Getty Images WASHINGTON -- U.S. service companies expanded at a slightly faster pace in January. New orders, sales and hiring showed strength in a sign that financial firms, retailers and information technology companies foresee stronger growth. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said Wednesday that its service-sector index rose to 54 from 53 in December. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion. The improvement points to continued economic gains for the service industry, despite some challenges posed by freezing temperatures and winter storms last month. The survey covers businesses that employ 90 percent of the U.S. workforce, including retail, construction, health care and financial services firms. Because these companies are less sensitive to nasty weather than manufacturers are, the January figure suggests that a reported slowdown at factories last month was due in part to the winter chill rather than to broader weakness in the economy. The services sector has experienced "slow, incremental growth" for the past four years and is on a sustainable path, said Anthony Nieves, chairman of ISM's services survey. "It's been chugging along very steady," said Nieves, adding that the 4½-year-old recovery from the Great Recession has been "very resilient even with the ups and downs." A measure of new orders rose 0.5 points to 50.9. The measure for hiring rose 0.8 points to 56.4, the highest reading since November 2010. The improved employment measure could point to solid jobs gains in the January employment report being released Friday by the Labor Department, said Maninder Sibia, an economist for Contingent Macro Advisors. Earlier this week, the ISM said its survey on manufacturing plunged to 51.3 in January from 56.5 in December, partly because cold weather delayed shipments of raw materials and caused some factories to shut down. The drop rattled the stock market as evidence that the economic strength coming out of last year might be starting to fade. The economy has lost some momentum after expanding at an annualized 3.2 percent annual rate in the final quarter of 2013. Orders to U.S. factories fell 1.5 percent in December. Incomes were practically flat that month as well. Auto sales slipped 3 percent in January. And the U.S. stock market plunged in recent weeks on turmoil coming out of emerging market economies such as China and Turkey.
Top 5 High Tech Stocks To Buy For 2015: Renesola Ltd.(SOL)
ReneSola Ltd, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of solar wafers and solar power products. It offers virgin polysilicons, monocrystalline and multicrystalline solar wafers, and photovoltaic cells and modules. The company also provides cell and module processing services. Its products are used in a range of residential, commercial, industrial, and other solar power generation systems. The company sells its solar wafers primarily to solar cell and module manufacturers. It principally operates in Mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, India, Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, France, the Czech Republic, and the United States. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Jiashan, the People?s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lauren Pollock var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach]
Chinese solar-products company Renesola Ltd.(SOL) on Monday said it had appointed Daniel Lee as its chief financial officer, effective May 5. Mr. Lee will take over for Henry Wang, who is resigning May 4 for personal reasons, the company said.
- [By Aaron Levitt]
After years of cheap natural gas eating photovoltaic�� lunch, solar stocks are back with a vengeance. Already, we��e seen better earnings from a host of hot solar stocks like First Solar (FSLR) and Canadian Solar (CSIQ). And now, its smaller solar stock ReneSola�� turn (SOL) … and SOL stock may just surprise investors.
- [By Claudia Assis]
Top gainers in the solar sector included SolarCity Corp. (SCTY) , with shares up 0.8%. U.S.-listed shares of ReneSola Ltd. (SOL) �rose 3.1%.
Hot China Stocks To Watch Right Now: Netease.com Inc.(NTES)
NetEase.com, Inc., an Internet technology company, engages in the development of applications, services, and other technologies for the Internet in China. It provides online game services to Internet users through the in-house development or licensing of massively multi-player online role-playing games, including Fantasy Westward Journey, Westward Journey Online II, Westward Journey Online III, Tianxia II, Heroes of Tang Dynasty, and Datang, as well as the licensed game, Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft. The company also offers online advertising on its Web sites. In addition, NetEase has paid listings on its search engine and Web directory, and classified advertising services, as well as an online mall, which provides opportunities for e-commerce and traditional businesses to establish their own storefront on the Internet. Further, it provides wireless value-added services, such as news and information content, matchmaking services, music, and photos from the We b over SMS, MMS, WAP, IVR, and Color Ring-back Tone technologies. Additionally, the company offers community services, including instant messaging, online personal advertisements, matchmaking, alumni clubs, and community forums; and aggregates news content on world events, sports, science and technology, and financial markets, as well as entertainment content, such as cartoons, games, astrology, and jokes from over 100 international and domestic content providers. NetEase.com, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is based in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Kevin Chen]
In the video below, Fool contributor Kevin Chen details five reasons why SINA may be forever doomed:�
SINA Weibo's daily active users may be exaggerated. Its registered users lag that of competitor Tencent� (NASDAQOTH: TCEHY ) Weibo. Its penetration rate trails Tencent Weibo. Its geographic make-up isn't poised for China's economic growth. Meanwhile, Tencent Weibo is. Renren� (NYSE: RENN ) , the "Facebook of China," and gaming portal�NetEase� (NASDAQ: NTES ) threaten SINA Weibo's viability as a social network.�So before you try to profit from the growing microblogging market in China, watch the video below to learn more about the five things Wall Street overlooks when analyzing SINA.
- [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]
Following the customers
That's what makes Activision's new title, Hearthstone, so important. With it, the company is making its first jump into free-to-play games, aiming to extend the Warcraft brand into casual and smaller scale titles.�And it's also targeting the Chinese market. Activision will be licensing the game to NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES ) , the company that runs its Warcraft operation there and helped it bring popular games such as Starcraft to China. - [By MONEYMORNING]
NetEase Inc. (ADR) (Nasdaq: NTES) is one of China's oldest e-commerce firms and is heavily involved in online gaming, a very lucrative market.
Strategy Analytics estimates that China contributed $8 billion to global online gaming sales of roughly $15 billion last year. Gaming dominates NetEase's operations, accounting for 83% of the firm's $401 million in sales in last year's third quarter.
- [By MONEYMORNING.COM]
As of early last week, we'd pulled down gains of 10% with NetEase Inc. (Nasdaq ADR: NTES), 28% with Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. (NYSE: QIHU), and 37% with Baidu Inc. (Nasdaq ADR: BIDU).
Hot China Stocks To Watch Right Now: KongZhong Corporation(KONG)
KongZhong Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides wireless interactive entertainment, media, and community services to mobile phone users in the People's Republic of China. It also involves in the development, distribution, and marketing of consumer wireless value-added services, including wireless application protocol, multimedia messaging services, short messaging services, interactive voice response services, and color ring back tones. In addition, it offers interactive entertainment services, such as mobile games, pictures, karaoke, electronic books, mobile phone personalization features, entertainment news, chat, and message boards; and through Kong.net offer news, community services, games, and other interactive media and entertainment services; and sells advertising space in the form of text-link, banner, and button advertisements. Further, the company develops and publishes mobile games, including downloadable mobile games and online mobile games cons isting of action, role-playing, and leisure games. As of December 31, 2009, it had a library of approximately 300 internally developed mobile games. Additionally, it develops online games; and provides consulting and technology services, as well as media and net book services. The company was formerly known as Communication Over The Air Inc. and changed its name to KongZhong Corporation in March 2004. KongZhong Corporation was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Top losers in the sector included China Unicom (Hong Kong) (NYSE: CHU), off 4.5 percent, and Kongzhong (NASDAQ: KONG), down 4.7 percent.
Top Headline
The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) reported better-than-expected first-quarter profit. Boeing's quarterly profit declined to $965 million, or $1.28 per share, from a year-ago profit of $1.11 billion, or $1.44 per share. Its adjusted earnings surged to $1.76 per share compared to $1.73 per share. Its revenue climbed to $20.47 billion versus $18.89 billion. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $1.57 per share on revenue of $20.24 billion. For the full year, Boeing expects adjusted earnings of $7.15 to $7.35 per share.
Hot China Stocks To Watch Right Now: Bona Film Group Limited(BONA)
Bona Film Group Limited distributes films in the People?s Republic of China. It distributes films to movie theaters, as well as to non-theatrical distribution channels, including DVD and Blu-ray and other home video products; Internet and digital distribution; in-flight entertainment; and cable, satellite, and broadcast televisions. The company also invests in the production of Chinese and Hong Kong films in order to obtain the distribution rights for movie theaters and non-theatrical channels. In addition, Bona Film Group operates six movie theaters in five cities of the People?s Republic of China; operates a talent agency business that represents artists; and involves in film advertising and television production businesses. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bryan Murphy]
It's certainly no The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS). It's not even a Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE:LGF). Yet, Bona Film Group Ltd (NASDAQ:BONA) is a solid company in its own right, and BONA shares are looking more compelling right now than DIS or LGF are here, even though all three companies are in the same industry.
- [By Bryan Murphy]
With just a quick glance at the chart, Bona Film Group Ltd (NASDAQ:BONA) doesn't look like anything other than an erratic mess. When you take a step back and take a look at the longer-term chart of BONA, however, you can see the last several weeks have ushered in a major bullish change of direction for the stock... meaning now's a great time to start wading into a position.
Hot China Stocks To Watch Right Now: Bitauto Holdings Limited (BITA)
Bitauto Holdings Limited provides Internet content and marketing services for the automotive industry primarily in the People?s Republic of China. The company offers subscription services to new automobile dealers that enable them to list pricing and promotional information on its bitauto.com Website and partner Websites, and to interact with consumers through its virtual call center, as well as provides advertising service to dealers and automakers on its bitauto.com Website. It also offers listing services to used automobile dealers, which enable them to display used automobile inventory information through its ucar.cn Website and partner Websites; and advertising services to used automobile dealers and automakers with certified pre-owned automobile programs on its ucar.cn Website. In addition, the company provides digital marketing solutions, including Website creation and maintenance, online public relationship, online marketing campaigns, and advertising agent service s. Bitauto Holdings Limited was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By MONEYMORNING.COM]
But the biggest winner is Bitauto Holdings Ltd. (NYSE ADR: BITA), a leading e-commerce player focused on China's surging auto market.
Radical Technology Profits Editor Michael Robinson told us about Bitauto in the February Private Briefing report "Detroit + Silicon Valley + Beijing = One Heck of a Profit Play."
Hot China Stocks To Watch Right Now: Sina Corporation(SINA)
SINA Corporation provides online media and mobile value-added services (MVAS) in the People?s Republic of China. It provides advertising, non-advertising, and free services through SINA.com, Weibo.com, and SINA Mobile. SINA.com offers free interest-based channels that provide region-focused format and content, including news, sports, automobile-related news, finance, entertainment, luxury, technology, digital, tools, collectibles, video, music, and wireless application protocol, as well as interactive platform for fashion-conscious users to share comments and ideas on a range of topics, such as health, cosmetics, and beauty. The company's microblogging platform, Weibo.com, enables its users to follow the hottest topics being discussed online, as well as discussions related to people they know. Weibo accounts consist of celebrities, commercial enterprises, government entities, and grass root Internet users. Its SINA Mobile service allows users to receive news and informatio n, download ring tones, mobile games and pictures, and participate in dating and friendship communities. The company also offers SINA Game, which serves as an interactive platform that provides users with downloads and gateway access to popular online games; SINA eReading, a shop for book reviews; SINA.net, an enterprise solutions platform to assist businesses and government bodies; and SINA Mall, an online shopping Website. In addition, it provides a platform for Chinese bloggers; photo-sharing platform; free email, VIP mail, and corporate email for enterprise users; audio and video-based instant messaging tools; proprietary search technology; and classified advertising services, as well as hosts topic-specific discussion forums in Chinese language; and creates user-maintained and supported online communities. The company has strategic cooperation agreement with China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited. SINA Corporation was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the Peop le?s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]
Sina is an online media company that aims to serve Chinese consumers in and outside of China. The stock is now resting after seeing large declines in the last few years. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenue numbers have improved, which has pleased investors. Relative to its peers and sector, Sina has been a poor relative performer, year-to-date. WAIT AND SEE what Sina does in coming quarters.
- [By Kevin Chen]
While the media continues to call SINA� (NASDAQ: SINA ) Weibo China's main Twitter-like service, saying it doesn't make it so. Digging deeper into the numbers and looking at the broader social networking market, it seems like SINA stock will continue its two-year-and-counting decline.
- [By Lisa Levin]
SINA (NASDAQ: SINA) rose 7.26% to $51.29 after the company reported upbeat quarterly results.
Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) climbed 2.75% to $57.83 after the company raised its full-year revenue outlook.
- [By Melvin Backman]
JD.com is the latest in a number of big Chinese tech IPOs this year. But several of them have fizzled after hot starts. Weibo (WB), the Twitter-like social media site owned by Sina (SINA), is down nearly 10% from where it began trading last month. Jumei International Holding (JMEI), a cosmetics website that debuted last week, is now barely above its IPO price.
Hot China Stocks To Watch Right Now: China Automotive Systems Inc.(CAAS)
China Automotive Systems, Inc., through its interests in Sino-foreign joint ventures, engages in the manufacture and sale of power steering systems and other component parts for the automotive industry in the People?s Republic of China. It offers a range of steering system parts for passenger automobiles and commercial vehicles. The company provides 4 separate series, 307 models of power steering, including rack and pinion power steering, integral power steering, electronic power steering and manual steering, steering columns, steering oil pumps, and steering hoses. China Automotive Systems, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Jing Zhou City, the People?s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Richard Schmidt]
We admittedly bought into China Automotive Systems (CAAS) too soon. The stock is still down from our original recommendation price, but the future looks very bright.
- [By Richard Schmidt]
China Automotive Systems (CAAS), which makes auto systems and components, reported record-high net sales for the third quarter. The report excited investors, who bid the stock up about 30% for the month.
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