SodaStream, Generac: Stocks Favored By Nicholas ... - Investors.com

Retail investors are returning to mutual funds. That's clear from flow data in recent months.

But shareholders have been slow to return to small-cap stock funds, says David Nicholas, manager of small-cap $322 million Nicholas Limited Edition .

"Small caps are seen as more volatile and risky," Nicholas said. "So more shareholders are returning to large-cap funds, especially those that have nice dividend yields."

Shareholder caution has helped his portfolio too. "We tend to focus on less speculative stocks," he said. "We have some with good dividend yield too."

Waddell & Reed (WDR) is one of those. The asset manager's dividend yield is 2.5%. The stock is up 45% in the past 12 months. Earnings per share rose 33% in each of the past two quarters.

"It has great cash flow," Nicholas said. "And as the market improves, their cash flow will improve."

Nicholas says it has room to grow. "People have been pulling money out of stocks for years," he said. "The reallocation back into stocks is just starting."

Diversification is another volatility control. The fund held 102 stocks as of Dec. 31.

The core of Nicholas' portfolio is what he calls high-quality stocks that have the potential to double, triple or quadruple within a few years.

Nicholas started his current stake in Generac (GNRC) about a year ago. Sales of its backup generators boomed 34% and 49% the past two years. Homeowners are buying to defend themselves against power outages. Builders are installing devices in more new homes.

Powering Up

Stock of the No. 1 maker of home generators fell beneath its 10-week line the day after the company announced a secondary offering of 10 million shares by CCMP Capital. It's remained in a 33-35 trading range the past eight weeks.

The fund opened a position in SodaStream (SODA) a few months ago.

The company started selling its at-home carbonated drink makers abroad. Now it is expanding in the U.S., where it is in about 1% of households vs. 50% in some European markets. "If they reach 50% in the U.S. they'll be huge winners," Nicholas said. He would be happy if SodaStream gets into 5% of U.S. homes.

The company has also signed deals with companies like Crystal Light and Kool-Aid.

Follow-up sales of syrup have higher margins than sales of carbonation systems. "They make more on later sales of consumables than on the initial device," Nicholas said.

As for the fund's dividend plays, REITs now make up 5% of the portfolio. Nicholas has seen a lot of attractive valuations in health care REITs.

He holds Sabra Health Care (SBRA), which owns and invests in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes and assisted living residences. Sabra is up 89% in the past 12 months. Its dividend yield is 4.5%.

The fund was up 9.97% this year going into Monday. Its small-cap growth rivals tracked by Morningstar Inc. averaged 10.49%. The S&P 500 was up 12.08%.

Over the past three years the fund's average annual gain was 13.48% vs. 11.78% for its peer group and 12.29% for the big-cap bogey.

The fund's 10.58% 2012 gain lagged 79% of its peers due mainly to a lack of any biotech names, which were hot, Nicholas says.

Source: http://news.investors.com/investing-mutual-funds/041513-651927-nicholas-fund-favors-safer-stocks.htm

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Molecular rings mystery solved after 20 years

Apr. 16, 2013 ? Although the double benzene molecule tried to reveal its structure in experiments in 1993, chemists at the time were unable to find an explanation for the spectral peaks they saw. Now, 20 years later, Nijmegen theoretical chemist Prof. Ad van der Avoird has come up with a theory that exactly describes the position of two benzene rings in relation to one another and their possible motion.

Together with colleague Prof. Gerard Meijer and an experimental group in Berlin, he will publish the model in Angewandte Chemie International Edition on April 15.

Benzene is a molecule that has a structure in the shape of a hexagonal ring. Two benzene rings can form a stable bi-molecule (a dimer). There are two different ways in which they can be positioned relative to one another: one flat on top of the other or one lying flat and the other upright on top. If the rings are part of a larger molecule their configuration influences the folding of the molecule or the binding between two such molecules, which in turn greatly affects the molecule's biological activity.

From experiment to theory

A spectrum of the benzene dimer was first recorded in 1993, with the aim to find out more about its structure and dynamics. The experiments produced characteristic patterns with four peaks, which no one could decipher for 20 years. Scientists from Berlin, Hannover and Hamburg recently repeated the experiments using the most advanced equipment in the hope that this, together with calculations made by van der Avoird, would clarify the issue. However, the problem remained unsolved. Now, using a new theoretical model and the experimental data gathered in Berlin, the spectral patterns have been successfully deciphered and the dynamics that cause them explained.

Making choices

Van der Avoird explained: "The old model was not wrong, but it was very complicated. As a result, the computer calculations made using the model were too inaccurate to be able to calculate the peak patterns. I therefore needed to pare the model down to the basics, after which the spectral patterns just rolled out of the calculations. The key to success was the insight that the rings rotate in synchronisation. They work together to switch rapidly between one energy minimum and another. This results, via the quantum tunnelling process, in the recorded peak patterns."

Van der Waals forces

The van der Waals forces described in the model are certainly one of the cornerstones of chemistry, says van der Avoird, though he dare not say whether his observations will make it into the chemistry text books. Even so, there are certainly practical applications. "For example, large-scale simulations are often used to develop new drugs in the pharmaceutical industry and these require an understanding of the van der Waals forces between the receptor and the potential drug molecules."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Radboud University Nijmegen, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Melanie Schnell, Undine Erlekam, P. R. Bunker, Gert von Helden, Jens-Uwe Grabow, Gerard Meijer, Ad van der Avoird. Die Struktur des Benzoldimers - die Dynamik gewinnt. Angewandte Chemie, 2013; DOI: 10.1002/ange.201300653

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/biochemistry/~3/Q72of66d7UI/130416085136.htm

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IMF official: Italy on right path, Slovenia has room to fix banks

Apr 15 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $4,139,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $3,137,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,442,389 4. Adam Scott (Australia) $2,100,469 5. Steve Stricker $1,935,340 6. Phil Mickelson $1,764,680 7. Dustin Johnson $1,748,907 8. Jason Day $1,659,565 9. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 10. Keegan Bradley $1,430,347 11. Charles Howell III $1,393,806 12. John Merrick $1,375,757 13. Russell Henley $1,331,434 14. Michael Thompson $1,310,709 15. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 16. Bill Haas $1,271,553 17. Billy Horschel $1,254,224 18. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/imf-official-italy-path-slovenia-room-fix-banks-144331741--sector.html

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Jodi Arias Trial: Travis Alexander Feared Dating "Axe Murderer"

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/01/jodi-arias-trial-travis-alexander-feared-dating-axe-murderer/

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NASA mulls plan to drag asteroid into moon's orbit

Who says NASA has lost interest in the moon? Along with rumours of a hovering lunar base, there are reports that the agency is considering a proposal to capture an asteroid and drag it into the moon's orbit.

Researchers with the Keck Institute for Space Studies in California have confirmed that NASA is mulling over their plan to build a robotic spacecraft to grab a small asteroid and place it in high lunar orbit. The mission would cost about $2.6 billion ? slightly more than NASA's Curiosity Mars rover ? and could be completed by the 2020s.

For now, NASA's only official plans for human spaceflight involve sending a crewed capsule, called Orion, around the moon. The Obama administration has said it also wants to send astronauts to a near-Earth asteroid. One proposed target, chosen because of its scientific value and favourable launch windows for a rendezvous, is a space rock called 1999 AO10. The mission would take about half a year, exposing astronauts to long-term radiation beyond Earth's protective magnetic field and taking them beyond the reach of any possible rescue.

Robotically bringing an asteroid to the moon instead would be a more attractive first step, the Keck researchers conclude, because an object orbiting the moon would be in easier reach of robotic probes and maybe even humans.

Catch and release

The Keck team envisions launching a slow-moving spacecraft, propelled by solar-heated ions, on an Atlas V rocket. The craft would then propel itself out to a target asteroid, probably a small space rock about 7 metres wide. After studying it briefly, the robot would catch the asteroid in a bag measuring about 10 metres by 15 metres and head back towards the moon. Altogether it would take about six to 10 years to deliver the asteroid to lunar orbit.

The project still needs some technical and scientific fine-tuning, says co-leader Louis Friedman of the Planetary Society, but he sees it as an important boost to exploration.

For instance, NASA has also expressed interest in putting astronauts on an outpost parked in orbit at the Earth-moon Lagrange point 2. From there they could study a captured asteroid using telepresence technology, or even practise human landings on its surface.

Such work could help develop ways to use asteroid material for construction or spaceship fuels, making the captured asteroid a stepping stone for human missions to larger asteroids and eventually to Mars.

A moon-orbiting asteroid would probably also be of interest to private companies proposing human missions to the lunar surface for scientific exploration and mining studies.

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Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/272095d2/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cdn230A390Enasa0Emulls0Eplan0Eto0Edrag0Easteroid0Einto0Emoons0Eorbit0Bhtml0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

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Ever Wonder If A Movie Is Streaming On - Business Insider

It's a common problem ? you want to watch a specific movie but you're not sure if your streaming service of choice has it available.

But we just found out about a service called Can I Stream.it? via Apartment Therapy that helps make your search a piece of cake.

You enter the movie or TV show you want to watch and it will immediately tell you if it's available on Netflix, Amazon Instant, Hulu+, or other services.

If you choice isn't available, you can get a notification when it becomes available.

We've already signed up to be notified when the full Die Hard series is available for streaming on Netflix.

Check out the site here >

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/can-i-stream-it-2013-1

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Chrysler says posts best sales year since 2007

1 hr.

From wire services , NBC News

Chrysler says its U.S. sales last year were the best since 2007.?

The company said Thursday?sales rose 21 percent for the year, led by the Ram pickup and Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV.?

For December, Chrysler's sales increased 10 percent to 152,367 cars and trucks.?

Americans bought new vehicles at a strong pace last month. The robust sales came even with uncertainty in Washington over a budget deal that would have raised taxes and cut spending sharply, threatening the U.S. economy. Chrysler says industry sales jumped to an annual rate of 15.8 million in December, making it the strongest month of the year.?

The company was the first carmaker to report sales Thursday.?

Industrywide, U.S. auto sales for 2012 are expected to show a 13 percent rise to 14.5 million new vehicles, the best showing since 2007, driven by the slowly recovering economy, more available credit and the need to replace aging cars and trucks.?

Polk, a research consulting firm, said it expects U.S. auto sales to hit 15.3 million in 2013, an increase of nearly 7 percent.?

Each month, auto sales are an early indicator of consumer demand.?

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/chrysler-says-posts-best-sales-year-2007-1B7812450

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