Best European Companies For 2014

Did you think the debt crisis in Europe was over? Not so fast.

Major European markets tumbled between 1.4% and 2% today after two of Portugal's cabinet members resigned, sparking worries that a coalition that passed austerity measures may be cracking. Portugal's bonds jumped more than 1% to exceed 8% for the first time since November. �

To add to these concerns, oil is up 2% as an all-out upheaval in Egypt starts to look more and more likely. That could have a big impact on oil supply coming from the Middle East, although right now it's more speculation than reality. Wall Street still doesn't like what it sees, and in premarket trading the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) has fallen 0.26% while the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) is down 0.31%.

Global markets will have a negative impact on Wall Street today, but the jobs market may cheer up some investors. ADP's jobs report for June showed an addition of 188,000 jobs for the month, well ahead of economists' expectations for 160,000 new jobs. This is a key signal that the Department of Labor's nonfarm payroll report may be better than expected on Friday. The Department of Labor released weekly jobless claims this morning, reporting that they fell by 5,000 to 343,000 last week.

Top 5 Medical Stocks To Own For 2015: Flamel Technologies S.A.(FLML)

Flamel Technologies S.A., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and commercialization of controlled-release therapeutic products based on its proprietary polymer based technology in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, France, and Europe. The company develops nanogel Medusa technology, which is intended to provide controlled release following injection of therapeutic proteins, peptides, and other molecules; a microparticle adaptation of the Medusa platform that is intended for use in the delivery of smaller proteins and peptides; and Micropump technology, a microparticle technology for oral administration of small molecule drugs with applications in controlled-release, taste-masking, and bioavailability enhancement; and Trigger-Lock technology, an adaptation based on Micropump technology, which is intended to minimize the misuse and abuse of medications subject to abuse. Its principal product based on Micropump technology is Coreg CR, which is intended for the treatment of moderate to severe heart failure and left ventricular dysfunction following myocardial infarction. The company?s products under development based upon Medusa technology include Interferon-alpha, a naturally occurring protein that the body uses for the treatment of Hepatitis C virus and as a immune response; and FT-105, an injectable insulin formulation for diabetic patients. Its products based on its Micropump technology comprise LiquiTime for the elderly and pediatric patient patients, or others who have difficulty swallowing. The company has strategic alliance with Baxter International, Inc.; GlaxoSmithKline; Merck Serono; and Pfizer Inc, as well as has a joint development agreement with Digna Biotech, S.L. Flamel Technologies S.A. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Venissieux, France.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anna Prior]

  Flamel Technologies SA(FLML) said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the company’s new drug application for Vazculep, an alpha-1 adrenergic receptor agonist indicated for the treatment of clinically important hypotension resulting primarily from vasodilation in the setting of anesthesia. American depositary shares rose 5.1% to $14.78 in premarket trading.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Healthcare shares gained 0.81 percent in the US market on Friday. Top gainers in the sector included Shire plc (NASDAQ: SHPG), StemCells (NASDAQ: STEM), and Flamel Technologies SA (NASDAQ: FLML).

Best European Companies For 2014: TotalFinaElf S.A.(TOT)

TOTAL S.A., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated oil and gas company worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Upstream, Downstream, and Chemicals. The Upstream segment engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas. It also involves in the transportation, trade, and marketing of natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as in LNG re-gasification and natural gas storage operations. In addition, this segment engages in the shipping and trade of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG); power generation from gas-fired power plants, nuclear, or renewable energies; production, trade, and marketing of coal, as well as in solar power systems and technology operations. As of December 31, 2010, it had combined proved reserves of 10,695 Mboe of oil and gas. The Downstream segment involves in refining, marketing, trading, and shipping crude oil and petroleum products. It also produces a range of specialty products, s uch as lubricants, LPG, jet fuel, special fluids, bitumen, marine fuels, and petrochemical feedstock. This segment holds interests in 24 refineries located in Europe, the United States, the French West Indies, Africa, and China, as well as operates a network of 17,490 service stations. The Chemicals segment produces base chemicals, including petrochemicals and fertilizers, as well as engages in rubber processing, resins, adhesives, and electroplating activities. TOTAL S.A. was founded in 1924 and is based in Paris, France.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sara Sjolin]

  Shares of oil giant Total SA (FR:FP) � (TOT) �dropped 1.3%.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Total (NYSE: TOT  ) will release its quarterly report tomorrow, and investors have gotten a bit more upbeat about the prospects for the French oil company's stock. Yet from an income perspective, Total earnings aren't poised to deliver the growth that you'd expect in light of relatively strong price action in the oil market in recent months.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Yet when you think about it, there should be oil there. It's been found on all sides of Israel. Total� (NYSE: TOT  ) �found�oil north of the Sinai Peninsula in the 1980s, but the wells subsequently went dry;�Isramco� (NASDAQ: ISRL  ) found oil off the coast of Tel Aviv, but never enough to make it profitable; and�Noble found a large gas deposit in the Tamar field of the Levant basin. Several Israeli companies have also found oil and gas, but Zion keeps striking out.

Best European Companies For 2014: STMicroelectronics N.V.(STM)

STMicroelectronics N.V., an independent semiconductor company, engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of a range of semiconductor integrated circuits and discrete devices. Its products include discrete and standard commodity components, application-specific integrated circuits, custom devices and semi-custom devices, and application-specific standard products for analog, digital, and mixed-signal applications. The company also offers subsystems and modules for the telecommunications, automotive, and industrial markets comprising mobile phone accessories, battery chargers, ISDN power supplies, and in-vehicle equipment for electronic toll payment, as well as provides Smartcard products. Its products are used in various microelectronic applications consisting of automotive products, computer peripherals, telecommunications systems, consumer products, industrial automation, and control systems. The company sells its products through distributors and ret ailers. STMicroelectronics N.V. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Allison]

  On Aug. 13, 2013, the company announced that shareholders of Energy Fuels overwhelmingly approved Energy Fuel's acquisition of Strathmore Minerals Corp. (STM). (See Energy Fuel's press release here.)

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM  ) and OmniVision (NASDAQ: OVTI  ) are the two camera suppliers, and HTC is reportedly no longer considered a "tier one" manufacturer so it doesn't get priority any more. That implies that one of these image sensor specialists was giving HTC the cold shoulder in favor of bigger names.

• [By MONEYMORNING]

  In 2009, Ericsson hooked up with STMicroelectronics NV (NYSE ADR: STM) - Europe's No. 1 chipmaker - to produce semiconductors for the wireless market. Launched in 2009, this also was ill-fated.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM  ) reported earnings on July 22. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended June 29 (Q2), STMicroelectronics met expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Best European Companies For 2014: Fresenius Medical Care Corporation (FMS)

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA, a dialysis company, provides products and services for patients with chronic kidney diseases. As of May 12, 2011, it provided dialysis care services to 216,942 patients through its network of 2,769 dialysis clinics primarily in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific, and Africa. The company also develops and manufactures various dialysis products, including hemodialysis machines, dialyzers, hemofilters, dialysis fluid filters, tubing systems, fistula needles, dialysis related equipment, acute hemodialysis machines, plasma filters, acute tubing systems and cassettes, catheters, and related disposable products for chronic hemodialysis, acute therapy, home therapy, and therapeutic apheresis, as well as dialysis drugs. In addition, it provides laboratory services. Fresenius Medical sells its products through distributors. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Bad Homburg, Germany.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Johanna Bennett]

  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid decided today to cut government payment to dialysis clinics. So why did share prices for DaVita HealthCare Partners (DVA) and rival Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) rise so steeply today?

• [By Louie Grint]

  Still unaffected
  First, Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE: FMS  ) is the No. 1 global provider of dialysis equipment. It enjoys leading market share of almost 33% in its home country.

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap dialysis stock Rockwell Medical Inc (NASDAQ: RMTI) looks set to decline when the market opens after Brean Capital initiated coverage with a sell rating and a price target of $4.00, meaning it might be time to take a closer look at what is going on with the stock along with�the performance of large cap dialysis stocks DaVita Healthcare Partners (NYSE: DVA)�and Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE: FMS) along with small cap dialysis stocks NxStage Medical, Inc (NASDAQ: NXTM).�

• [By Charles Carlson, CEO and Portfolio Manager, Horizon Investment Services]

  For investors looking for growth but also income, I especially like three health-care related stocks��resenius Medical (FMS), Novo Nordisk (NVO), and Smith & Nephew (SNN).

Best European Companies For 2014: BP p.l.c.(BP)

BP p.l.c. provides fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services, and petrochemicals products. Its Exploration and Production segment engages in the oil and natural gas exploration, field development, and production; midstream transportation, and storage and processing; and marketing and trading of natural gas, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), and power and natural gas liquids (NGL). This segment has exploration and production activities in Angola, Azerbaijan, Canada, Egypt, Norway, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as in Asia, Australasia, South America, North Africa, and the Middle East. This segment also owns and manages crude oil and natural gas pipelines; processing facilities and export terminals; and LNG processing and transportation, as well as NGL extraction facilities. BP p.l.c. has interests in the Trans-Alaska pipeline system, the Forties pipeline system, the Central Area transmission sys tem pipeline, the South Caucasus Pipeline, and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, as well as in LNG plants located in Trinidad, Indonesia, and Australia. The company?s Refining and Marketing segment involves in the supply and trading, refining, manufacturing, marketing, and transportation of crude oil, petroleum, and petrochemicals products and related services to wholesale and retail customers primarily under the BP, Castrol, ARCO, and Aral brands. Its Other Businesses and Corporate segment produces and markets rolled aluminum products, as well as generates energy through wind, solar, biofuels, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage sources; and engages in shipping activities. The company was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aimee Duffy]

  BP (NYSE: BP  ) just announced it is getting out of the wind power game, and in fact big oil's green energy initiatives are pretty negligible at this point. It could be disheartening state of affairs, but luckily pipeline companies are stepping in and picking up the slack. In this video, Fool.com contributor Aimee Duffy explores Enbridge's (NYSE: ENB  ) recent deal to buy into a wind project in Alberta, and reviews the alternative energy efforts already under way in the North American midstream industry.

• [By Virginia Harrison]

  While it is not yet clear how much money BP (BP) could be refunded as a result of the decision, it's a rare victory for the company in the wake of what was the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.

• [By Tony Reading]

  LONDON -- On the face of it, there's little similarity between mobile operator Vodafone (LSE: VOD  ) (NASDAQ: VOD  ) and oil major BP (LSE: BP  ) (NYSE: BP  ) . But they have one significant feature in common: Both have a substantial amount of their value tied up in minority interests over which they do not have control. So what lessons from Vodafone's 45% share of U.S. joint venture Verizon Wireless might there be for BP's new 20% interest in Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft?

Best European Companies For 2014: British American Tobacco Industries p.l.c.(BTI)

British American Tobacco p.l.c., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of tobacco products. The company offers cigars, cigarettes, smokeless snus, roll-your-own, and pipe tobacco products under the Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Vogue, Viceroy, Kool, Rothmans, Peter Stuyvesant, Benson & Hedges, and State Express 555 brand names. It has operations in the Asia-Pacific, the Americas, eastern and western Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. British American Tobacco p.l.c. operates independently of Remgro Ltd. as of November 03, 2008.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon Wallis]

  LONDON -- British American Tobacco� (LSE: BATS  ) (NYSE: BTI) -- the world's second-biggest cigarette maker -- is currently up more than 2% following this morning's interim management statement for the first quarter of 2013, in which the company reported revenue growth of 5% (on a constant current basis) despite difficult market conditions.