Best performing asset classes of 2012: Equity or currency?

Here is a quick look:

Equities: The kind of fund flows amounting to USD 23.5 billion makes the Nifty as an outperformer. In absolute terms of rupee Nifty has moved 27-28 percent (in 2012) and 22 percent in dollar terms. That is seconded by MSCI Asia Ex-Japan which has gained about 21 percent. This is not a year of divergence where emerging markets have outperformed and developed markets have been behind. As you can see the Nikkei has been on the radar for the last few sessions because of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) easing prospects, but on 2012 basis in terms of dollars Nikkei is up only 7 percent.

Currencies: The USD-JPY has given a return of 10 percent. So that is something you need to factor in. In terms of the Euro-Dollar we have seen a marginal gain, it is just about 1.5 percent. The Dollar Index has actually slipped about 0.5 percent or largely in flat territory, but USDINR after a huge move last year seen another weakening of about 4 percent this time around.

Lucky 13! Stocks that can cheer your portfolio next year

Bond Markets: Aside of equities if there was potential in something giving you very good returns; it was those high risk bond markets which actually gave you a lot of rally. ML High Yield Bonds are giving 19 percent, that gives even developing market (DM) equities a run for money. Next up is German 10 year bond that is 8.5 percent and the Spanish 10 year bonds despite all the concerns are giving an 8 percent returns. In comparison the US bond market gave a 4 percent return whereas the Japanese 10 year bond for obvious reasons is giving a negative return of about 5.5 percent.

Commodities: Commodities have been in focus but it has been a slightly range bound year. The CRB Index itself is down 4 percent because of soft commodities this time around. This time gold is still up 6 percent despite all the fall in terms of dollars, although it has broken down on the range. Copper is up 3 percent while Brent Crude very flat, up just 1 percent at this point.

Assurant Shares Hit 52-Week High - Analyst Blog

On Jul 8, 2013, the shares of Assurant Inc. (AIZ) hit a 52-week high of $51.97. The momentum was driven by strong execution in its various segments as well as a favorable operating performance from the past several quarters. Assurant delivered earnings surprise in 3 of last 4 quarter with an average beat of 36.8%. Assurant has a diverse product base and distribution platform with established presence in various niche markets, enabling it to generate sustained solid operating earnings. The company maintained an adequate risk-adjusted capitalization, low debt-to-capital ratio and adequate interest coverage ratio. Going forward, we expect Assurant's Specialty line of business to benefit from growth in multi-housing loans and higher volume in lender-placed loan portfolios in the later half of 2013. Also, the Solutions line business will see higher top-line growth from increases in domestic as well as international businesses. Moreover, the company has geared itself with product mix changes in the health line of business to position itself for the changed market as a result of Healthcare reform. We expect these initiatives will bring long-term earnings growth from this segment. Assurant also boosts a strong balance sheet with efficient capital management. It supports the company to increase dividend payout and well as ensure steady buybacks which in turn drives bottom-line earnings growth. Valuation looks attractive for Assurant. The shares are currently trading at a discount to the peer group average on a forward price-to-earnings basis and a slight discount on a price-to-book basis. The return on equity of is much higher than the peer group average. Also, the year-to-date return from the stock is 49.2%, above S&P's return of 15.0%. Assurant carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Multi-line insurers Cigna Corp. (CI), Enstar Group Limited. (ESGR), CNO Financial Group Inc. (CNO), among others, are worth taking a look. All these stocks carry Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Summer Money-Making Opportunities For Finance Students

While student debt has always represented a controversial and prominent issue, its recent ascent has triggered even greater consternation. Not only are the current generation of students borrowing more to fund their education, but they are also are entering an employment market that is volatile and populated with low-paying job opportunities. As a result of this, the value of overdue student loans has reached an all-time high in the United States, while nearly a third of of 20 to 24-year-old graduates are currently unemployed.

The cumulative amount of student debt in America has now reached a staggering $1 trillion; this represents the single-largest category of consumer liability outside of mortgages. The consequences of this are far reaching for graduates in the current economy, as they are unable to establish savings or fund the purchase of a house until they have found viable work and begun to repay their debt. Given that the rate of self-employment also fell by 19% among individuals aged 25 and under between 2005 and 2010, it is clear that soaring debt levels are also preventing students from becoming entrepreneurs and using their skills to create opportunities for others.

With this in mind, it is increasingly important that students seek out relevant and gainful methods of employment while in college. Whether they use their skills to secure temporary employment or establish an entrepreneurial venture, this willingness to work will enable them to create new income streams and acquire practical experience within a chosen market or industry. The latter can prove to be particularly valuable, especially when you consider rising graduate unemployment and the competition that exists for lucrative, industry specific jobs.

So, which summer jobs and work opportunities should students pursue in 2013? Consider the following options:

Become a Tutor or Mentor
With technology giant Intuit predicting that freelancers will make up 40% of the U.S. workforce by 2020, it is clear that the ability to effectively market your skills will be crucial in future employment markets. This particular talent is also becoming increasingly important for those who seek more traditional roles of employment, especially when you consider that modern recruiters are far more interested in how your skills may be deployed rather than their individual nature. By first understanding your core skills and learning how them to apply them in variable circumstances, it is possible to maximize your earning potential.

As a student, your most marketable skills will relate to your knowledge base and specific area of academic expertise. You may also have particularly strong social skills, and these attributes can be used to successfully mentor or tutor younger students. Just as individuals in employment may seek out guidance and actionable advice from more senior colleagues, so too are young students keen to benefit from those who have experience in following a similar academic course. So long as you focus on your areas of strength and can help others to recognize their innate abilities, you can generate significant income while sharing the benefit of your practical experience.

Embrace the World of Blogging
The term "accidental entrepreneur" originated from the Great Recession, as the onset of economic crisis ravaged American behavioral patterns and forced individuals to work independently out of necessity rather than desire. It is also to important to recognize the role of technology in this drive, however, as independent earning techniques such as blogging have been made increasingly accessible by innovation and advancement.

Blogging itself has encountered rapid growth during the last decade, with Technorati reporting that the number of registered Internet blogs rose from 4 million to 70 million between 2004 and 2007. As one of the world's most prominent growth industries, blogging represents a genuine money-making opportunity for students. Boasting low-cost start-up fees and access to easily manageable software, blogging can generate significant profits and help to raise awareness concerning a specific brand, cause or project.

Once again, the key is to focus on your core knowledge base and use this to create educational and engaging content. You can even market your written communication skills to firms that are hoping to promote themselves through guest blogging services. When you consider that the highest-earning blog of 2012 turned over an estimated $30,000 per day, there is ample opportunity for you to earn and gain experience is a thriving market.

Profit from Your Carefully Created Essays and Revision Materials
There have been additional innovations that have created earning opportunities for students. Consider the development of website building packages or resources that enable individuals to build their own mobile applications. Take the experience of student Nick D'Aloisio, for example, who designed an app that aggregates international news stories and condenses them for mobile devices. After further development, the young entrepreneur subsequently sold the application to Yahoo for a grand total of $30 million in March of this year.

Such an endeavor may compromise your studies, however, especially when you consider the effort that needs to be invested into the design process and subsequent negotiations. Fortunately, there are far simpler ways of earning money through technological platforms, with Gradesaver.com providing a relevant example. Using this resource, you can sell your completed academic works, essays and study notes for research purposes, earning up to $25 for every published piece of content. These items have practical value, as they can be used as reference points by fellow students, while the site itself retains the copyright so that they cannot be plagiarized or used inappropriately.

The Bottom Line
While there are many more options available to students who are looking to make money and develop practical work experience, these earning methods offer particular value. More specifically, they enable students to generate additional income without compromising their studies, while tutoring and blogging in particular provide actionable experience that can be taken forward into the current employment market. In the quest to reduce student debt and create a brighter professional future, enjoying a profitable summer may provide the ideal starting point.

This Metric Suggests You're Right to Own CARBO Ceramics.

Here at The Motley Fool, I've long cautioned investors to keep a close eye on inventory levels. It's a part of my standard diligence when searching for the market's best stocks. I think a quarterly checkup can help you spot potential problems. For many companies, products that sit on the shelves too long can become big trouble. Stale inventory may be sold for lower prices, hurting profitability. In extreme cases, it may be written off completely and sent to the shredder.

Basic guidelines
In this series, I examine inventory using a simple rule of thumb: Inventory increases ought to roughly parallel revenue increases. If inventory bloats more quickly than sales grow, this might be a sign that expected sales haven't materialized. Is the current inventory situation at CARBO Ceramics (NYSE: CRR  ) out of line? To figure that out, start by comparing the company's inventory growth to sales growth. How is CARBO Ceramics doing by this quick checkup? At first glance, not so great. Trailing-12-month revenue decreased 1.3%, and inventory increased 7.5%. Comparing the latest quarter to the prior-year quarter, the story looks potentially problematic. Revenue shrank 9.5%, and inventory increased 7.5%. Over the sequential quarterly period, the trend looks worrisome. Revenue dropped 3.9%, and inventory grew 4.8%.

Advanced inventory
I don't stop my checkup there, because the type of inventory can matter even more than the overall quantity. There's even one type of inventory bulge we sometimes like to see. You can check for it by examining the quarterly filings to evaluate the different kinds of inventory: raw materials, work-in-progress inventory, and finished goods. (Some companies report the first two types as a single category.)

A company ramping up for increased demand may increase raw materials and work-in-progress inventory at a faster rate when it expects robust future growth. As such, we might consider oversized growth in those categories to offer a clue to a brighter future, and a clue that most other investors will miss. We call it "positive inventory divergence."

On the other hand, if we see a big increase in finished goods, that often means product isn't moving as well as expected, and it's time to hunker down with the filings and conference calls to find out why.

What's going on with the inventory at CARBO Ceramics? I chart the details below for both quarterly and 12-month periods. (CARBO Ceramics reports raw materials and work-in-progress inventory combined.)

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of latest fully reported quarter. Dollar amounts in millions. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of latest fully reported quarter. Dollar amounts in millions. FQ = fiscal quarter.

Let's dig into the inventory specifics. On a trailing-12-month basis, raw materials inventory was the fastest-growing segment, up 49.8%. On a sequential-quarter basis, raw materials inventory was also the fastest-growing segment, up 9.9%. Although CARBO Ceramics shows inventory growth that outpaces revenue growth, the company may also display positive inventory divergence, suggesting that management sees increased demand on the horizon.

Foolish bottom line
When you're doing your research, remember that aggregate numbers such as inventory balances often mask situations that are more complex than they appear. Even the detailed numbers don't give us the final word. When in doubt, listen to the conference call, or contact investor relations. What at first looks like a problem may actually signal a stock that will provide great returns. And what might look hunky-dory at first glance could actually be warning you to cut your losses before the rest of the Street wises up.

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Add CARBO Ceramics  to My Watchlist.

Pentagon Awards $2.5 Billion in New Contracts Friday

The Department of Defense ended the week with a bang (if you'll pardon the expression) Friday. Across a field of 26 contracts awarded, the Pentagon laid out plans to spend nearly $2.5 billion in total. A few of the publicly traded companies winning awards included:

Safran (NASDAQOTH: SAFRY  ) subsidiary Messier-Bugatti-Dowty. The French defense contractor won an $80.6 million firm-fixed-priced requirements contract to manufacture replacement parts for the carbon brake system on the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft. Messier will perform work, as and when requested by the Air Force, out of its U.S. facility in Walton, Ky., and aims to complete work on the contract by Dec. 31, 2018. Sysco (NYSE: SYY  ) landed a $67.5 million fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment bridge contract to supply food and beverages to Department of Defense and non-Department of Defense customers in Virginia, Honduras, and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba through June 29, 2014. Exelis (NYSE: XLS  ) received a $20.3 million contract modification to fund the purchase of AN/SPS-48G(V) radar modification kits to be used in a U.S. Navy program dubbed the "Recovery Obsolescence Availability Radar" (ROAR ). ROAR aims to extend the service lift of old radar systems used by the Navy. Exelis is due to deliver the kits by October 2015. Engility (NYSE: EGL  ) received a $12.5 million contract modification of its own, when the Navy exercised an "option" to have Engility provide additional engineering services in support of the Joint Precision Approach and Landing Systems (JPALS) and the Navy Unmanned Combat Aerial Systems (UCAS) programs through January 2014. JPALS is actually a Raytheon program in its origin, and aims to improve landing patterns by military aircraft with use of GPS signals. UCAS, as the name implies, is an experimental program to develop pilotless fighter jets for the U.S. Navy. Last and least (at least in dollar value), Harris Corp (NYSE: HRS  ) won a $9.4 million contract modification to supply the Navy with AN/WSC-6 E(V)9 satellite communication (SATCOM) systems. Work on this contract should wrap up by June 25, 2014. Options attached to this modification, however, could ultimately increase its value to Harris to as much as $40.5 million, and extend its duration through March 2016.