Top 5 Financial Stocks To Own For 2014

Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images China now accounts for nearly a third of the daily bitcoin transactions in the world. The virtual currency's popularity in China has contributed to its shooting over $300 in value, but investors shouldn't be rash in buying bitcoins, experts said. At the end of September, the number of bitcoins traded every day in the Chinese market was 17,500, up 24 percent from three months before and accounting for 30 percent of the world's total transaction, a report from Genesis Block, a New York-based digital currency research group, said recently. The virtual currency has been gaining traction in China, but the latest surge in demand is widely seen as connected to the acceptance of bitcoins by Baidu Jiasule, a firewall service for websites co-developed by Baidu (BIDU), China's predominant search engine. By the end of October, on BTC China, the largest Chinese bitcoin trading platform, the price of a bitcoin has grown to around 1,270 yuan (about $209 based on Friday's exchange rates) from 800 yuan early that month, Caixin, a Chinese financial news outlet, reported Thursday. Baidu's prominence led many to speculate that other Chinese companies could follow suit and accept bitcoins as payment. "This is an extremely important moment," one investor said, if it leads to the acceptance of bitcoins in wider ranges of online payments. In addition, it could be a marketing ploy Internet companies employ to advertise new products, said Liu Xiao, an analyst with public policy think tank Anbound Consulting. Given that every payment for Jiasule only amounts to a small fraction of a bitcoin, the real impact on the market is negligible. "Every time the bitcoin market boomed, it was driven by a stunt and not backed by real transactions," Liu said, according to Caixin. Even so, the Chinese market has become an important driving force behind the virtual currency's increasingly wide use and may top all other similar currencies in terms of transaction volume, the Genesis Block report said.

Top 5 Financial Stocks To Own For 2014: 49 North Resource Fund Inc. (FNR.V)

49 North Resources Inc., through Limited Partnership intends to invest in a portfolio of flow-through shares of resource issuers, who engage in mineral, or oil and gas exploration and development in Canada. It focuses on resource issuers with exploration programs in Saskatchewan. 49 North Resource Fund, Inc. serves as the general partner of the partnership. 49 North Resources Inc. was formed in 2005 and is headquartered in Saskatoon, Canada.

Top 5 Financial Stocks To Own For 2014: Redwood Trust Inc.(RWT)

Redwood Trust, Inc., a real estate investment trust, together with its subsidiaries, engages in investing, financing, and managing real estate assets. The company?s investments include residential and commercial real estate loans; and securities backed by residential and commercial loans, including senior and subordinate securities. The senior securities are those interests in a securitization that have the first right to cash flows and are last to absorb losses; and subordinate securities are those interests in a securitization that have the last right to cash flows and are first in line to absorb losses. As of March 31, 2011, it had 77 real estate owned properties primarily in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, and Georgia. It would elect to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (REIT) for federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, the company would not be subject to federal income tax, if it distributes at least 90% of net taxable income to its stockholders. Red wood Trust, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is based in Mill Valley, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Amanda Alix]

  Luxury market is doing just fine
  Jumbo loans are back, and these mortgages -- which start at $625,000 in some affluent areas -- are being given out like candy�to those with the wealth to back them up. Once considered risky because they are not backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, lenders are falling over themselves to make these loans, driven by a securitization market dominated by entities like Redwood Trust (NYSE: RWT  ) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) . Earlier this month, Redwood offered its seventh securitization backed by jumbos, and JPMorgan just recently announced�its second offering of the year, as well.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Real estate investment trust��Redwood Trust� (NYSE: RWT  ) announced today its third-quarter dividend of $0.28 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past two quarters after raising the payout 12% from $0.25 per share.

Top 10 Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2014: Landmark Bancorp Inc.(LARK)

Landmark Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Landmark National Bank that provides financial products and services to small and medium sized businesses and consumers. The company accepts various deposits, including non-interest bearing demand deposits, savings accounts, money market accounts, NOW accounts, time deposits, and certificates of deposits. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial loans for service, retail, wholesale, and light manufacturing businesses, including agricultural operations; commercial, residential, construction and multi-family real estate loans; and consumer loans that include automobile, boat, home improvement, and home equity loans. The company has main office in Manhattan, Kansas; and 20 branch offices in eastern, central, and southwestern Kansas. Landmark Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Manhattan, Kansas.

Top 5 Financial Stocks To Own For 2014: Merchants Bancshares Inc.(MBVT)

Merchants Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for The Merchants Bank that provides commercial banking products and services in Vermont. The company offers various deposit products, which comprise interest bearing and non-interest bearing checking accounts, money market accounts, club accounts, health savings accounts, and short-term and long-term certificates of deposit, including a flexible CD instrument. It also provides credit programs, such as secured and unsecured installment lending, home equity lines of credit, home mortgages, and credit cards; one-to-four-family residential mortgages, and residential construction and seasonal dwelling mortgages; and consumer loans, such as home improvement and home equity lines of credit, and various personal loans. In addition, Merchants Bancshares offers cash management services, which comprise investment sweep, line of credit sweep, multiple sweep, and funds concentration; and customary check collection service s, wire transfers, safe deposit box rentals, and automated teller machine services, and debit cards. Further, the company provides investment management, financial planning, and trustee services; commercial online banking services; bill payment services; and lock box services, night depository, coin and currency handling, and balance reporting services. As of December 31, 2009, it operated 34 full-service banking offices and 42 automated teller machines in Vermont. The company was founded in 1849 and is headquartered in South Burlington, Vermont.

Top 5 Financial Stocks To Own For 2014: Validus Holdings Ltd.(VR)

Validus Holdings, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and insurance coverage in the property, marine, and specialty lines markets worldwide. The company underwrites property catastrophe reinsurance, property per risk reinsurance, and property pro rata reinsurance products; and reinsurance on marine risks covering damage to or losses of marine vessels and cargo, third-party liability for marine accidents, physical loss, and liability from principally offshore energy properties. It also underwrites specialty lines of business, which include aerospace and aviation, agriculture, terrorism, life, accident and health, financial lines, nuclear, workers? compensation catastrophe, crisis management, political risks and violence, war, and contingency. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in Pembroke, Bermuda.