The crunch is pushing up freight rates, costs that are likely to be passed on to consumers in higher retail prices.
Last month, trucking industry employment hit a six-year high of 1.4 million as carriers added 6,800 workers, the most since April 2013. The economy is picking up and businesses may still have been catching up after bad weather delayed deliveries early this year. But the job gains are at least partly fueled by the need for more drivers to offset the reduced hours, industry officials say.
"The government has forced drivers into basically a five-day work week," says David Osiecki, head of legislative affairs for the American Trucking Associations.
Top Dow Dividend Companies To Watch For 2015: ACE Ltd (ACE)
ACE Ltd (ACE) is a holding company of the ACE Group of Companies. ACE is a global insurance and reinsurance organization, serving the needs of customers in more than 170 countries. It offers commercial insurance products and service offerings, such as risk management programs, loss control and engineering and complex claims management. It also provides specialized insurance products ranging from Directors & Officers (D&O) and professional liability to various specialty-casualty and umbrella and excess casualty lines to niche areas, such as aviation and energy. In addition, it supplies personal accident, supplemental health, and life insurance to individuals in select countries. ACE operates in four business segments: Insurance-North American, Insurance-Overseas General, Global Reinsurance, and Life. In December 2011, it acquired Rio Guayas Compania de Seguros y Reaseguros, a general insurance company in Ecuador. On November 30, 2011, it acquired Penn Millers Holding Corporation (PMHC). On April 1, 2011, it acquired the operations of New York Life�� Hong Kong. On February 1, 2011, ACE acquired New York Life�� Korea operations. In September 2012, it acquired 80% of PT Asuransi Jaya Proteksi in Indonesia.
Insurance-North American
ACE�� Insurance-North American segment consists of the operations in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda. This segment includes the operations of ACE USA (including ACE Canada), ACE Bermuda, ACE Commercial Risk Services, ACE Private Risk Services, ACE Westchester, ACE Agriculture, and various run-off operations. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Insurance-North American segment accounted for 45% of its consolidated net premiums earned. During 2011, ACE USA represented approximately 49% of Insurance-North American�� net premiums earned.
ACE USA is the North American retail operating division which provides a broad array of P&C, A&H, and risk management products and services to a diverse group of commercial and non-commercia! l enterprises and consumers. ACE Bermuda provides commercial insurance products on an excess basis mainly to a global client base, covering exposures that are generally low in frequency and high in severity. ACE Commercial Risk Services addresses the insurance needs of small to mid-sized businesses in North America by delivering an array of specialty product solutions for targeted industries. ACE Private Risk Services provides personal lines coverages for high net worth individuals and families in North America.
ACE Westchester specializes in the North American wholesale distribution of excess and surplus P&C, environmental, professional and inland marine products. ACE Agriculture provides Multi-Peril Crop Insurance and crop/hail insurance protection to customers throughout the United States and Canada through Rain and Hail and Agribusiness insurance through Penn Millers Insurance Company. The run-off operations include Brandywine, Commercial Insurance Services, residual market workers��compensation business, pools and syndicates not attributable to a single business group, and other exited lines of business. Run-off operations do not actively sell insurance products, but are responsible for the management of existing policies and settlement of related claims.
Insurance-Overseas General
During 2011, ACE�� Insurance- Overseas General segment accounted for 37% of its consolidated net premiums earned. Insurance-Overseas General segment consists of ACE International, its global retail insurance operations, the wholesale insurance business of ACE Global Markets, and the international A&H and life business of Combined Insurance. ACE International is its retail business serving local companies and insureds to large multinationals outside the United States, Bermuda, and Canada. ACE Global Markets, its London-based excess and surplus lines business, includes Lloyd�� of London (Lloyd��) Syndicate 2488 (Syndicate 2488). ACE provides a fund at Lloyd�� to support und! erwriting! by Syndicate 2488, which is managed by ACE Underwriting Agencies Limited. The reinsurance operation of ACE Global Markets is included in the Global Reinsurance segment.
Property insurance products include traditional commercial fire coverage, as well as energy industry-related, construction, and other technical coverages. Principal casualty products are commercial primary and excess casualty, environmental, marine and general liability. ACE International specialty coverages include D&O professional indemnity, energy, aviation, political risk and specialty personal lines products. The A&H operations primarily offer personal accident and supplemental medical products to meet the insurance needs of individuals and groups outside of United States insurance markets. ACE International�� personal lines operations provide specialty products and services designed to meet the needs of specific target markets and include property damage, auto, homeowners, and personal liability.
Global Reinsurance
During 2011, ACE�� Global Reinsurance segment, which accounted for 7% of its consolidated net premiums earned. Global Reinsurance segment represents ACE�� reinsurance operations comprising ACE Tempest Re Bermuda, ACE Tempest Re USA, ACE Tempest Re International, and ACE Tempest Re Canada. The Global Reinsurance segment also includes ACE Global Markets��reinsurance operations. Global Reinsurance markets its reinsurance products worldwide under the ACE Tempest Re brand name and provides a range of coverage to a diverse array of primary P&C companies. ACE Tempest Re Bermuda principally provides property catastrophe reinsurance, on an excess of loss basis globally to insurers of commercial and personal property. ACE Tempest Re Bermuda underwrites reinsurance principally on an excess of loss basis, meaning that its exposure only arises after the ceding company�� accumulated losses have exceeded the attachment point of the reinsurance policy. ACE Tempest Re Bermuda also writes ! other typ! es of reinsurance on a limited basis for selected clients.
ACE Tempest Re USA writes all lines of traditional and specialty P&C reinsurance for the United States market, principally on a treaty basis, with a focus on writing property per risk and casualty reinsurance. ACE Tempest Re USA underwrites reinsurance on both a proportional and excess of loss basis. ACE Tempest Re International provides P&C treaty reinsurance to insurance companies worldwide. ACE Tempest Re Canada offers an array of traditional and specialty P&C reinsurance to the Canadian market, including casualty, property risk and property catastrophe.
Life
During 2011, ACE�� Life accounted for 11% of 2011 consolidated net premiums earned. Life includes ACE�� international life operations (ACE Life), ACE Tempest Life Re (ACE Life Re), and the North American supplemental A&H and life business of Combined Insurance. ACE Life provides individual life and group insurance, including Egypt, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, throughout Latin America, selectively in Europe, as well as China through a non-consolidated joint venture insurance company.
ACE Life offers a portfolio of protection and savings products, including whole life, endowment plans, individual term life, group term life, group medical, personal accident, universal life, and unit linked contracts. ACE Life sells to consumers through a range of distribution channels, including agency, bancassurance, brokers, and direct to consumer marketing. ACE Life Re helps clients (ceding companies) manage mortality, morbidity, and lapse risks embedded in their books of business. ACE Life Re�� business is a Bermuda-based operation, which provides reinsurance to primary life insurers, focusing on guarantees included in certain fixed and variable annuity products and also on more traditional mortality reinsurance protection. ACE Life Re is a United States-based traditional life reinsurance operation. Combined I! nsurance ! distributes specialty individual accident and supplemental health and life insurance products targeted to middle income consumers in the United States and Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Damian Illia]
ACE Limited (ACE) is an insurance and reinsurance organization. The company provides commercial insurance products and service offerings such as risk management programs, loss control and engineering and complex claims management. The company�� segments are: Insurance - North American, Insurance - Overseas General, Global Reinsurance, and Life.
- [By Dividends4Life]
This week a few companies answered the call and rewarded their shareholders with higher cash dividends:
Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) engages in regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 2.4% to $0.63 per share. The dividend is payable March 15, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 12, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 4.7%.
Cousins Properties Incorporated (CUZ), a real estate investment trust (REIT), owns, develops, and manages real estate portfolio, as well as performs certain real estate-related services. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 66.7% to $0.075 per share. The dividend is payable February 24, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 10, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.8%.
Wisconsin Energy Corporation (WEC) generates and distributes electric energy, as well as distributes natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Utility Energy and Non-Utility Energy. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 2% to $0.3900 per share. The dividend is payable March 1, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 14, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 3.8%.
BlackRock Inc. (BLK) is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 14.9% to $1.93 per share. The dividend is payable March 24, 2014, to stockholders of record on March 7, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.4%.
ONEOK Inc. (OKE) operates as a diversified energy company in the United States. January 15th the company increased its quarterly dividend 5.3% to $0.40 per share. The dividend is payable February 18, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 10, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.5%.
Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. (OHI) is a real es
Hot Trucking Stocks To Own For 2014: TRW Automotive Holdings Corporation(TRW)
TRW Automotive Holdings Corp., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells automotive systems, modules, and components for automotive original equipment manufacturers and related after-markets. It operates in four segments: Chassis Systems, Occupant Safety Systems, Electronics, and Automotive Components. The Chassis Systems segment offers product lines relating to steering gears and systems, foundation brakes, modules, brake controls, and linkage and suspension. The Occupant Safety Systems segment provides airbags, seat belts, steering wheels, and occupant restraint systems. The Electronics segment offers various products comprising safety electronics, radio frequency electronics, chassis electronics, powertrain electronics, and driver assist systems. The Automotive Components provides body controls, engine valves, and engineered fasteners and components. The company offers its products for passenger cars, light trucks, and commercial vehicles worldwid e. TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. was founded in 1904 and is based in Livonia, Michigan.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Vera Yuan]
On the morning of September 15, TRW Automotive Holdings (TRW) announced it was going to be acquired by ZF Friedrichshafen for $105.60 per share. This was of more than a passing interest to us because at the time TRW was the largest holding in Oakmark Select. It was also the culmination of a process we applauded because TRW stock began 2012 at $33 per share, and was only up to $74 at the end of 2013. Over the years, takeovers have contributed significantly to Oakmark and Oakmark Select�� returns. In 2014 both Funds benefited when AT&T offered to buy DirecTV and when Actavis purchased Forest Laboratories. Additionally, Oakmark Fund owned Covidien, which increased from $72 to $92 after announcing its merger with Medtronic. Obviously, we welcome takeover activity in any of our holdings.But when TRW announced news of the acquisition at 8:16 a.m. Chicago time, it took less than an hour ��9:04 to be exact ��for the first law firm to announce its threat to sue TRW for accepting too low a price. Within 10 days I had counted at least 27 similar press releases from various law firms purporting to represent shareholders, threatening legal action to block the takeover. How do you square the law firms all jumping in to protect the shareholders while as a large shareholder ourselves, we were cheering the news?Merger objection lawsuits aren�� unique to the TRW deal. In fact, each of the takeovers we were invested in had multiple law firms trying to block the deals, alleging that shareholders weren�� getting paid a high enough price. And it isn�� just those takeovers. Within minutes of almost any takeover announcement, many law firms race to file press releases. Ten years ago, less than 10% of announced acquisitions of public companies were followed by merger objection suits. Today, almost every deal produces multiple suits. The overwhelming majority of these suits result in zero benefit to the shareholders, but almost all result in payments to law firms. Effecti
- [By guruek]
TRW Automotive Holdings Corp (TRW): Director Neil P. Simpkins Sold 10,273,062 Shares
Director of TRW Automotive Holdings Corp (TRW) Neil P. Simpkins sold 10,273,062 shares on 08/05/2013 at an average price of $71.34. - [By Patricio Kehoe]
Automobile manufacturers have been performing well as of late, largely due to increasing sales pushed by a recovering U.S. economy and growing emerging markets. Auto parts suppliers, such as TRW Automotive Holdings Corp (TRW) and Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI), are bound to benefit largely from rising sales, and thus present themselves as interesting investment opportunities. However, due to their focus on different industry segments, and their current stock valuation, investing in only one of these companies makes sense.
Safety Sells
Hot Trucking Stocks To Own For 2014: Halcon Resources Corp (HK)
Halcon Resources Corporation (Halcon Resources), incorporated on February 5, 2004, is an independent energy company focused on the acquisition, production, exploration and development of onshore liquids-rich oil and natural gas assets in the United States. The Company has oil and natural gas reserves located primarily in Texas, North Dakota, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Montana. On August 1, 2012, the Company acquired GeoResources by merger. On December 6, 2012, the Company completed the acquisition of entities owning approximately 81,000 net acres prospective for the Bakken / Three Forks formations primarily located in Williams, Mountrail, McKenzie and Dunn Counties, North Dakota (the Williston Basin Assets), from Petro-Hunt, L.L.C. and Pillar Energy, LLC (the Petro-Hunt parties). As of December 31, 2012, the Company has working interests in approximately 128,000 net acres prospective for the Bakken / Three Forks formations in North Dakota and Montana.
The Company�� Woodbine / Eagle Ford acreage is prospective for the Woodbine, Eagle Ford and other formations, with targeted depths ranging anywhere from 7,000 feet to 10,400 feet. As of December 31, 2012, The Company has approximately 198,000 net acres leased or under contract primarily in Leon, Madison, Grimes, Brazos, and Polk Counties, Texas. The Company is the operator and has a 100% working interest in more than 12,000 net acres in Wichita and Wilbarger Counties, Texas that it is actively water flooding in shallow Cisco aged Pennsylvania sandstone and limestone reservoirs. As of December 31, 2012, the Company produced 484 million barrels of oil equivalent from approximately 700 active producing wells and approximately 230 active water injection wells.
The Company�� position in the La Copita Field covers 3,720 gross acres and 2,829 net acres in Starr County, Texas. As of December 31, 2012, the Company�� average net daily production was 623 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The Company operates 100% of this production a! nd its working interest ranges from 75% to 100%. The Company has various other oil and natural gas properties with varying working interests located across the United States, including the Austin Chalk Trend and Eagle Ford Shale in Texas, the Fitts-Allen Fields in Central Oklahoma, and various other areas across South Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, New Mexico, and West Virginia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Selena Maranjian]
Among holdings in which Tocqueville increased its stake were Molycorp (NYSE: MCP ) and Halcon Resources (NYSE: HK ) . Molycorp has been struggling in a tough environment and recently worried investors with a surprisingly large share offering and debt issuance. (Some worry about further capital needs, too, and worry about it running out of money before the market for its rare-earth minerals turns around.) Still, for those who can accept considerable risk and volatility, there's some promise in Molycorp, in part because of its acquisition of Neo Materials Technologies and its potential to become a powerful low-cost producer.
- [By Value Digger]
A) Halcon Resources (HK) is a US-based oil-weighted producer. I was bearish on Halcon at $8 when I shorted it, for the reasons mentioned here. I also noted then that the traders and the speculators pushed Halcon to an outrageous overvaluation at $8.
- [By Selena Maranjian]
Finally, Graham Capital's biggest closed positions included Hess�and calls on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF. Other closed positions of interest include Halcon Resources (NYSE: HK ) and Pengrowth Energy (NYSE: PGH ) . Oil and gas company Halcon, operating in the promising Bakken region, as well as Texas' productive Eagle Ford shale region, among others, posted 2012 net daily production 128% higher than year-earlier levels, and proven reserves up 417%. The stock was punished after a disappointing earnings result last month, despite surging revenue. Free cash flow has moved into the red, though.
- [By Matt DiLallo]
The other risk that can't be overlooked is the threat from ceramic proppants, like those made by�CARBO Ceramics� (NYSE: CRR ) , which could take a greater market share than is currently projected. Referring to the demand chart, frac sand is projected to remain 75% of the proppant market as that market grows. However, some shale plays like the Bakken are forcing producers to turn to higher-cost ceramic proppants because the returns are better.�Halcon Resources� (NYSE: HK ) , for example, pointed out that its strategy to use ceramic proppants was one of the�driving forces�behind its improved returns in the Bakken. The company saw much higher initial production rates, while expecting better estimated ultimate recovery rates from its investment in ceramic proppants. If ceramics do end up taking market share, it could crush my investment in Hi-Crush.
Hot Trucking Stocks To Own For 2014: Piedmont Office Realty Trust Inc.(PDM)
Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. engages in the acquisition and ownership of commercial real estate properties in the United States. Its property portfolio primarily consists of office and industrial buildings, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities. As of December 31, 2007, the company owned interests in 83 properties that are wholly owned and controlled through consolidated joint ventures. It has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust and would not be subject to federal income tax, if it distributes approximately 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Norcross, Georgia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Brad Thomas]
Other REITs mentioned: (O), (NNN), (STAG), (DCT), (EGP), (PDM), (DRE), (LRY)
Source: Chambers Street: More Liquidity Magic On The Way In REIT-DomDisclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)
- [By alicet236]
Piedmont Office Realty Trust Inc. (PDM) Reached the Five-Year Low of $16.73
The prices of Piedmont Office Realty Trust Inc. (PDM) shares have declined to close to the 5-year low of $16.73, which is 32.6% off the five-year high of $21.32. Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. is owned by one Guru we are tracking. Among them, 0 have added to their positions during the past quarter. One reduced their position. Piedmont Office Realty Trust Inc., a Maryland corporation was incorporated in 1987. Piedmont Office Realty Trust Inc. has a market cap of $2.7 billion; its shares were traded at around $16.73 with a P/E ratio of 33.10 and P/S ratio of 5.02. The dividend yield of Piedmont Office Realty Trust Inc. stocks is 4.78%. Piedmont Office Realty Trust Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 27.60% over the past five years.
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