On November 21, 2012, Royal Imtech NV (IMTEF.PK), a Dutch-based European technical services provider in the fields of electrical solutions, ICT and mechanical solutions with 29,000 employees and annual revenue of more than 5.1 billion euro, reaffirmed its targets and guidance after an ABN Amro analyst had published a surprisingly negative report on the company a day earlier.

"René van der Bruggen, CEO Imtech: 'Imtech is on track for further growth, despite difficult market conditions in a number of countries and markets. Excluding a one-time provision of 50 million euro million for a reorganization of the building activities in the Benelux, in Spain and a limited reorganization of our maritime activities, Imtech maintains its statement for further EBITA growth in 2012 compared to 2011 through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions. The order book Q3 2012 increased by 12% to 6.4 billion euro (Q3 2011: 5.7 billion

Before its May 2011 IPO on the London Stock Exchange, and a secondary float on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Glencore International Plc's (GLCNF.PK) business dealings were typically described as secretive. This is understandable, as the company was famously known for its lack of disclosure. The world's largest commodities trading company, with a 60% global market share in the internationally tradeable zinc market, 50% in the tradeable copper market, 9% in the tradeable grain market and 3% in the tradeable oil market, was often referred to as the Goldman Sachs of the commodities world. Elusive, but highly successful.

This closely held partnership, best-known in North America for its high-profile March 2012 takeover of Canada's biggest grain handler Viterra (VTRAF.PK), was launched in 1974 by founder Marc Rich under his own name. Not that Glencore likes to mention Rich, as he is considered rather notorious and as such is

When I wrote my first article on Transocean (RIG), world's largest contract driller, back in December of last year, the company had just announced a $29.9 million equity offering to maintain an investment-grade quality balance sheet following its acquisition of Aker Drilling. As I mentioned at that time: "Clearly the biggest argument against investing in Transocean at this point is wanting to see operational improvements first. The biggest argument against waiting is that a return to historical "normal" operating margins and a corresponding EPS of $6.00-$8.00 will likely be preceded by a retracement in share price at the first signs from monthly fleet reports that rig downtime is finally under firm control."

Yesterday's after-hours earnings release for Q2 2012 was Transocean's clearest signal to date that the company's turnaround is finally upon us. Second-quarter profit beat analysts' estimates by a staggering 64.4%, as the company controlled costs to maintain

OAO Rosneft Oil Company (RNFTF.PK), the Kremlin's main national oil company [NOC], is the leader of Russia's petroleum industry, and ranks among the world's top publicly traded oil and gas companies. The company is primarily engaged in exploration and production of hydrocarbons, production of petroleum products and petrochemicals. Rosneft has been included in the Russian government's list of strategic enterprises and organizations. The state holds 75.16% in the company through OJSC Rosneftegaz, while approximately 15% of shares are in free-float.

Russia holds the world's largest natural gas reserves, the second largest coal reserves, and the eighth largest crude oil reserves based on present proven reserves levels. Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia as the largest producer of crude oil in 2009. Russia is the second-largest producer of natural gas.

Under Putin, the Kremlin has tightened its grip on the Russian oil and gas sector, through nationalizations in the petroleum sector and reforms

With energy demand expected to grow by 50% in the first half of the 21st century, national oil companies [NOCs] are playing an increasingly important role in supplying the world's oil and gas needs. NOCs competing in the global oil and gas arena control over 75% of the global oil and gas reserves, and are comfortably positioned for steady growth in future years in comparison with major international oil companies (IOCs) like Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM), Royal Dutch Shell NV (RDS.A) (RDS.B), BP Plc (BP) and Chevron Corp (CVX). These national oil companies are supported by huge domestic reserves and strong government backing.

NOCs are leading investments in the oil and gas sector. Last year, global oil and gas capital expenditure [capex] registered a sharp increase of 14% compared with 2010. This growth trend by global oil and gas companies is expected to continue, with a further 13% rise in

These last few weeks I've seen quite a few Telefonica S.A. (TEF) investors here on Seeking Alpha trying to understand what the deal is with one of the world's largest telecommunications companies, operating globally under the Telefonica, Movistar, O2, and Vivo brands. Trying to do my bit in answering some of these questions and concerns from SA-readers, I decided this morning that it's perhaps easiest to just give my overview of recent company developments and go from there. So here we go.

Telefonica spent $85 billion on acquisitions during the last decade, of which $9.75 billion spend in 2010 to acquire the remaining stake in Brasilcel, the investment vehicle that owned Vivo, from Portugal Telecom (PT). Two years on Telefonica is finding itself under pressure from the market and rating agencies to reduce some of this $57 billion Euro ($71.25 billion USD) in net debt, especially after S&P cut Telefonica's

June 2012. With Europe's debt crisis continuing to bleed, and share prices in a precipitous decline as of late, the good ol' boys and girls at some investment houses now believe it's long overdue to start buying some tasty equities. I agree, depending on which one's you buy of course. To that end, Morgan Stanley (MS) reviewed the biggest companies in the investment universe, as measured by market capitalization. Yes indeed, the wonderful world of Mega-caps!

First off, mega-caps are not necessarily everyone's cup of tea. Many investors will argue that many small-caps performed better than mega-caps lately, even though small caps are typically harder hit by bleak regional economic prospects in comparison to mega-caps, which enjoy a global presence and are better at dealing with currency fluctuations.

Small-caps on average also sport higher relative debt levels, however one aspect has clearly been in their favor and that's the vast

Private equity firm CVC Capital (CVC) has sold a $1.6 billion (1.0 billion pounds) stake in 'Formula One' to three investors including BlackRock (BLK) ahead of the motor racing company's planned $3 billion IPO in Singapore. This deal sets a benchmark valuation of at least $7 billion for the company as financial advisers begin to target potential cornerstone and retail investors during the pre-marketing process of the IPO. The shares are expected to debut in June after the company received approval from the exchange for its $3 billion IPO.

The pre-IPO deal cuts CVC's stake in Formula One to about 40% from 63.4%. The two other investors are asset manager Waddell & Reed (WDR) and Norway's Norges Bank Investment Management, the asset management unit of the Norwegian central bank (ENOR). This deal raised some capital, which may be required, and it gives the IPO a little bit more credibility if

It's a natural tendency for people to remember recent events better. The effect of this is clear-- investors start to primarily focus on the latest media headlines; sovereign debt, financial scandals, corruption claims, deficits, and political rhetoric. We forget that over the longer term the cash equity market has still been one of the best ways to grow your money as an investor. Investor psychology remains a fundamental issue for the majority of retail investors, and the emotional investing that's associated with this always lurks around the corner.

One of the most important things in investing is to keep an open mind. The world is constantly changing and it's safe to say we're all wrong part of the time. If the evidence changes, you must be prepared to change your view. Sometimes it's indeed best to sell a position and move on. After all, the stock doesn't know you own

Lo and behold, less than a month after writing 'Profit From Investing Alongside The World's Richest Man: Carlos Slim', the Mexican business magnate struts his stuff again. This morning America Movil (AMX) (AMOV), Latin America's largest mobile-phone carrier, finally announced its intention to enter Europe in a big way. The world's richest man is offering €2.6 billion euro, $3.4 billion, to increase Movil's current 4.8% holding in Royal KPN NV (KKPNY.PK) to a 28% stake in Holland's largest carrier, making this his biggest investment outside Latin America.

Slim is obviously taking advantage of the Southern European debt crisis to find bargains within the EU area, fulfilling on its promise to expand beyond his Latin American empire. Today's offer in KPN follows attempts in the past decade to enter other European countries like Spain and Italy, and recent considerations to enter Eastern Europe through acquisitions in countries like Poland

Carlos Slim Helu, born January 28, 1940, is a Mexican business magnate and is officially the richest person in the world for the third year in a row. This immigrant son of Lebanese descent is the chairman and CEO of telecommunications companies Telmex and America Movil (AMX) and has extensive holdings in other Mexican companies through Grupo Carso SAB (GPOVY.PK) as well as business interests elsewhere in the world.

America Movil, Latin America's largest mobile-phone carrier, accounts for approximately 70% of Carlos Slim's total wealth. His combined corporate holdings, including Grupo Carso SAB and various other holdings, are estimated to hover around the $70 billion mark at present.

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In February 2010, America Movil acquired Carso Telecom, a 1996 spin-off of Grupo Carso, and Telmex International in order to better compete against the growing presence of Spain's Telefonica (TEF). Movil was once

The new iPad3 went on sale Friday, March 16th, 2012, in stores across several countries only shortly after Apple (AAPL) shares touched $600 for the first time earlier that week. Australia was the first country in which the iPad3 was sold, with Wal-Mart (WMT), Best Buy (BBY) and RadioShack (RSH), as well as Apple, selling it in the U.S. This morning Apple announced a long-expected quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share, representing a 1.75% current yield, along with a buyback program of up to $10 billion. Talk about making headlines, as a shareholder I continue to like what I'm seeing.

Earlier the previous week, on Wednesday, a Dutch court rejected an attempt by Samsung (SSNLF.PK) to get the iPhone and iPad banned, stating the patents Samsung was asserting must be licensed on FRAND [fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory] terms. Of interest is the court's claim that Apple doesn't need a FRAND

Glencore (GLCNF.PK) and Xstrata (XSRAY.PK), set to create a $90 billion mining powerhouse, are going on the offensive. I'm not referring to Glencore's $5.5 billion approach for Canada's biggest grain handler Viterra (VTRAF.PK) announced Friday afternoon, although certainly another great move on Glencore's part. I'm talking an actual 'charm' offensive. Ivan Glasenberg, the multi-billionaire CEO of commodities group Glencore, is planning a global investor road show with Xstrata boss Mick Davis in an effort to win over investors reluctant to back their "merger of equals".

The planned charm offensive came alongside Glencore announcing its first set of full-year results as a public company, in which it gave no indication that it would sweeten its offer for the miner Xstrata. Glencore already owns 34% of Xstrata and is offering 2.8 Glencore shares for every Xstrata share it doesn't yet own. Glasenberg said:

In April Mike and

In writing a recent article on increasing competition in the oil and gas arena since the founding of OPEC and advent of state-backed national oil companies (NOC's), it was eye-opening to realize that measured by reserves, the only private sector 'Supermajors' to make it into the top 20 are Exxon Mobil (XOM), as the 11th-largest oil and gas company in the world, with Shell (RDS.A) (RDS.B) and BP (BP) also in the top 20. It's a simple fact of life that in this day and age the so-called Petro-states are estimated to control approximately 80% of the world's remaining oil.

It's easy to understand why someone would want to diversify their oil and gas holdings with one, preferably the best-of-breed, of these state-backed firms. The first problem is pretty straight forward; you simply cannot invest in most of these firms. And truth be told, many would probably refrain from

“The night is always darkest just before the dawn.” Yes, it’s a Spanish proverb and now a famous quote from a 2008 movie, but also something Steven L. Newman, President and CEO of Transocean Ltd (RIG), might have thought to himself on several occasions after the April 20, 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, a 9-year-old semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit owned by Transocean, while operating on the BP-owned Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM).

According to government reports published January and September 2011, the US government’s oil spill commission blames BP Plc and its partners for making a series of cost-cutting decisions and for failure to properly ensure well safety. It was also concluded that the spill was not an isolated incident caused by "rogue industry or government officials," but that "The root causes are systemic and, absent significant reform in both industry practices and government

We may be in the midst of a European sovereign crisis, but business could hardly be better for the world’s biggest oil and gas "supermajors." A barrel of crude oil is again hovering above $100 and cash is gushing in. In the last month alone BP Plc (BP), currently yielding 4.26%, announced quarterly profits of $5.1 billion; Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) (RDS.B), currently yielding 5.19%, reported profits of $7 billion; and Exxon Mobil (XOM), currently yielding 2.54%, reported $10.3 billion. Given the current volatile market climate, it pays dividends, literally and figuratively, to be overweight commodities and the energy sector.

Part of the success of these three companies, as detailed in my recent articles on BP and Shell, lies in the fact they are at the forefront of R&D in the oil and gas arena, increasingly focusing their investments on exploration, deep water operations, shale gas, oil

As an investor it’s always wise to analyze your investment thesis from both sides of the equation. After all, every time you execute a buy trade your counterparty is actually doing the exact opposite. So, some part of you must be wondering “Am I missing something, some piece of vital information?”.

Many US investors are reading and watching the news on the European debt crisis on a daily basis and wondering to themselves what’s exactly happening on the other side of the pond. It’s relatively straightforward to recognize that many European companies and equities have been hit much harder than their US counterparts. In that sense, it’s currently more likely you will find undervalued assets in the eurozone markets. As we also know a financial crisis is usually the perfect time to accumulate positions in equities in order to build a solid foundation for future returns.

If you want to

Royal Dutch Shell Plc, (RDS.A,RDS.B) the ‘Koninklijke Nederlandse Shell Groep’, commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in the Netherlands, with its registered office in the UK. Shell is the fifth-largest company in the world, the second-largest energy company after ExxonMobil (XOM) and one of the so-called oil and gas ‘supermajors.’

Shell outlined a 3-year strategic plan in 2010 to improve near-term competitive performance and to deliver a new wave of production growth. Shell’s decision to maintain investment in new projects in the 2009 downturn is driving growth in the company today, and this year’s ramp up of projects in Canada, and Qatar, is part of a series of over 20 new upstream start-ups planned for the 2011-2014 period.

Under the helm of current CEO Peter Voser Shell has made a strategic shift in recent years in order to achieve increased margins and profitability. In

Not too long ago you would have expected a piece on BP Plc (BP) to have something like "Down For The Count" in the header, but although the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster could have been a knockout blow for the company, it seems that this year BP Plc is emerging as the proverbial "Comeback Kid."

The agreement in May of this year between BP and Mitsui & Co (MITSY) that Moex Offshore, a subsidiary of Mitsui, would pay $1 billion towards the cost of the spill as 10% minority partner in the MC252 Macondo lease, made it clear that it would only be a matter of time before BP would reach an agreement with 25% minority partner Anadarko Petroleum Corp (APC) as well. And as predicted at the time, BP and Anadarko Petroleum finally announced last week that Anadarko would pay BP $4 billion in a single cash payment.

We all know the phrase “better to be lucky than good” and that may be true on occasion, but if you want to have a long and profitable journey through the world of finance, you sure as hell better know what you’re doing. It wasn’t until I became a licensed stock broker a few years back that I really started to understand the multitude of possibilities that investors have when it comes to formulating the best investment strategy suited to their risk profile and investment goals.

I had a nice reminder of that during the last few weeks when I was studying up for my certified financial planner (CFB) exam, which I’m happy to say I passed. I again found myself up to my eyeballs in effective rates, yield curve, balance sheets, quick ratio’s, technical analysis, strategic asset allocation (SAA), CAPM, Delta, MiFID, Sharpe, standard deviation, MWR, Beta, margin, TARGET2-Securities