5 Best Japanese Stocks To Watch For 2014

After more than nine months of high-stakes dealmaking, Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S  ) and Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR  ) have finally found their permanent homes. I think they're turning Japanese.

DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH  ) dropped its $25.5 billion bid for Sprint and then abandoned the $6.3 billion offer to buy Clearwire. That leaves Japan-based wireless operator Softbank unopposed in its quest to own Sprint, which in turn lost its only challenger for Clearwire ownership. Sprint shareholders have already approved the Softbank merger. It's only a matter of time and formalities before the Sprint-Clearwire bundle lands in Japanese hands.

Shareholders in Sprint and Clearwire may or may not be sad to see DISH leave the negotiating table, but they certainly should appreciate the bidding war that just ended. Sprint shares have more than doubled over the past year, while Clearwire quadrupled.

Where does that leave DISH? Scouring the wireless market for leftovers, of course. In the following video, Fool contributor Anders Bylund dismisses the idea that DISH might give up on ground-based wireless networking at this point, and suggests two options to move Chairman Charlie Ergen closer to his wireless broadcasting ambitions.

Top 10 Performing Stocks To Buy For 2015: Vitran Corporation Inc (VTNC)

Vitran Corporation Inc. (Vitran), incorporated on April 29, 1981, is a provider of freight surface transportation and related supply chain services throughout Canada 34 states in the eastern, southeastern, central, southwestern, and western United States. The Company�� business consists of Less-than-truckload services (LTL). These services are provided by stand-alone business units within their respective regions. Vitran�� business is carried on through its subsidiaries, which hold the licenses and permits required to carry on business. As of December 31, 2012, Vitran�� principal wholly owned operating subsidiaries included Vitran Express Canada Inc. (Ontario), Can-Am Logistics Inc. (Ontario), Vitran Logistics Ltd. (Ontario), Expediteur T.W. Ltee (Canada), Vitran Corporation (Nevada), Vitran Express Inc. (Pennsylvania), Vitran Logistics Corp. (Delaware), Vitran Logistics Inc. (Indiana), and Las Vegas/L.A. Express, Inc. (California). In March 2013, Vitran Corp Inc completed divestiture of its Supply Chain Operation division to Legacy Supply Chain. In October 2013, Vitran Corporation Inc. completed the sale of its United States LTL business.

LTL Services

Within Canada, the Company provides next-day service within Ontario, Quebec and parts of western Canada, and generates its revenue from the movement of LTL freight within the three- to five-day east-west service lanes. The majority of its trans-Canada freight is shipped intermodally, whereby the Company�� containers are loaded onto rail cars and trans-loaded to Vitran facilities where Vitran�� network of owner operators pick up and deliver the freight to various destinations. During 2012, Vitran�� Canadian LTL business represented approximately 27.6% of total LTL revenues. Vitran�� Transborder Service Solution (inter-regional) provides over-the-road service between its Canadian LTL and United States LTL business units.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Breaking news

  Vitran Corporation (NASDAQ: VTNC) announced today that it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement with TransForce pursuant to which TransForce has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Vitran not already owned by TransForce for US$6.50 in cash per share, in accordance with TransForce's prior proposal. To read the full news, click here. ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) today announced it signed a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) to sell three utility-scale projects in Western China, with a total capacity of 60MW, to Jiangsu Akcome Solar Science & Technology Co on December 30, 2013. To read the full news, click here. Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: CTB) today announced it has terminated the merger agreement with Apollo Tyres (NSE:ApolloTYRE). To read the full news, click here. RedHill Biopharma (NASDAQ: RDHL) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with leading healthcare investor OrbiMed Israel Partners Limited Partnership, an affiliate of OrbiMed Advisors LLC, for the sale of RedHill's American Depository Shares and warrants in a private placement transactionor a total sum of $6.0 million. To read the full news, click here.

  Posted-In: Guggenheim US Stock FuturesNews Eurozone Futures Global Pre-Market Outlook Markets

5 Best Japanese Stocks To Watch For 2014: American Residential Properties Inc (ARPI)

American Residential Properties, Inc., incorporated on March 30, 2012, is a fully integrated and internally managed real estate investment company, which is organized as a real estate investment trust. The Company acquires, renovates, leases and manages single-family properties in select communities nationally. The Company is operating in ten states. American Residential Properties OP, L.P. acts as its operating partnership. American Residential GP, LLC is the wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and the sole general partner of its operating partnership. American Residential Leasing Company, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of its operating partnership. American Residential Properties TRS, LLC (TRS), that is a wholly owned subsidiary of its operating partnership. As of March 31, 2013, it owned 2,531 properties in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas , and it managed an additional 608 properties for Phoenix Fund in Arizona and Nevada. For the period from April 1, 2013 to April 12, 2013, the Company acquired or have contracted to acquire 785 single-family homes, of which 43 homes are in Arizona, four homes are in California, 66 homes are in Florida, 25 homes are in Georgia, 35 homes are in Illinois, 114 homes are in Indiana, 214 homes are in North Carolina, nine homes are in South Carolina and 275 homes are in Texas.

In addition to the Company�� primary business strategy of acquiring, restoring, leasing and managing single-family homes, it has a private mortgage financing strategy. As of March 31, 2013, the Company�� total portfolio of single family homes included 1,045 homes in phoenix, 304 homes in Chicago, 209 homes in Inland Empire, 136 homes in Winston-Salem, 265 homes in Indianapolis, 78 homes in Dallas-Fort Worth, 169 homes in Atlanta, 82 homes in other-California, 63 homes in Las Vegas, 138 homes in Fort Myers, 24 homes in Houston, 6 homes in Raleigh-Cary, 11 homes in Charlotte and one home in Charleston. As! of March 31, 2013, the Company�� portfolio of self-managed single-family homes included 1,521 homes. As of March 31, 2013, the Company�� portfolio of preferred operator program single-family homes included 1,010 homes.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Amanda Alix]

  This spring, however, signs of a slowdown began to appear. The number of distressed properties began to diminish, prices began ticking upward, and interest rates started a slow rise. However, two snippets of good news may help float the boats of private equity firm Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX  ) , and single-family REITs Silver Bay (NYSE: SBY  ) and American Residential Properties (NYSE: ARPI  ) : easier credit, and higher foreclosure rates.

• [By Mark Holder]

  After an initial bump in Silver Bay, the stock has had a horrible 2013, now trading close to all-time lows. Recently, a couple of other IPOs in the sector have come to market with weak receptions. Both American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH  ) and American Residential Properties (NYSE: ARPI  ) offer different twists to the general thesis of investing in single-family rental properties to take advantage of the weakness in housing prices and the increased demand for rentals.

5 Best Japanese Stocks To Watch For 2014: Bridgepoint Education Inc (BPI)

Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (Bridgepoint), incorporated in May 1999, is a provider of postsecondary education services. The Company�� academic institutions include Ashford University and University of the Rockies. Its institutions deliver programs primarily online, as well as at their traditional campuses. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had 86,642 total students enrolled in its institutions. Bridgepoint�� institutions conduct ongoing faculty and student assessment processes and provide a range of student services. The Company is also focused on developing new technologies, such as through Waypoint Outcomes, Constellation, and the development of its institutions' mobile learning platforms. The Company has developed Constellation to replace third party textbooks with digital course materials. Constellation materials are displayed in a browser-based platform. In January 2012, Bridgepoint introduced Thuze.

Ashford University offers associate's, bachelor's and master's degree programs online, as well as bachelor's degree programs at its campus in Clinton, Iowa. Ashford University consists of four colleges: the College of Business and Professional Studies, the College of Education, the College of Health, Human Services and Sciences, and the College of Liberal Arts. University of the Rockies is a graduate institution that offers master's and doctoral degree programs in the social and behavioral sciences. Classes at University of the Rockies are presented in a progressive online format, as well as at its campus in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Waypoint Outcomes provides learning and assessment software to K-12 and higher education institutions nationwide.

Constellation provides mobile access to students over the Internet, as well as on a variety of devices, including Web-enabled smartphones and tablet devices. Constellation is a cloud-based and is compatible across operating systems, browsers and mobile technologies. The Company has developed Constellation-enabled courses pri! marily in core classes to reach students. As of December 31, 2011, approximately 76% of Bridgepoint�� institutions' students had taken a Constellation-enabled course. As of December 31, 2011, it had 32 Constellation titles available. Thuze is a cloud-based, multi-platform, collaborative learning environment for students to interact with their course digital materials and with each other. Thuze provides students with the resources to work from both their desktop computers and also from their tablets and smartphones. It launched Thuze as a pilot program with publishers in higher education. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company deployed new mobile application technology at Ashford University. The Company has online students from all 50 states and from the District of Columbia. It has students from 69 different countries. As of December 31, 2011, over 34,400 students have graduated from the Company�� institutions, with approximately 15,200 students graduating from its institutions, during 2011.

Students finance their education at the Company's institutions through Title IV programs and Non-Title IV funding sources. Title IV programs includes The Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) and Federal Direct Loan Programs. FFEL and Federal Direct Loan Programs consist of two loans: Stafford loans, which are either subsidized or unsubsidized, and PLUS loans, which are made available to graduate and professional students, as well as parents of dependent undergraduate students. Non-Title IV funding sources include other funding sources, which consist of cash, private loans, state grants, corporate reimbursement, military benefits and institutional loans. The Company has engaged Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) to provide call center and transactional processing services for the online financial aid student populations at its institutions, including services related to disbursement eligibility review and Title IV fund returns. If Bridgepoint�� engagement with ACS were terminate! d, it wou! ld handle these processing services using its own resources or engage another third party vendor.

The Company�� institutions provide student support services, including academic, administrative and technology support. As of December 31, 2011, Bridgepoint�� institutions offered approximately 1,430 courses, 85 degree programs and 140 specializations. Its institutions offer programs and specialization areas through Ashford University's four colleges: the College of Business and Professional Studies; the College of Education; the College of Health, Human Services and Science; and the College of Liberal Arts, and through the University of the Rockies' two schools: the School of Organizational Leadership and the School of Professional Psychology. The Company�� leads are primarily generated from online sources. Its main source of leads is third party online lead aggregators. It also purchases keywords from search providers to generate online leads directly. In addition, the Company has an in-house team focused on generating online leads.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Newman]

  Debt
  Another factor to take into account is weighing the extra two years of college costs versus an extra two years of wages. According to College Reality Check, the net price for a bachelor's degree at�Bridgepoint Education's (NYSE: BPI  ) Ashford University is about $17,300, only about $1,000 less than the cost of Harvard. An Ashford graduate can expect to earn $36,400 annually in his or her early career,�about $14,000 less than a Harvard grad.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI) shares tumbled 11.37 percent to $14.11 after the company announced a Q1 preliminary loss of $0.10 per share on sales of $160.5 million. The company also reported that it will be unable to file 10Q by May 12th.

• [By Jim Royal]

  One of my favorite reasons to reinvest in stocks I already own is when an uncertain, but favorable catalyst occurs, but the stock does little. So my Special Situations portfolio is adding $1,000 to each of the following three stocks: Cincinnati Bell (NYSE: CBB  ) , Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI  ) , and First Financial Northwest (NASDAQ: FFNW  ) . Read on to see why.

5 Best Japanese Stocks To Watch For 2014: Marlin Business Services Corp.(MRLN)

Marlin Business Services Corp. provides commercial equipment financing solutions primarily to small and mid-sized businesses in the United States. It finances approximately 100 categories of commercial equipment, including copiers, security systems, computers and software, telecommunications equipment, and commercial and industrial equipment. The company offers its solutions through a network of independent commercial equipment dealers and lease brokers, as well as through direct solicitations. As of December 31, 2011, it serviced approximately 65,000 active equipment leases for approximately 55,000 small and mid-sized business customers. The company also operates as the holding company for the Marlin Business Bank, which is a state-chartered commercial bank. In addition, it is involved in reinsurance business activities. The company was founded in 1997 and is based in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James Brumley]

  The ironic risk here is if the economy tanks so badly, even debt collectors struggle simply because the money to repay loans just isn’t in consumers’ hands, as was the case between 2006 and 2009. As long as the economy remains stable, however, Portfolio Recovery Associates is plenty capable of maintaining its double-digit earnings growth rate, qualifying it as one of the market’s better small-cap stocks.

  Marlin Business Services (MRLN)

  Marlin Business Services (MRLN) finances equipment purchase and equipment leases for small businesses — photocopiers, computers, and the like. It’s not a riveting business, but it’s a reliable business as long as the economy is humming like it is now.