Hot Companies To Invest In 2014

Shares of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) are trading lower today as investors await tomorrow's housing data and the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent open market committee meeting. Roughly halfway through the trading session, Bank of America stock is off by $0.11, or 0.83%.

There have been a number of positive developments in the banking industry of late that have helped fuel share prices of the nation's largest lenders. Last week, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission softened a key rule impacting the $700 trillion derivatives market. In an effort to increase transparency and facilitate efficient price discovery, the CFTC had originally proposed requiring over-the-counter derivatives brokers to seek quotes from at least five counterparties. It has now reduced the number to two. While this may not be in the interest of consumers, there's little doubt it plays into the hands of Wall Street firms that have looked to this opaque market for significant profits over the last few years.

Hot Companies To Invest In 2014: SINOPEC Shangai Petrochemical Company Ltd.(SHI)

Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited engages in the production of polypropylene compound products, polypropylene products, acrylic fiber products, petrochemical products, synthetic fibers, resins and plastics, and petroleum products in China and internationally. It also involves in the import and export of petrochemical products and equipment. The company was founded in 1972 and is based in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China. Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited is a subsidiary of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  Notable foreign joint ventures
  The practice has been quite common among foreign companies engaging in joint ventures with U.S. firms. For instance, the use of a drilling carry was a feature of Chesapeake Energy's (NYSE: CHK  ) transaction with China's largest energy company, CNOOC (NYSE: CEO  ) , back in 2010, though it was noticeably absent from its most recent joint venture agreement with Sinopec (NYSE: SHI  ) .

• [By Tyler Crowe and Aimee Duffy]

  After selling about $10.8 billion in assets throughout 2012, it looks as though Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK  ) is on track for more big sales in 2013. The company just announced this week that it plans to sell 98,000 acres in the Utica shale region of Ohio. Once the sale is completed, it will be the third large influx of capital this year, after the company inked $3.2 billion in joint ventures with Sinopec (NYSE: SHI  ) and Total (NYSE: TOT  ) this year.�

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  Joint venture agreement with Sinopec
  In February, Chesapeake entered into a joint venture agreement with China Petrochemical Corp (NYSE: SHI  ) , otherwise known as Sinopec, giving the Chinese energy company a 50% interest in a substantial chunk of Chesapeake's Mississippi Lime assets.

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  Similarly, Devon Energy's (NYSE: DVN  ) joint-venture transaction last year with Sinopec (NYSE: SHI  ) , another large Chinese oil company, allowed Sinopec to buy a third of Devon's equity in five shale gas fields, including acreage in the Niobrara, Utica, and Tuscaloosa Marine shales, in exchange for paying $1.6 billion to cover drilling expenses in those fields. �

Hot Companies To Invest In 2014: Vista Gold Corp Com Npv(VGZ.TO)

Vista Gold Corp. engages in the evaluation, acquisition, exploration, and advancement of gold exploration and potential development projects primarily in Australia, North America, and Indonesia. The company?s holdings comprise the Mt. Todd gold project in Australia; the Guadalupe de los Reyes gold/silver project in Mexico; the Concordia gold project in Mexico; the Awak Mas gold project in Indonesia; the Long Valley gold project in California; and mining claims in Utah. Vista Gold Corp. was founded in 1983 and is based in Littleton, Colorado.

Hot Cheap Companies To Buy Right Now: CytRx Corporation(CYTR)

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical research and development company, engages in the development of human therapeutics, specializing in oncology. Its drug development pipeline includes INNO-206, which is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of soft tissue sarcomas and is in Phase Ib/2 clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors; and tamibarotene that is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer and acute promyelocytic leukemia. The company also develops Bafetinib, which is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia and advanced prostate cancer, as well as in pharmacokinetic clinical trial for brain cancer. CytRx Corporation was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  CytRx (NASDAQ: CYTR) priced its underwritten public offering of 10.0 million shares of common stock at a price of $2.25 per share. CytRx shares dipped 6.93% to $2.55 in after-hours trading.

• [By CRWE]

  CytRx Corporation (Nasdaq:CYTR) has initiated an open-label, single-center Phase 1b clinical trial to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of its tumor-targeting doxorubicin conjugate aldoxorubicin (formerly known as INNO-206) in patients with metastatic solid tumors who have either relapsed or not responded to treatment with standard therapies.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  If you're reading this, then odds are you already know that small caps WidePoint Corporation (NYSEMKT:WYY), CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ:CYTR), and Elephant Talk Communications Corp. (NYSEMKT:ETAK) are among the recent big winners from the small cap stock realm. ETAK is up 100% since the end of October, largely spurred by encouraging numbers in its third-quarter results. CYTR shares have rallied more than 150% in just the past three days on the heels of an announcement that a cancer drug the biotech company is developing has shown wonderful Phase 2 results. And, WYY has advanced 93% over the past month or so, thanks to Q3's earnings announcement, though the trading public - and then the media - certainly took the ball and ran with it.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Biopharmaceutical development company CytRx Corp.(CYTR) and early-stage diagnostics company Cancer Genetics Inc.(CGIX) separately disclosed plans to sell stock. CytRx, whose offering of 10 million shares priced at an 18% discount, is aiming to raise money to fund its clinical trials, while Cancer Genetics wants to hire more sales and marketing personnel, as well as fund research and development. CytRx dropped, while Cancer Genetics fell.

Hot Companies To Invest In 2014: War Eagle Mining Co. Inc. (WAR.V)

War Eagle Mining Company Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties in Canada and Mexico. It explores for tantalum, tin, lithium, and gold. It primarily focuses on the MAC property comprising 10 contiguous claims covering 15,015 hectares located in the southwest Northwest Territories, Canada. The company was formerly known as War Eagle Resources Ltd. and changed its name to War Eagle Mining Company Inc. in May 1987. War Eagle Mining Company Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Hot Companies To Invest In 2014: Sinobest Technology Hldgs Ltd. (T80.SI)

Sinobest Technology Holdings Ltd., an investment holding company, provides computer and network system integration, building integration, application software development, and technical services in the People's Republic of China. It offers e-archive management, social security allied office, public security joint approving, e-document exchange center, e-regulation and policy, e-conference, e-financial management, and performance assessment solutions for the government; and government internal Website portal, short message service, office automation, email, decision making support, information service management, and service management information solutions for public servants. The company also offers online applying and approving, and enterprise information service solutions for businesses; community service, e-Medicare, online applying and approving, public information service, e-identity verification, and hotline service solutions for public; and application support, ser vice application, and network infrastructure solutions. It primarily serves government bureaus and departments, and state-owned enterprises in the sectors of telecommunication service, power supply, railway and transportation, immigration and customs, public security, labor and social insurance, universities, land and resources, taxation and finance, and food and drugs, as well as privately-owned enterprises. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Guangzhou, the People's Republic of China Sinobest Technology Holdings Ltd. is a subsidiary of Profit Saver International Limited.

Hot Companies To Invest In 2014: Scripps Networks Interactive Inc(SNI)

Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. operates as a lifestyle content company in the United States and internationally. It engages in the operation of television networks, including Home and Garden Television, Food Network, Travel Channel, DIY Network, Cooking Channel, and Great American Country. The company also operates Websites, including FoodNetwork.com, Food.com, CookingChannelTV.com, HGTV.com, DIYnetwork.com, and Travelchannel.com that are associated with its television networks and other Internet-based businesses serving food, home, and travel related categories. Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Discovery Communications Inc.(DISCA) is mulling a bid for Scripps Network Interactive Inc.(SNI), the owner of cable channels like the Food Network and HGTV, according to a person familiar with the matter. Shares of Scripps jumped 10% to $83.01 premarket.