Southwest Airlines (LUV) is a fantastic equity play for medium- and long-term investors. The stock has moved up with the market in the last few months and, I believe, will realize significant value gains and reach the $10 level again before 2013 rolls in. Here's why I'm still bullish on LUV:

Southwest is the fourth-largest U.S. airline that offers discount fares and great value to customers, not to mention first-rate customer service. Granted, the U.S. airline industry and global airlines in general are not the most promising area for investment, but this simply means that more opportunities for undervaluation exist given that many investors will simply look elsewhere and ignore all airline plays in equities and options.

The 52-week range is $7.15-$10.05, the high reached shortly after the announcement of a quarterly dividend earlier this year. Dividend per share is $0.04, coming to a decent annual dividend yield of

Shares of famed American software giant Microsoft (MSFT) have crept up to $30 levels today (Wednesday) after opening near $26 in January of this year, and reaching a YTD high in the mid-$32 range in March-April. The firm has been in the news recently in the context of new retail stores to rival Apple's (AAPL) famous Apple Stores, the new Windows 8 operating system, talk of acquisition of struggling phone maker Nokia (NOK), and patent cross-licensing with rival Apple against competitors Samsung (SSNLF.PK), Google (GOOG), and Amazon (AMZN), among other stories.

Several fixed-income issues from the firm, however, offer some attractive corporate bond yields for potential investors. For investors wary of the risks in MSFT equities or equities in general, take a look at a few of MSFT's corporate bonds that offer yields greater than 3.5% today; I've excluded any bonds with explicitly apparent special

Equity shares of financial holding company Morgan Stanley (MS) are currently trading in the mid-$14 range in the midst of uncertainty regarding the future of the financial sector at large, largely driven by the unknown effect of the implementation of stricter regulations in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. MS is by no means the only large bank to suffer from such uncertainty in the markets; peers Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Deutsche Bank AG (DB), and others are similarly afflicted.

One new fixed-income issue from Morgan Stanley, though, merits some attention from investors who like the idea of taking advantage of today's uncertainty to potentially lock in an inflation-beating yield for the next decade. Let's take a look at the Morgan Stanley Global Medium-Term Notes, Series F:

These notes are being offered from August 13, 2012 to August 20, 2012,

Equity shares of American conglomerate General Electric Co. (GE) have slowly gone up to $21 levels since opening just above $18 in January of this year. With recent successes on its GE Capital financing side, phenomenal new developments in R&D, and agreements to acquire smaller firms, this classic U.S. company seems to be in no danger of disappearing soon.

Several fixed-income issues from the firm, however, offer some relatively higher corporate bond market yields for potential investors. For investors wary of the risks in equities of this blue-chip company, take a look at a few of GE's corporate bonds that offer near-5% yields (I've excluded any bonds with explicitly apparent special redemption provisions):

1) General Electric Capital Corp CUSIP 36959CAA6

These financial-sector bonds are listed on the New York Bond Exchange with book entry delivery and are dated August 21, 1995. They are non-callable, taxable, and carry

American IT giant Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) has had a relatively volatile year to date, with equity shares opening in January just at $18, reaching a high of $21.30 in late March, and then falling to today's mid-$17 range. In the news lately in the context of new acquisitions, ratings upgrades by Goldman Sachs and rising industry sentiment, things seem to be going smoothly for Cisco across the board.

Several specific lots of fixed-income issues from the firm, however, are quite compelling for potential investors. For investors wary of the risks in equities of this fantastic company, it may be worth taking a look at a few of its corporate bonds that offer some near-4% yields:

1) Cisco Sys Inc CUSIP 17275RAD4

There are currently 250 of these industrial bonds on the market in the highest-yielding lot, with minimum purchase quantity 10 and purchase price of 136.298

With the stock market showing some encouraging movement in the last week but uncertainty as the new trading week begins, there has been a great deal of analysis surrounding fixed-income sovereign debt offerings lately. Here's a quick look at today's top five yielding Treasury bills on the bond market and their important characteristics, sorted by descending yield to maturity:

1) T-BOND (30YR) CUSIP 912810QX9

• Available quantity: 9000
• Minimum quantity: 5
• Non callable, taxable
• Matures on August 15, 2042
• 2.750% coupon with semi-annual payments in February and August, with first coupon February 15, 2013
• Current yield: 2.712%
• Yield to maturity: 2.682%
• Offer price: 101.402 cents on the dollar

In my view, this T-Bond offering is the only one worth purchase for investors looking to delve into the Treasury market. The near-3% yield and virtually assured liquidity benefits offered more than justify purchase at these levels, and this

In these volatile times, recent events have seen bond yields soar as investors grow uncertain regarding the future of the global macroeconomy. Many investors are turning to safe streams of income such as U.S. Treasury bills, pushing yields on these securities to record lows. Still, investors seem to be overlooking another traditionally safer source of fixed income: debt securities issued by government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). Because these agencies are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, though, they offer a risk premium on yields for investors willing to take a gamble on these semiprivate entities. As one analyst puts it,

Government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) are financing entities created by Congress to fund loans to certain groups of borrowers such as homeowners, farmers and students. Through the creation of GSEs, the government has sought to address various public policy concerns regarding the ability of members

American banking behemoth Bank of America (BAC) has had a roller-coaster year to date, with equity shares opening in January under $6, reaching a high of almost $10 in late March, and then falling to today's mid-$7 range. In the news recently for mortgage disputes and the "Lie"-bor scandal, the bank has seen its fair share of problems in 2012.

One particular lot of existing fixed-income issues from the firm, however, is extremely interesting for potential investors. The bonds currently on auction and described herein mature on September 15, 2037, are non-callable, trade on the New York Bond Exchange, and are taxable. The non-callable aspect of these bonds was important in my screen, as many of the BAC corporate debt securities listed on the market ostensibly yield higher than 6%, but many are callable and have a yield to worst in the sub-1% range.

Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) has had a volatile year to date, with equity shares opening in January near $90, reaching a high of almost $130 in late March, and then falling to yesterday's $100 range. Economic analysts at the firm are bullish on U.S. macroeconomic prospects over the next quarter, citing "acceleration in consumer spending, an ongoing housing recovery, expanding industrial activity, steady employment growth, and continued disinflation" as reasons to be optimistic.

New fixed note issues from the firm, though, merit a closer look. Bond offering period for the notes in question is from July 31, 2012 to August 6, 2012; the bonds being offered by the firm range in maturity from 2018 to 2033, are non-callable, and are taxable. The notes with latest maturity mature on August 15, 2033, with CUSIP 38141EE88. Carrying ratings of A3/A-, these notes carry a monthly coupon

In after-hours trading Tuesday, Facebook (FB) shares hit a new all-time low of $21.61. After second quarter earnings were reported recently, a flurry of analysis followed on the new lows Facebook's equity shares were reaching (which represent quite the dramatic drop from the near-$40 IPO price). However, a close examination at specific metrics and outlook in Facebook's earnings report shows that the stock may now be in a perfect position for FB bulls.

Facebook reported Q2 2012 revenue of $1.184 billion, which represents a 32.3% rise from the same quarter last year (when Facebook was still a privately held company). Non-GAAP operating margins, excluding stock-based compensation, stood at 43.5%; non-GAAP EBIT was reported at $515 million (representing a 9% year-over-year jump). All of these exceeded analyst expectations across the Street.

Active user count jumped to 955 million, which is a 29% annual increase and a 6% increase quarter-over-quarter;

Searching for promising equity plays in the U.S. market recently has been interesting, given recent speculation regarding central bank action and the volatility that has resulted. Still, for brave investors, there are some potential gains in the field.

In the first piece of this series, I narrowed down the universe of equities to companies headquartered in the United States and trading on U.S. exchanges with price less than tangible book value per share and got just over 1,000 companies. Adding the additional criterion of these companies being among the top 20% with respect to most active management insiders buying shares of their own companies, we found eight gold nuggets. Here are the other two financial sector equities from this screen's results:

1) North State Bancorp (OTCBB:NSBC) is the holding company for North State Bank, Inc. located in Raleigh and Garner, North Carolina. With 122 employees as of the

Searching for promising equity plays in the U.S. market recently has been interesting, given recent speculation regarding central bank action and the volatility that has resulted. Still, for brave investors, there are some potential gains on the field.

Narrowing down the universe of equities to firms headquartered in the United States and trading on U.S. exchanges with prices less than tangible book value per share, we get just over 1,000 companies. Adding the additional criteria of these firms being among the top 20% with respect to most active management insiders buying shares of their own companies, we find eight gold nuggets in the financial sector. Here are four:

1) Emclaire Financial Corp (EMCF): This is the holding company for The Farmers National Bank of Emlenton. According to the description, the bank operates as a full service community bank. Price of equity shares of EMCF was $19.85 today, with tangible book

For risk-seeking investors, there are some potentially high-return opportunities available in merger arbitrage this week. In this first article of a series in which I will examine several such trading opportunities, here's a closer look at three deals with premiums greater than 10%.

1. Venoco (VQ), a player in the oil exploration and production industry, is in the middle of a going-private offer by an American management group. This deal was announced in late August 2011, and the acquirer is seeking to close out the takeover of this target with a purchase of an additional 49.7% stake in VQ, of which they already own the remaining 50.3%. The announced value of this deal is $382.8 million, which represents a huge current premium of 31.23% (higher than the 27% premium at the time of announcement). The acquirer proposes to pay $12.50 cash for each share of Venoco, which is

For investors seeking relatively safe long-term yields in municipal fixed-income securities, four recent offerings of California public education and general bonds are worth a closer glance. Offering yields upwards of 5.7% to worst amidst the state's budget problems, many income-seeking individuals or those simply looking for a secure place to park their money for the long term would be attracted to such issues. Moreover, the unique tax-free nature of municipal bonds' income appeals to many.

Keep in mind, most states do not tax income from their own municipal bonds, but potentially do tax income from other states' municipal issues. California residents should do their own due diligence before purchasing any of their state's bond issues as described below, as of the time of writing on Friday last.

1) Bradley Un Sch Dist Calif Go Bds (CUSIP: 104592BF6)

These zero-coupon municipal issues mature in August 2044 and are non-callable,