Best Quality Companies To Invest In 2014

Below is a verbatim transcript of the discussion.

Q: One can outline three distinct phases in the last 25 years. In the first phase Motilal Oswal (MOS) was born in 1987 till reforms took hold and Manmohan Singh said that we need to do some fundamental activities to open up the economy during 1987-1992. When you look back it was a period of great chaos, there was open outcry, physical delivery, lack of regulation, disclosure and there were many things that are very different from what we all know and accept and take as natural today. The second phase was from 1992 till the beginning of this decade which was marked by a sea-change in many areas where we had a world class stock coming up, the NSE. Birth of market regulator, Sebi, opening up of the economy and importantly we became outward looking. With world-class settlement system which changed the way exchanges worked; volumes and the ability for people to believe that the market was a safe place. Finally, in the third phase we saw foreign inflows coming in a big way and maturing of the efforts like top quality research and the best practices of the western world being adopted. We saw also the impact of technology what it can do for this industry and we had in 2007 at the end of 2007 a global event that had significant impact on financial markets around the world. So, if you look back and you go back to that first phase the 1987 to 1992 phase, what are your takeaways from that period? How do you think, what did you do then that was different from what you did subsequently and what you would do now?

Raamdeo Agrawal:  In 1987, the so called information arbitrage between this firm that came into existence because there was a difference in stock price of 10% different between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. This was the spot market difference which was prevailing at that point of time.

10 Best Consumer Stocks For 2015: InterOil Corp (IOC)

InterOil Corporation (InterOil), incorporated on August 24, 2007, is an integrated energy company operating in Papua New Guinea and the surrounding Southwest Pacific region. InterOil operates in four segments: upstream, midstream, downstream and corporate. The upstream segment explores, appraises and develops crude oil and natural gas structures in Papua New Guinea. This segment also manages its construction business, which services the development projects underway in Papua New Guinea. The midstream segment produces refined petroleum products at Napa Napa in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea for the domestic market and for export. It is developing liquefaction and associated facilities in Papua New Guinea for the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The downstream segment markets and distributes refined products domestically in Papua New Guinea on a wholesale and retail basis.

During 2012, it sold approximately 13% of its refined petroleum products to Pacific Energy Aviation (PNG) Ltd for aviation refueling at Papua New Guinea�� international airport in Port Moresby. The corporate segment provides support to the other business segments by engaging in business development and improvement activities and providing general and administrative services and management, undertakes financing and treasury activities, and is responsible for government and investor relations. This segment also manages the Company�� shipping business, which operates two vessels transporting petroleum products for it�� and external customers, both within PNG and for export in the South Pacific region.

Upstream - Exploration and Production

InterOil�� upstream business segment focuses on the development program for the Elk, Antelope and Triceratops fields. The Elk and Antelope fields are onshore gas fields with contingent resources. As at December 31, 2012, it had interests in three PPLs and one PRL in Papua New Guinea covering 3,996,453 gross acres, all of which were operated by the Co! mpany. PPLs 236, 237 and 238 and PRL 15 are located onshore in the Eastern Papuan Basin, northwest of Port Moresby. It undertook exploration activities in its three exploration licenses, PPL 236, PPL 237 and PPL 238. These exploration activities involved a regional airborne geophysical survey, various seismic surveys across a number of prospects and preparation for drilling of its next appraisal well, Triceratops 2, which was spudded in mid-January 2012.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had a 100% working interest in PPL 236. The license consists of 53 graticular blocks covering an area of 4,502 square kilometers or 1,112,464 acres. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had a 100% working interest in PPL 237. The license consists of 34 graticular blocks covering an area of 3,238 square kilometers or 715,648 acres. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had a 100% working interest in PPL 238. The license consists of 94 graticular blocks covering an area of 7,922 square kilometers or 1,978,565 acres.

Midstream

The Company�� refinery is located across the harbor from Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea. Its refinery is the sole refiner of hydrocarbons located in Papua New Guinea. Jet fuel, diesel and gasoline are the primary products that the Company produces for the domestic market. The refining process also results in the production of two Naphtha grades and low sulfur waxy residue. Papua New Guinea is its principal market for the products its refinery produces, other than Naphtha and LSWR. Its refinery is fully certified to manufacture and market Jet A-1 fuel to international specifications and markets this product to both domestic Papua New Guinea and overseas airlines.

Downstream - Wholesale and Retail Distribution

The Company has the wholesale and retail petroleum product distribution base in Papua New Guinea. This business includes bulk storage, transportation distribution, aviation, wholesale and retail facilities! for refi! ned petroleum products. Its downstream business supplies petroleum products nationally in Papua New Guinea through a portfolio of retail service stations and commercial customers. As of December 31, 2012, InterOil provided petroleum products to 53 retail service stations with 43 operating under the InterOil brand name and the remaining 10 operating under their own independent brand. Of the 53 service stations that the Company supplies, 16 are either owned by or head leased to it, which it then sublease to company-approved operators. The remaining 37 service stations are independently owned and operated. It also provides fuel pumps and related infrastructure to the operators of the majority of these retail service stations that are not owned or leased by the Company under cover of equipment loan agreement. Its retail business accounted for approximately 15% of its total downstream sales during 2012. Its retail and wholesale distribution business distributes diesel, jet fuel, avgas, gasoline, kerosene and fuel oil, as well as branded commercial and industrial lubricants, such as engine and hydraulic oils.

The Company competes with ExxonMobil.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Dance card filling up
  Can a deal finally be at hand that allows InterOil (NYSE: IOC  ) to deliver on the expectations it's promised investors for so long? We've been waiting more than a month for the Papua New Guinea oil-exploration specialist to decide whom it will partner with. The government of the tiny oil outpost demanded that it be a "supermajor" oil company (at the same time it was extracting better terms for itself) as a way of guaranteeing that the oil will actually get drilled, marketed, and sold. Investors have been on tenterhooks since, as InterOil apparently very laboriously goes through the bids it's received.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of energy explorer InterOil (NYSE: IOC  ) jumped 12% today after the company released earnings.

  So what: First-quarter revenue rose 3.6% to $350.3 million and topped the $331.5 million estimate from Wall Street. Net income fell 58% to $4.0 million, or $0.08 per share, but analysts were expecting a $0.12 loss per share.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Outside the Dow, InterOil (NYSE: IOC  ) has soared more than 10% after announcing results for its first quarter. The company, which has extensive natural-gas reserves in Papua New Guinea, recorded lower profit for the quarter on a 3.6% rise in revenue. More important than these results, though, is whether InterOil can secure a partner for its planned liquefied-natural-gas project in the island nation. That will be the key to whether InterOil can get its gas to lucrative Asian markets and cash in on its massive opportunity.

• [By Canadian Value]

  So I�� going to stick my next out and share my views on four battleground stocks that are among my favorite shorts: World Acceptance (WRLD), Green Mountain (GMCR), Herbalife (HLF), and InterOil (IOC). And next week at the Value Investing Congress I will present another short, my largest.

Best Quality Companies To Invest In 2014: Essar Energy Plc (ESSR)

Essar Energy plc is a holding company. The Company is an energy company with assets across the power and oil and gas industries. The Company operates in the areas petroleum refining and marketing, exploration and production and power transmission and generation. The Refining and Marketing business in India comprises of the Vadinar refinery located on the west coast of India and a retail franchise network of around 1,400 fuel stations across India and the Refining, and Marketing business in the United Kingdom comprises of the Stanlow refinery located near Liverpool, north west England and on the south bank of Manchester ship canal. The Company�� exploration and production segment includes a portfolio of 15 blocks and fields in the various stages of exploration and production of oil and gas in India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Vietnam. In Power segment, the Company operates coal fired, captive fuel and gas based power plants in India and Canada together with a number of mining assets. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sarah Jones]

  Essar Energy Plc (ESSR) climbed 2.5 percent to 122 pence after reporting that revenue rose 24 percent to $27.3 billion in the 12 months through March. The company cited higher margins and volumes at its Vadinar refinery in India and its Stanlow refinery in the U.K.

Best Quality Companies To Invest In 2014: RealNetworks Inc.(RNWK)

RealNetworks, Inc. provides network-delivered digital media products and services to manage, play, and share digital media in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It develops and markets software products and services that enable the creation, distribution, and consumption of digital media, including audio and video. The company?s Core Products segment develops and provides software as a service (SaaS) services, including ring-back tone, music-on-demand, video-on-demand, and messaging services for mobile carriers; and e-commerce services, such as business intelligence, subscriber management, and billing for carrier customers. It also licenses Helix server software that allows companies and institutions to broadcast live and on-demand audio, video, and other multimedia programming to users over the Internet. In addition, this segment provides professional and systems integration services; and SuperPass, a subscription service, which provides consumers with acces s to a range of digital entertainment content. Its Emerging Products segment offers RealPlayer, a media player software, which include features and services that enable consumers to discover, play, download, manage, and edit digital video. The company?s Games segment is involved in developing, publishing, licensing, and distributing casual games, such as board, card, puzzle, word, and hidden-object games for PC?s, social networks, mobile handsets, and smartphones through digital download, online subscription play, third-party portals, social networks, and mobile devices. It distributes games principally in North America, Europe, and Latin America through the company?s own Websites, which are operated under the GameHouse, Zylom, and Atrativa brands, and through Websites owned or managed by third parties. RealNetworks, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Carol Hymowitz]

  CEOs who aren�� comfortable around technology and digital trends will have difficulty setting strategy for the future, said Dawn Lepore, former CEO of Drugstore.com and a director at AOL Inc., TJX Cos. (TJX) and RealNetworks Inc. (RNWK)

Best Quality Companies To Invest In 2014: Bitcoin Collect Inc (BTCC)

Bitcoin Collect Inc, formerly SolPower, Corp., incorporated on July 22, 1996, offers software solutions for the healthcare industry addressing problems with the system involving billing, collections and the lack of adequate medical insurance. The company�� primary product is a software System called MedCare Collect. In July 2014, the Company acquired Good Vibrations Shoes.

Medcare Collect utilizes the technology in electronic banking and transaction submission allowing healthcare professionals to accept clients who may not have adequate health insurance with an almost negligible risk of the patient defaulting. MedCare Collect is revolutionizing medical billing by allowing doctors to take on patients they would otherwise have to turn away, while adding much needed revenue to their bottom line.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Iampat]

  Square 1 Financial (SQBK) and Bitcoin (BTCC) have sort of touched on the accommodations of having a versatile wallet, and it's without a doubt a corner that I think is still in the early phases of its reception bend. Hence, when I discovered that Facebook was concentrating on it, I loved the thought.