Best Companies To Buy Right Now

There are some very predictable events in the life of a financial writer. For example, there are regular releases of surveys addressing how much retirement planning people have done and how prepared they are for retirement. And they're pretty much always depressing, if not shocking. For example, let's review some alarming numbers from Franklin Templeton's 2013 Retirement Income Strategies and Expectations (RISE) Survey.

20% plan on never retiring.
Many Americans have found that they simply must keep working for as long as they can, due to insufficient retirement planning and saving. "Never" is an extreme word, though. You may keep working past age 65 and even be working at 75, but at 85 or before that, it may just be impossible. Your health may not permit working, or there may just not be a job to be had.

33% retired due to circumstances beyond their control.
This is critical to consider for those planning to never retire. The choice may not be yours. You may end up downsized or may develop serious health problems, or may have to leave the workforce to care for a loved one. The little silver lining here is that while you might lose your job, you can probably generate some income without it, either by finding acceptable part-time work somewhere, or perhaps by taking matters into your own hands: preparing taxes, tutoring kids, dog-walking, consulting, taking in a boarder, selling items on eBay, knitting, being a handyperson for hire, and so on. In your financial planning, include some contingency plans.

Top 10 Stocks To Buy Right Now: KT Corp (KT)

KT Corporation is an integrated telecommunications service provider in the Republic of Korea. Its services include personal communications service (PCS) mobile telecommunications services and high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA)-based IMT-2000 wireless Internet and video multimedia communications services; telephone services, including local, domestic long-distance and international long-distance fixed-line telephone services and interconnection services; broadband Internet access service and other Internet-related services, including Internet protocol television (IP-TV) services, and various other services, including leased line service and other data communication service, satellite service and information technology and network services. On June 1, 2009, KTF merged into KTF Corporation. In October 2009, it disposed its majority stake in its wholly owned subsidiary, KT FDS Corporation, engaged in computer software developing business.

Mobile Service

The Company provides mobile services based on code division multiple access (CDMA) technology and wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA) technology. PCS service is a digital wireless telephone and data transmission system, which uses portable handsets with long battery life to communicate, through low-power antennae. The PCS service is based on CDMA technology and utilizes 40 megahertz of bandwidth in the 1800 megahertz frequency.

The Company markets the mobile services primarily through independent dealers located throughout the Republic of Korea. As of December 31, 2009, there were approximately 2,200 shops managed by the independent dealers. In addition to assisting new subscribers to activate mobile service and purchase handsets, authorized dealers are connected to the database and are able to assist customers with account information.

Telephone Services

The telephone network includes exchanges, long-distance transmission equipment and fiber optic and copper cables. The C! ompany utilizes the telephone network to provide fixed-line telephone services, which consist of local, domestic long-distance and international long-distance services. The long distance cable network is made up of fiber optic cable and could carry both voice and data transmissions. The Company provides Internet phone services that enable voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) phone devices with broadband connection to make domestic and international calls. As of December 31, 2009, the fixed-line telephone services accounted for 18% of the Company�� operating revenues.

Internet Services

The Company�� Internet services include asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), very high speed digital subscriber line (VDSL), Ethernet and fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) services under the QOOK Internet brand name; wireless local area network (LAN) service under the Nespot brand name, which is designed to integrate fixed-line and wireless services by offering high speed wireless Internet access to laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and smart phones in hot-spot zones and QOOK Internet service in fixed-line environments, and WiBro Internet access service, which enables two-way wireless broadband Internet access to portable computers, mobile phones and other portable devices at a speed averaging one megabits per second per user. As of December 31, 2009, the Company had seven million fixed-line QOOK Internet subscribers and approximately 296,000 Nespot service subscribers.

The other Internet-related services focus primarily on providing infrastructure and solutions for business enterprises, as well as IP-TV and network portal services. It operates seven Internet data centers located throughout the Republic of Korea and provide a range of computing services to companies which need servers, storages and leased lines. Internet data centers are facilities used to house, protect and maintain network server computers that store and deliver Internet and other network content, such a! s Web pag! es, applications and data.

The Internet data centers offer network outsourcing services, server operation services and system support services. The network outsourcing services include co-location, which is the installation of the customers��network equipment at the Internet data centers. The Company also offer a service called Bizmeka to develop and commercialize business-to-business solutions focusing small and medium-sized business enterprises in the Republic of Korea. Bizmeka is an applied application service provider, which provides business solutions, including customer database management and electronic data interchange.

The Company also offers high definition video-on-demand and real-time broadcasting IP-TV services under the brand name QOOK TV. The IP-TV service offers access to a range of digital media contents, including movies, sports, news, educational programs and television replay, for a fixed monthly fee. As of December 31, 2009, the Company had 1.2 million QOOK TV subscribers.

The data communication service involves offering lines, which allow point-to-point connection for voice and data traffic between two or more geographically separate points. It provides broadband Internet connection service to institutional customers under the Kornet brand name.

The Company is also engaged in various business activities, which extends beyond telephone services and data communications services, including information technology and network services, real estate development and car rental business. It offers a range of integrated information technology and network services to the business customers. The range of services include consulting, designing, building and maintaining systems and communication networks, which satisfy the individual needs of the customers in the public and private sectors.

The Company competes with SK Broadband Co., Ltd., LG Telecom Co., Ltd., Onse Telecom Corporation, SK Telink, Inc. and Dreamline.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  ArcelorMittal (MT) is an integrated steel company based in France that sells to a wide range of industries in more than 170 countries around the world. Over the past year, the company has earned gross profits of $74 billion on total assets of $122 billion, so it qualifies as a high-profit company using Novy-Marx�� definition. MT stock currently fetches just 65% of book value, so it’s definitely a bargain issue at this price. Anticipating a stronger steel market in 2014, brokerage and research firm Cowen recently raised its rating on MT stock to “buy,” and also upgraded U.S. Steel (X).

  KT Corporation (KT)

  KT Corporation (KT) is a telecommunications company in Korea. KT Corp. offers traditional fixed-line services as well as voice over Internet protocol service, and also is a leading provider of Internet and broadband services in South Korea. KT is growing its wireless broadband business in partnership with Sony (SNE), Intel (INTC) and Samsung (SSNLF). The company produced gross profits of $32 billion on $34 billion of assets last year, and KT stock trades well under book value right now.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  KT Corp (NYSE: KT) shares tumbled 1.37% to touch a new 52-week low of $13.65. KT Corp shares have dropped 21.32% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 21.66% in the same period.

Best Companies To Buy Right Now: (AMC)

AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a theatrical exhibition company in the United States and internationally. As of June 30, 2011, it owned, operated, or had interests in 357 theatres and 5,098 screens in 31 states and the District of Columbia, and 4 countries outside the United States. The company was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. As of August 30, 2012, AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Dalian Wanda Group Corporation Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

  Frederic J. Brown, AFP/Getty Images Moviegoers aren't heading out the multiplex the way they used to, but that doesn't mean that Hollywood is toast. AMC Entertainment (AMC) reported quarterly results Tuesday. The nation's leading exhibitor -- 345 theaters with 4,976 screens -- went public two months ago. The headline numbers are positive. Revenue increased a better than expected 2.3 percent to $713 million. Profitability also expanded nicely. However, revenue increased as a result of a 5.5 percent increase in ticket prices and a 3.7 percent uptick in concessions purchased by patrons. Obviously you don't see those kind of gains against a mere 2.3 percent lift in revenue without dealing with more empty seats, and that's just what happened. There was a 3.2 percent decline in attendance. AMC's ticket takers welcomed 50.4 million guests during the holiday quarter, well below the 52.1 million guests that it entertained a year earlier. That's bad, and what makes things worse is that it had fewer theaters -- from continuing operations -- a year earlier. It wouldn't be wise to hold out for a Hollywood ending. Customers Want Bigger and Better Things Apologists will argue that it wasn't a bumper crop of movies hitting theaters, but that's not accurate at all. Last year's biggest box office winner -- "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" -- opened in November. Disney's "Frozen" also opened ahead of the holidays, and it's the family entertainment giant's biggest non-Pixar earner since 1994's "The Lion King." Moviegoers still come out for the big movies, and they're also willing to pay more for a premium setting. IMAX (IMAX) reported blowout quarterly results a few days earlier. IMAX screens rang up a record $244 million in ticket sales worldwide. IMAX is also closing out the year with a record backlog of 384 commercial theaters to deploy. RealD (RLD) is also holding up nicely as a leading provider of 3-D systems for exhibitors. It enjoyed a major boost with "Gravity," a

• [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

  Getty Images From a popular multiplex operator going public to a retailer getting hacked at the worst possible time, here's a rundown of the week's best and worst news from the business world. Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) -- Winner Chipotle is getting a new stamp in its ethnic cuisine passport. Having mastered Mexican, it was already giving Asian a shot with its new ShopHouse chain. And now, we can add Italian to its map after Chipotle revealed this week that it's a financial backer of Pizzeria Locale. The fast casual concept gives pizza a Chipotle-like makeover with folks ordering at the counter, customizing their 11-inch pies along the assembly line, after which they are baked in a speedy oven that serves up tasty pies in just two minutes. Chipotle's growing just fine with its flagship burrito chain, but it never hurts to diversify before expansion-fueled growth plateaus, or tastes change. Target (TGT) -- Loser Holiday shopping at Target may ultimately prove to more trouble than bargain seekers were hoping for this season. The cheap chic discounter revealed that hackers installed software that stole the info on more than 40 million credit and debit card transactions from Nov. 27 through Dec. 15. This is naturally going to be bad news for those that had their plastic compromised. Everyone that shopped at Target this season is being advised to carefully look over their statements. However, it's also very bad for the retailer at the worst possible time. Shoppers may not be too comfortable heading into Target during these last few shopping days before Christmas. AMC Entertainment (AMC) -- Winner Lights! Camera! IPO action! It may not have been the blockbuster IPO of the year, but the debut of the leading movie theater chain proved to be a success this week. AMC Entertainment went public at $18, opening 7 percent higher and staying above its IPO price. The leading exhibitor operates 343 movie theaters housing 4,950 screens. AMC entertains 200 million guests

Best Companies To Buy Right Now: ParkerVision Inc.(PRKR)

Parkervision, Inc. engages in the design, development, and sale of proprietary radio frequency (RF) technologies and products for use in semiconductor circuits for wireless communication products in the United States. The company provides its wireless technologies for processing RF waveforms in wireless applications. Its technology applies to transmit and receive functions of a radio transceiver. Its transmit portion of the technology, Direct2Power, enables the transformation of a baseband data signal to an RF carrier waveform at the desired power output level in a single unified operation. The company?s receiver portion of the technology, Direct2Data, enables the direct conversion of an RF carrier to a baseband data signal. It also provides engineering consulting and design services to its customers to assist them in developing prototypes and/or products incorporating its technologies. The company licenses its intellectual property and sells integrated circuits for incor poration into wireless devices designed by its customers. It primarily focuses on incorporating its technologies into mobile handsets, as well as to other wireless products that are related to networks serving mobile handsets, such as data cards, femtocells, and machine-to-machine and embedded applications. The company?s technology is also used in non-cellular radio applications comprising military radios. In addition, Parkervision, Inc. develops wireless radio modules for mobile handset and data card applications through a joint development and marketing agreement with LG Innotek Co., Ltd. It serves mobile handset manufacturers and their chipset suppliers in the mobile handset industry. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Stocks on the Move: Amarin Corp. plc (NASDAQ: AMRN) is down 61.1% at $2.01 after failing to gain FDA approval for its Vascepa drug. ParkerVision Inc. (NASDAQ: PRKR) is up 61.2% at $5.43 after a Florida jury ruled in the company�� favor in a patent suit against Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM).

Best Companies To Buy Right Now: Richardson Electronics Ltd. (RELL)

Richardson Electronics, Ltd. engages in the provision of engineered solutions; and distribution of electronic components to the electron device and display systems markets. Its Electron Device Group provides engineered solutions, and distributes electronic components to customers in various markets, such as steel, automotive, textile, plastics, semiconductor manufacturing, and broadcast industries. It designs solutions for various applications comprising industrial heating, laser technology, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, radar, and welding. This division also provides replacement products for systems using electron tubes, as well as offer design and assembly services for new systems employing semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The company?s Canvys division provides integrated display products, workstations, and value-added services to the healthcare, industrial and medical original equipment manufacturers, and digital signage markets. Its display solutions con sist of touch screens, protective panels, custom enclosures, specialized cabinet finishes, application specific software packages, and display products. This division also partners with hardware vendors and offers liquid crystal displays, mounting devices, and customized computing platforms. Richardson Electronics offers its solutions in North America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, and Latin America. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in LaFox, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By gurujx]

  Richardson Electronics (RELL) Reached the Three-Year Low of $11.13

  The prices of Richardson Electronics (RELL) shares have declined to close to the three-year low of $11.13, which is 31.1% off the three-year high of $15.40.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Richardson Electronics (NASDAQ: RELL) is estimated to post its Q1 earnings.

  NovaGold Resources (NYSE: NG) is expected to post a Q3 loss at $0.03 per share.

Best Companies To Buy Right Now: Special Opportunities Fund Inc.(SPE)

Special Opportunities Fund, Inc. is a close-ended fund of funds launched and managed by Brooklyn Capital Management LLC. It invests in close-ended funds investing in public equity and fixed income markets. The fund employs a combination of value, opportunistic and special situations strategies to make its investments. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the S&P 500 Index. The fund was previously known as Insured Municipal Income Fund, Inc. Special Opportunities Fund, Inc. was formed on February 18, 1993 and is domiciled in the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Whopper Investments]

  For example, his Special Opportunity Fund (SPE) needed more capital to effectively implement its activist strategy after he took over. Unfortunately, most of the ways to raise capital are expensive and seriously dilute shareholder value. For example, a common stock offering, the most common way a closed end fund would raise capital, has to be priced at a discount and an investment bank needs to be paid to organize and sell it. Obviously, paying to issue shares at a discount is a disaster for long term shareholder value, so he instead pursued a rights offering for convertible preferred stock, which allowed the company to raise money without the expense of an investment bank while allowing shareholders the opportunity to increase their holdings in the fund without paying a commission. From the prospectus,

Best Companies To Buy Right Now: Performant Financial Corp (PFMT)

Performant Financial Corporation (Performant), incorporated on October 8, 2003, provide technology-enabled recovery and related analytics services in the United States. The Company�� services help identify and recover delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments for both government and private clients in a broad range of markets. The Company provides its services on an outsourced basis, where the Company handles many or all aspects of its clients��recovery processes. The Company derives its revenues from services for clients in a range of different markets. These markets include student lending and healthcare, as well as its other markets, which include delinquent state taxes and federal Treasury and other receivables. The Company�� clients include 12 of the 32 public sector participants in the student loan industry. In February 2012, it purchased a perpetual software license and computer equipment from HOPS, Inc.

Student Lending

The Company derives its revenues from the recovery of student loans. These revenues are contract-based and consist primarily of contingency fees based on a specified percentage of the amount the Company enables its clients to recover. The Company engages subcontractors to assist in the recovery of a portion of the client�� portfolio. It also receives success fees for the recovery of loans under Master Service Agreements (MSAs) and its revenues under MSA arrangements include fees earned by the activities of its subcontractors. The Company uses its technology to identify, track and communicate with defaulted borrowers on behalf of its clients to implement suitable recovery programs for the repayment of outstanding student loan balances.

The Company�� client�� contract with it to provide recovery services for large pools of student loans generally representing a portion of the total outstanding defaulted balances they manage, which they provide to us as placements on a periodic basis. The Company also restructures and r! ecovers student loans issued directly by banks to students outside of federal lending programs.

Healthcare

The Company derives revenues from the healthcare market primarily from its Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC), contract, under, which it is a prime contractor responsible for detecting improperly paid Part A and Part B Medicare claims in 12 states in the Northeastern United States. Revenues earned under the RAC contract are driven by the identification of improperly paid Medicare claims through both automated and manual review of such claims. The Company outsourced certain aspects of its healthcare recovery process to three different subcontractors.

Other

The Company derives revenues from the recovery of delinquent state taxes, and federal Treasury and other receivables, default aversion services for certain clients, including financial institutions and the licensing of hosted technology solutions to certain clients. For its hosted technology services, the Company licenses its system and integrates its technology into its clients��operations, for which it is paid a licensing fee. The Company�� revenues for these services include contingency fees, fees based on dedicated headcount to its clients and hosted technology licensing fees. The federal agency market consists of government debt subrogated to the Department of the Treasury.

For state and municipal tax authorities, the Company analyzes a portfolio of delinquent tax and other receivables placed with the Company, develop a recovery plan and execute a recovery process designed to maximize the recovery of funds. In some instances, it has also run state tax amnesty programs, which provide one-time relief for delinquent tax obligations, and other debtor management services for its clients. For the Department of the Treasury, it recovers government debt subrogated to it by numerous different federal agencies. The placements it has provided represent a mix of commercial and individual oblig! ations.

Data Management Expertise

The Company�� platform manages and stores large amounts of data throughout the workflow process. This includes both data it has compiled, as well as third-party data.

Data Analytics Capabilities

The Company�� data analytics capabilities screen and allocate massive volumes of recovery inventory. Upon receipt of each placement of student loans, the Company utilize its algorithms to assist its in determining the recovery process and the optimal allocation of recovery specialist resources for each loan. In the healthcare market, the Company analyze millions of Medicare claims to find potential correlations between claims data and improper payments.

Workflow Processes

The Company refers to the patented technology that supports its workflows as Smart Bins. The Company�� workflow processes integrate a range of functions that encompass each stage of a recovery process.

The Company competes with Health Management Systems, Inc., Connolly Consulting, Inc. and CGI Group.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Magic Diligence]

  Much of United Online's appeal was due to its over 4% dividend yield, but the company announced in late January that it would be discontinuing its dividend to focus on growth initiatives. This follows itsNovember spin-off of FTD, which leaves United with 3 cash producing but declining businesses: Classmates.com, NetZero, and Juno. NetZero Mobile Broadband is an interesting product but one with a lot of competition from the carriers. Frankly, the dividend has been the main attraction for some time, and without it this is a declining company with a fair bit of debt. That does not make for the most attractive option. PASS.

  Performant Financial (PFMT) - down 28.1%

  Performant earns fees for collecting delinquent student loans (about 60% of the business) and providing recovery services for improper Medicare payments (close to 30%). The recent sell-off in the stock seems due to comments from Sallie Mae regarding lower rehabilitation fees paid to Guarantee Agencies, which investors expect to "trickle down" to service providers like PFMT. The stock has been sold off dramatically on these assumptions. We should know more when the company reports earnings in the coming weeks, but this is one worth looking at more closely - the firm has been growing revenue at 30%+ rates. WORTHY OF CONSIDERATION.