Literally none of them spoke English so everything I said or was asked had to go through an interpreter, which was certainly tiresome. Interestingly enough, they seemed to get my jokes and also wanted to hear trading stories and my market experiences. They also loved watching Floored (subtitled for them in Chin, the movie about trading in Chicago when the open outcry pits were in all their glory
Shanghai is planning to open an options exchange within the next year which is why they were visiting Chicago, the birthplace of modern options (options, futures and even the stock exchange were actually invented in Amsterdam in the mid 1600's).
This is, of course, interesting because China is a communist country. I could not help but think that Chairman Mao must be spinning in his grave. These people, however, love capitalism and they all want to make piles of money.
While obviously bright, affable and curious, they do not live in what we would think of as a free society. There is one internet service provider, the government, and they have no access to Facebook, Twitter or Google. When I asked about this, none of them seemed particularly bothered by it. They certainly all had the latest in smart phones and laptops.
All in all, an intense, exhausting (lecturing standing up for 7 hours isn't easy) couple days.
...
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The following article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.
Top 5 Japanese Companies To Own For 2015: Apartment Investment and Management Co (AIV)
Apartment Investment and Management Company (Aimco), incorporated on January 10, 1994, is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company is engaged in the ownership and operation of a portfolio of apartment properties. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, AIMCO-GP, Inc. and AIMCO-LP Trust, it owns majority interests in AIMCO Properties, L.P., which it refers to as the Aimco Operating Partnership. The Company conducts substantially all of its business and owns substantially all of its assets through the Aimco Operating Partnership. As of December 31, 2011, Aimco�� portfolio of owned and/or managed properties consisted of 518 properties with 93,694 apartment units.
During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company acquired limited partnership interests in 12 real estate partnerships that owned 15 properties and in which its affiliates served as general partner. During 2011, it acquired a vacant, 126-unit property located in Marin County, north of San Francisco, California. During 2011, it acquired 50% interest in entities that owned four contiguous properties with 142 units located in La Jolla, California. During 2011, it sold 67 consolidated properties. During 2011, the Company owned general and limited partner interests in real estate partnerships that owned approximately 123 properties.
Property Operations
The Company�� owned real estate portfolio consists of two business components: conventional and affordable property operations. Its conventional property operations consist of market-rate apartments with rents paid by the resident and included 198 properties with 62,834 units in which it held an average interest of 93% as of December 31, 2011. The Company�� affordable property operations consist of apartments with rents that are generally paid, in whole or part, by a government agency and consisted of 172 properties with 20,612 units in which it held an average interest of 59% as of December 31, 2011. The Compa! ny�� property operations are organized into two geographic areas, the West and East.
Portfolio Management
As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� affordable portfolio included 172 properties with 20,612 units. As of December 31, 2011, its conventional portfolio included 198 properties with 62,834 units in 33 markets.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dimitra DeFotis]
Apartment Invest & Management (AIV)
Ameriprise (AMP)
Edison International (EIX)
Host Hotels & Resorts (HST)
Kimco Realty (KIM)
Kroger (KR)
Lincoln National (LNC)
Newfield Exploration (NFX)
Republic Services (RSG)
UnitedHealth (UNH)
Verizon (VZ)
Wells Fargo (WFC)
WellPoint (WLP)
Wyndham Worldwide (WYN)
Xcel Energy Utilities (XEL) - [By Sean Williams]
Apartment Investment & Management Co. (NYSE: AIV )
When long-term lending rates began rising dramatically just a few weeks ago, anything related to the housing sector dove, including apartment rental community operator Apartment Investment & Management, better known as AIMCO. Investors who sold may have made a big mistake, as rental communities look to be stronger than ever as the housing sector gets caught in a nasty catch-22. - [By Marc Bastow]
Residential apartments real estate investment trust (REIT) Apartment Management and Investment Company (AIV) raised its quarterly dividend 8% to 26 cents per share, payable on Feb. 28 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 14.
AVI Dividend Yield: 3.74%
Top Up And Coming Companies To Buy For 2014: PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust(PMT)
PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust is based in the United States.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sally Jones] ng>Current Shares: 3,570,000
Value: $80,968,000
Weighting: 19.8%
Down 9% over 12 months, PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, a residential REIT, has a market cap of $1.61 billion; its shares were traded at around $22.94 with a P/E of 7.30. The dividend yield is 10%.
PMT is not ranked for business predictability.
Track historical data:
Guru Action: As of Sept. 30, 2013, Kyle Bass made a new buy of 3,570,000 shares at an average price of $21.84 per share, for a gain of 4.3%.
The GuruFocus analysis of PMT shows five warning signs.
Vodafone Group PLC (VOD)
Current Shares: 1,349,200
Value: $47,465,000
Weighting: 11.6%
Up 55% over 12 months, Vodafone Group PLC has a market cap of $189.2 billion; its shares were traded at around $39.14 with a P/E of 273.80. The dividend yield is 4.00%.
Vodafone Group PLC is a provider of mobile communications services and products in Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, Europe, India and Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific.
GuruFocus ranked VOD with one out of five stars for business predictability.
Track historical data:
Guru Action: As of Sept. 30, 2013, Kyle Bass made a new buy of 1,349,200 shares at an average price of $31.01 per share, for a gain of 25.9%.
The GuruFocus analysis of VOD shows nine warning signs.
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)
Current Shares: 1,500,000
Value: $49,920,000
Weighting: 12.2%
Up 38% over 12 months, Microsoft Corporation has a market cap of $309.54 billion; its shares were traded at around $37.45 with a P/E of 13.70. The dividend yield is 2.60%.
GuruFocus ranked MSFT with three out of five stars for business predictability.
Track historical data:
Guru Action: As of Sept. 30, 2013, Kyle Bass made a new buy of 1,500,000 shares at an average price of $32.90 per share, for a gain of 12.7%.
The GuruFocus analysis of MSFT shows two go
Top Up And Coming Companies To Buy For 2014: H&Q Life Sciences Investors (HQL)
H&Q Life Sciences Investors (the Fund) is a diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Fund's investment objective is long-term capital appreciation through investment in life science companies (including biotechnology, pharmaceutical, diagnostics, managed healthcare and medical equipment, hospitals, healthcare information technology and services, devices and supplies) agriculture and environmental management. The Fund invests primarily in securities of public and private companies.
The Fund may invest in venture capital and other restricted securities if these securities would comprise 40% or less of net assets. The Fund may purchase and sell (or write) put or call options on any security in which it is permitted to invest. It may purchase and sell (write) options on stock indices (index options). H&Q Life Sciences Investors��investment advisor is Hambrecht & Quist Capital Management, LLC.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Harry Domash, Publisher, DividendDetective and Winning Investing]
Harry Domash: Yeah, in fact, H&Q Life Sciences, ticker (HQL), is actually a closed-end fund, but it invests entirely in biotech and pharmaceutical companies, and if you look around the world, the investing stocks right now—besides the social media stocks—that's really the one area that has had a lot of recent growth and we expect that to continue.
I think the closed-end fund, and we'll get into that maybe a little bit later, but closed-end funds are a good way to cover it, when you're talking about a sector like that.
Johnson & Johnson is an interesting case, because, as you know, Johnson & Johnson is a big company that invests, and that owns a lot of different companies itself in the medical field.
You know, it owns hundreds of operating companies and it's primarily in the pharmaceuticals, and medical devices, and in consumer products, but Johnson & Johnson was a mismanaged company for a while and they were really underperforming their peers.
In fact, some of their factories were closed, their pharmaceutical production factories were forcibly closed by the government because they didn't meet standards, but they were taken over by a new CEO a few years ago, two or three years ago, and now things are improving, so Johnson & Johnson is kind of coming from down and out to being a leading company again.
They've got a lot of products, cancer-type products, and things on the pipeline and it just seems like things are going very well so we have hopes that Johnson & Johnson has reported the last two quarters are the first ones that have really been decent, they really showed growth, and then we expect that to accelerate so we're pretty hot on Johnson & Johnson now.
Steve Halpern: One particularly interesting portfolio that you maintain that I haven't seen anywhere else is based on closed-end funds that pay monthly dividends&mdash
- [By Nate Pile]
This recommended fund��ambrecht & Quist Life Sciences Fund (HQL)��as also our top pick last year, and the fund rose 44% in 2013.
In addition to rising in value, the fund has a dividend policy of paying out 2% of its net asset value of each quarter.
Top Up And Coming Companies To Buy For 2014: Fujitsu Ltd (FJTSY)
Fujitsu Limited (Fujitsu), incorporated on June 20, 1935, is engaged in providing solutions in the field of information and communication technology. Along with multifaceted services provision, its business consists of the development, manufacture, sales and maintenance of the high-quality products and electronic devices that make these services possible. The Company operates in three segments: technology solutions, ubiquitous products solutions and device solutions. On June 4, 2009, Fujitsu introduced the docomo PRIME series F-09A mobile handset. On July 15, 2009, Fujitsu announces acquisition of shares in information technology (IT) subsidiary of AUTOBACS SEVEN. In October 2010, the Company and Toshiba Corporation announced that they have completed the merger of their mobile phone businesses. Effective August 15, 2013, Intel Corp acquired Fujitsu Semiconductor Wireless Products Inc, from Fujitsu Semiconductor Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Ltd.
Technology solutions
Fujitsu provides solutions/system integration services focused on information system consulting and integration, and infrastructure services centered on outsourcing services (complete information system operation and management). Fujitsu offers system products, such as servers and storage systems, which form the backbone of information systems, along with network products, such as mobile phone base stations, optical transmission systems and other communications infrastructures. Its services include system integration (system construction), consulting, front-end technologies (automated teller machines (ATMs)), outsourcing services (datacenters, IT operation/management, software as a service (SaaS), application operation/management and business process outsourcing), network services (business networks, distribution of Internet/mobile content), system support services (maintenance and surveillance services for information systems and networks) and security solutions (installation of information systems an! d networks).
Ubiquitous products solutions
Fujitsu offers the personal computers (PCs), mobile phones and other products indispensable for realizing the emerging ubiquitous networked society. In PCs, along with more conventional desktop and notebook models, the Company develops netbooks and products with security features, providing a global lineup that allows customers to choose the product for their application. In mobile phones, it provide a variety of products that include high-performance models featuring specs and water resistance, separable mobile phone handset, and products created from collaborations with brands. Its products include PCs, mobile phones and optical transceiver modules.
Device solutions
LSI devices and electronic components comprise Fujitsu�� Device Solutions. Fujitsu Semiconductor, the Fujitsu operating company in semiconductors, provides LSI devices found in products, such as digital home appliances, automobiles, mobile phones and servers. The Company�� subsidiaries Shinko Electric Industries Co., Ltd. and Fujitsu Component Limited, along with FDK Corporation, provide semiconductor packages and other electronic components, as well as structural components, such as batteries, relays and connectors. Its products include LSI devices, electronic components (semiconductor packages), batteries and structural components (relays and connectors).
Advisors' Opinion:- [By MARKETWATCH]
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- A rising Japanese yen and weak results from Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) overnight sent Tokyo-listed shares lower in early Thursday trade, with the Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) falling 0.4% to 14,363.59, while the Topix also lost 0.4%. With the U.S. dollar remaining below the 98-yen level amid concerns about the health of China's largest banks, some currency-sensitive shares extended their losses after driving the Nikkei Average down 2% in the previous session. Among them, trading house Mitsui & Co. (JP:8031) (MITSY) fell 1.3%, retail major J. Front Retailing Co. (JP:3086) lost 1.2%, auto maker Nissan Motor Co. (JP:7201) (NSANY) retreated 0.6%, and Fujitsu Ltd. (JP:6702) (FJTSY) traded 1% lower. The below-forecast quarterly results and outlook cut from U.S. construction-equipment maker Caterpillar sent its Japanese rivals tumbling, with Komatsu Ltd. (JP:6301) (KMTUF) dropping 3.5% and Hitachi Construction Macheriny Co. (JP:6305) (HTCMF) falling 3.1%. On the upside, Hitachi Ltd. (JP:6501) (HTHIF) soared 5.4% after raising its profit and revenue guidance for the fiscal first hal
- [By MARKETWATCH]
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks weakened in early Thursday trading as the yen rose and Wall Street ended mixed, with the Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) falling 1.2% to 15,929.74 after a 1.9% advance a day earlier. With the yen (USDJPY) slightly firmer than in the previous session, some investors sold currency-sensitive exporters, with Fanuc Corp. (JP:6954) (FANUF) down 2%, Kyocera Corp. (JP:6971) (KYOCF) off 1.9%, and Fujitsu Ltd. (JP:6702) (FJTSY) losing 2.3%. News that China would lift a ban on some sales of videogame consoles had sent shares of Nintendo Co. (JP:7974) (NTDOF) shooting 11% higher on Wednesday, but apparent profit-taking sent the stock down 4.2% in early Thursday action. Shares of rival Sony Corp. (JP:6758) (SNE) , however, followed with a 4% rise, also possibly buoyed by a Nikkei Asian Review report that it was planning a "smartphone offensive" in the U.S. and China. Canon Inc. (JP:7751) (CAJ) fell 2% on a separate Nikkei report that the company's 2013 operating profit would miss forecasts. Toshiba Corp. (JP:6502) (TOSYY)
- [By MARKETWATCH]
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks rose in early Monday trading, with weaker-than-expected trade data pushing the yen lower, which in turn helped some export stocks. The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) added 1% to 14,704.36, with the broader Topix up 0.8%, also enjoying support from gains Friday in the U.S. After data showing exports grew less than analysts had projected, the dollar (USDJPY) moved back above the 98-yen level, sending some exporters climbing, with a 2.2% rise for Fujitsu Ltd. (JP:6702) (FJTSY) , a 1.2% improvement for Alps Electric Co. (JP:6770) , and a 1% bump for Toyota Motor Corp. (JP:7203) (TM) . Shares of Suzuki Motor Corp. (JP:7269) (SZKMF) added 2.9% after a Nikkei report saying the company would record its highest-ever operating profit for the April-September half. Retailers were also a strong spot Monday, with J. Front Retailing Co. (JP:3086) up 2%, online marketplace Rakuten Inc. (JP:4755) (RKUNF) adding 2.4%, and 7-Eleven operator Seven & I Holdings Co. (JP:3382) (SVNDF) ahead by 1.4%.
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