc., which provides fee-based financial planning and wealth management services for corporate executives, small business owners and high-net-worth individuals; Ensemble Financial Services, Inc., an independent broker-dealer and outsourcing company for financial planners and investment advisors, and Ensemble Risk Solutions, Inc., which creates customized risk management plans using life, disability and long-term care insurance products. Tompkins Capital Trust I and Sleepy Hollow Capital Trust I are Delaware statutory business trusts.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Marc Bastow]

    Ithaca, N.Y.-based financial services company Tompkins Financial (TMP) raised its quarterly dividend 5.3% to 40 cents per share, payable Nov. 15 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 4.
    TMP Dividend Yield: 3.25%

Top 5 Financial Companies To Buy For 2014: Legal & General Group PLC (LGEN)

Legal & General Group Plc is a provider of risk, savings and investment management products in the United Kingdom. The Company's operating segments include Protection and Annuities segment consisting of individual and group protection, individual and bulk purchase annuities, longevity and general insurance; Savings segment consisting of non-profit investment bonds, non-profit pensions (including self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs)), individual savings account (ISAs), retail unit trusts and retail platform businesses; Investment management segment consisting of institutional fund management and LGIM America (LGIMA); US Protection segment consisting of individual protection and universal life contracts, and Group capital and financing consists of shareholders��equity supporting the non profit Protection and Annuities and Savings businesses. In August 2013, Legal & General Group Plc announced the acquisition of Lucida Limited. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rupert Hargreaves]

    Unfortunately, Prudential only offers a dividend yield of 2.4% at present, below that of its peers, such as Aviva (AV) and Legal & General (LGEN). Moreover, city analysts only expect Prudential to increase its payout by 10% this year and 5% during 2014.

Top 5 Financial Companies To Buy For 2014: iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY)

iShares Lehman 1-3 Year Treasury Bond Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the short-term sector of the United States Treasury market as defined by the Lehman Brothers 1-3 Year U.S. Treasury Index (the Index). The Index includes all publicly issued United States Treasury securities that have a remaining maturity of between 1 and 3 years, are non-convertible, are denominated in United States dollars, are rated investment grade (Baa3 or better) by Moody�� Investors Service, are fixed rate, and have $250 million or more of outstanding face value. Excluded from the Index are certain special issues, such as flower bonds, targeted investor notes (TINs), and state and local government bonds (SLGs), and coupon issues that have been stripped from assets already included in the Index.

The Index is a market capitalization-weighted index. The Fund invests in a representative sample of the securities in the Index, which has a similar investment profile as the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisor.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Donald van Deventer]

    Shorter-duration Treasury Exchange-Traded Funds: (SHY), (SHV), (IEI), (BIL), (TUZ), (FIVZ), (DTUL), (VGSH), (DTUS), (DFVS), (DFVL), (SST), (ISTB), (TBZ).

Top 5 Financial Companies To Buy For 2014: CoreSite Realty Corporation(COR)

CoreSite Realty Corporation operates as real investment trust in the United States. The company engages in the ownership, acquisition, construction, and management of data centers. It provides data centers that optimize, secure, and interconnect the mission-critical IT assets of the organizations. The company offers private data centers and suites, cage-to-cabinet colocation, and interconnection services, such as Any2, CoreSite's Internet exchange. Its data centers are located in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay and Northern Virginia areas, Chicago, and New York City. The company provides its data centre services to enterprises, cloud providers, financial firms, and Government agencies. As of March 31, 2011, its property portfolio included 11 operating data center facilities, 1 data center under construction, and 1 development site. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dividends4Life]

    CoreSite Realty Corporation (COR) engages in the ownership, acquisition, construction, and management of data centers. December 5th the company increased its quarterly dividend 30% to $0.35 per share. The dividend is payable January 15, 2014, to shareholders of record on December 31, 2013. The yield based on the new payout is 4.7%.

  • [By Ong Kang Wei]

    For example, Digital Realty (DLR) is the undoubted leader in the data storage industry, with a market cap of $8.3B. Its other three competitors, DuPont Fabros (DFT), CoreSite Realty (COR) and CyrusOne (CONE), have market caps of $1.5B, $930M and $430M respectively. In addition, with the level of complexity involving Digital's business making it immensely difficult for companies to operate data centre facilities, the company is in a good position for future growth. The company also has a wide network of 595 tenants (significantly more than other competitors), including CenturyLink (CTL), AT&T and Morgan Stanley (MS). This further secures its long term business prospects and also its dominance over its competitors.

No comments:

Post a Comment