The residents of Switzerland are the most satisfied with their lives, according to the latest Better Life Index report, released this week by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Switzerland has moved up to the top spot, bumping Denmark to fifth. For the third year, the United States failed to make the top 10, while countries like Canada, Mexico and all the Scandinavian nations did.
The Better Life Index rates the 36 OECD countries in 11 areas that aim to cover every aspect of life, including income, education, health, work-life balance and life satisfaction. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the Better Life Index and ranked the countries based on the life satisfaction measure alone.
Click here to see The Happiest Countries In The World
While each of the other 10 categories of quality of life measured in the study is related to life satisfaction, there are several that clearly play a much bigger role, Conal Smith, section head within the statistics directorate at the OECD, explained in an interview with 24/7 Wall St.
Top 5 Financial Stocks To Buy For 2015: Hi Crush Partners LP (HCLP)
Hi Crush Partners LP, formerly Hi-Crush Partners LP, is a domestic producer of monocrystalline sand, a specialized mineral that is used as a proppant to enhance the recovery rates of hydrocarbons from oil and natural gas wells. The Company reserves consist of Northern White sand, a resource existing in Wisconsin and limited portions of the upper Midwest region of the United States. It owns, operates and develops sand reserves and related excavation and processing facilities and will seek to acquire or develop additional facilities. The Company's 561-acre facility with integrated rail infrastructure, located near Wyeville, Wisconsin, enables it to process and deliver approximately 1,600,000 tons of frac sand per year. In June 2013, Hi Crush Partners LP announced the completion of its acquisition of D&I Silica, LLC (D&I).
The Company�� frac sand production is sold to investment grade-rated pressure pumping service providers under long-term, contracts that require its customers to pay a specified price for a specified volume of frac sand each month. The Company owns and operates the Wyeville facility, which is located in Monroe County, Wisconsin and, as of December 31, 2011, contained 48.4 million tons of proven recoverable sand reserves of mesh sizes it has contracted to sell. From the Wyeville in-service date to March 31, 2012, it had processed and sold 555,250 tons of frac sand.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Robert Rapier]
The fracking revolution has created enormous opportunities for Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) across the oil and gas industry. Upstream MLPs like�BreitBurn Energy Partners�(NASDAQ: BBEP) and�Legacy Reserves�(NASDAQ: LGCY) produced the oil and gas. There was a huge new requirement for sand in the fracking operations, and this encouraged new MLPs like�Emerge Energy Services�(NYSE: EMES) and�Hi-Crush Partners�(NYSE:HCLP) — both of which have more than doubled in price over the past 12 months. Fracking also requires large volumes of water, which�Cypress Energy Partners�(NYSE: CELP) provides.
- [By Alex Planes]
Hi-Crush Partners (NYSE: HCLP ) and U.S. Silica Holdings (NYSE: SLCA ) could also pose a threat to CARBO's higher-end products. CARBO has worked feverishly to convince drillers that ceramic proppants are much stronger than sand, and can withstand the high temperatures and pressures of deep, fractured wells. Since Hi-Crush's IPO, however, it does appear that the tide has shifted to sand, as Carbo's revenues have declined�while Hi-Crush and U.S. Silica have gained. Increased competition from a number of Chinese companies that have flooded the domestic market with cheap ceramic proppants is also a danger to CARBO's higher-quality products, provided that the cut-rate ceramics are actually up to the task.
Top 5 Quality Companies To Invest In 2014: United States Brent Oil Fund LP (BNO)
United States Brent Oil Fund, LP (USBO) is a commodity pool. USBO is focused on issuing units that may be purchased and sold on the NYSE Arca, Inc. The investment objective of USBO is for the daily changes in percentage terms of its units��per unit net asset value (NAV) to reflect the daily changes in percentage terms of the spot price of Brent crude oil, as measured by the daily changes in the price of the futures contract for Brent crude oil traded on the ICE Futures Exchange (the ICE Futures).
The investment portfolio of USBO will consist primarily of investments in futures contracts for crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, natural gas and other petroleum-based fuels that are traded on the ICE Futures, New York Mercantile Exchange (the NYMEX) or other United States and foreign exchanges (collectively, Futures Contracts). USBO may also take positions in other crude oil-related investments, such as cash-settled options on Futures Contracts, forward contracts for oil, cleared swap contracts and non-exchange traded (over-the-counter) transactions that are based on the price of crude oil, other petroleum-based fuels, Futures Contracts and indices based on the foregoing (collectively, Other Crude Oil-Related Investments).
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dr. Kent Moors]
It's time to pull back a bit on exchange-traded fund (ETF) holdings allowing moves playing the WTI-Brent crude pricing spread. I have suggested previously the two primary plays here are PowerShares DB Energy (NYSE Arca: DBE) and United States Brent Oil Fund (NYSE Arca: BNO).
- [By Paul Ausick]
The United States Brent Oil ETF (NYSEMKT: BNO) is up less than 0.1%, at $44.38 in a 52-week range of $36.88 to $45.05. The annual high was also set today.
- [By Dr. Kent Moors]
As I have noted before, investors can play this spread by using two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are already part of the Energy AdvantagePortfolio: PowerShares DB Energy Fund (NYSE Arca: DBE) and the United States Brent Oil Fund (NYSE Arca: BNO).
Top 5 Quality Companies To Invest In 2014: FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated (FCH)
FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated is a publicly owned real estate investment trust. The firm engages in investment and management of properties in the hospitality industry. It invests in the real estate markets of the United States. The firm primarily invests in hotels with a focus on the ownership of upper-upscale, full-service hotels and resorts. It was formerly known as FelCor Suite Hotels, Inc. FelCor Lodging Trust was founded in 1994 and is based in Irving, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Smith]
Irving, Texas-based FelCor Lodging Trust (NYSE: FCH ) will soon have a new chief financial officer.
On Monday, the real estate investment trust announced that CFO Andrew J. Welch intends to retire from the company at the end of this year. He will resign his post on July 1 but remain with the company a few months longer to facilitate the transition to a new CFO. Said new CFO will be Michael C. Hughes, the current company treasurer and senior vice president for finance, who will be promoted to CFO on July 1.
Top 5 Quality Companies To Invest In 2014: TiVo Inc.(TIVO)
TiVo Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides technology and services for television solutions, including digital video recorders (DVRs) and connected televisions in the United States and internationally. The company offers subscription-based TiVo service, which enhances home entertainment by providing consumers with a way to record, watch, and control live television, as well as to receive videos, pictures, and movies from cable, broadcast, and broadband sources in one interface. It also provides a platform for advertising and audience research measurement services. TiVo Inc. distributes the TiVo DVR through consumer electronics retailers and its online store at TiVo.com, as well as the TiVo service through agreements with satellite and cable television service providers; and broadcasting companies. As of January 31, 2011, it had approximately 1.5 million subscriptions to the TiVo service. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Alviso, California. Advisors' Opinion:
- [By Rex Moore]
TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO ) has operated in a cutthroat industry since its inception. As Verizon, DIRECTV, and others began to offer their own DVRs, TiVo's subscriber count plummeted.
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