Top 5 Asian Stocks To Own Right Now

When a somewhat disappointing report was released on January 23 on China�� private manufacturing sector, investors viewed it as a kind of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie story. Their thinking: ��f China�� growth prospects need reevaluation, then other Asian emerging economies will as well. And if other Asian emerging economies need reevaluation, then other emerging economies may also need it.��/p>See Also: Invest in Emerging Markets With Less Stress

While there is some loose logic in that, because economies are intertwined, the real problem is that such expectations become self-fulfilling prophecies. They trigger a wave of contagion that quickly spreads problems from one country to another. Indeed, the disease analogy is quite apt. In a contagion-type event, the currencies and stock markets of many countries are attacked, just as an outbreak of influenza touches people of all ages, social classes and states of health. But the virus is riskiest and most debilitating where it finds existing problems.

Best Regional Bank Stocks To Watch Right Now: Mears Group PLC (MER)

Mears Group PLC (Mears Group) is a holding company. The principal activities of the Company are the provision of a range of outsourced services to the public and private sectors. The Company operated in three business segments: social housing, which provides a full repair and maintenance service to local authorities and other registered social housing landlords in the United Kingdom; domiciliary care, which provides personal care services to people in their own homes and mechanical and electrical (M&E), which consists of provision of design and build M&E services. The Company�� subsidiaries include Mears Limited, Haydon Mechanical & Electrical Limited, Scion Technical Services Limited, Scion Estates Limited, Jackson Lloyd Limited, Morrison Facilities Services Limited, Morrison Facilities Services Limited, Manchester Working Limited and Mears Home Improvements Limited. Effective August 13, 2013, Mears Group PLC acquired a 50% interest in Just Call 24/7 (UK) Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Heinzl]

  If you're uncomfortable picking individual preferred shares, a diversified exchange-traded fund, such as CPD can be a good option. The fund, which has about $1.4-billion under management, holds more than 200 preferred shares, with banks and insurance companies accounting for more than half of the assets. The fund has a management expense ratio (MER) of 0.5%.

Top 5 Asian Stocks To Own Right Now: SABMiller PLC (SBMRY)

SABMiller plc, incorporated on March 17, 1998, is a holding company, which has brewing and beverage interests across six continents. The Company together with its subsidiaries is engaged in the manufacture, distribution and sale of beverages. The Company is a brewer with more than 200 beer brands. The Company�� portfolio of brands includes international beers, such as Pilsner Urquell, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Miller Genuine Draft and Grolsch, as well as local brands, such as Aguila, Castle, Miller Lite, Snow, Tyskie and Victoria Bitter. It is a bottler for the Coca-Cola Company in Africa and Central America. It operates in Latin America, Europe, North America, Africa, Asia Pacific, and South Africa.

Latin America

The Company�� primary brewing and beverage operations cover six countries across South and Central America (Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and Peru). The Company is brewer in Argentina, and it exports to Bolivia, Chile and Paraguay. It bottles soft drinks for The Coca-Cola Company in El Salvador and Honduras, and for Pepsico International in Panama.

Europe

The Company�� primary brewing operations cover eight countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain (Canary Islands) and the Netherlands. A further 16 countries, including Russia, Turkey and the Ukraine are covered in a strategic alliance with Anadolu Efes through brewing, soft drinks or export operations. The Company exports volumes to a further seven European markets, of which the largest are the United Kingdom and Germany.

North America

The Company�� North America segment includes its 58% owned MillerCoors and 100% of Miller Brewing International and the its North American holding companies. The Company�� wholly owned Miller Brewing International business is based in Milwaukee, the United States and exports its brands to Canada and Mexico and throughout the Americas.

Africa

The Compa! ny�� brewing and beverage operations in Africa cover 15 countries. A further 21 are covered through a strategic alliance with the Castel group and it also has an associated undertaking in Zimbabwe. The Company bottles soft drinks for The Coca-Cola Company in 20 of its African markets (in alliance with Castel in 14 of these markets).

Asia Pacific

The Company�� partners with China Resources Enterprise, Limited in China. The Company is engaged in brewing business in India. The Company has operation in Vietnam and it exports to various markets, including South Korea and Singapore.

South Africa

The Company�� South African Breweries (Pty) Ltd (SAB) is South Africa�� producer and distributor of lager and soft drinks. It also exports brands for distribution across Namibia. Its soft drinks division is bottler of products for The Coca-Cola Company. The Company has hotel and gaming interests through its associate, Tsogo Sun Holdings Ltd, a hotel and gaming group in South Africa.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brianna Valleskey]

  As Theron pointed out, many companies that are big global players also have South African roots, including SABMiller (OTC: SBMRY), Compagnie Financière Richemont (OTC: CFRUY) and BHP Billiton Limited (NYSE: BHP).

• [By Roland Head]

  Luckily, there is another way. The FTSE 100 contains a number of companies whose earnings come from these countries. Two great examples are Diageo (LSE: DGE  ) (NYSE: DEO  ) and SABMiller (LSE: SAB  ) (NASDAQOTH: SBMRY  ) , which sell spirits and beer, respectively, and have global operations providing exactly the kind of emerging-market exposure I'm looking for.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Trying to tap into that market would be a difficult task for anyone, even for�SABMiller� (NASDAQOTH: SBMRY  ) ,�the world's second largest brewer, which is why it undoubtedly figured that by hooking up with Canada's biggest operator, Molson Coors� (NYSE: TAP  ) , with 39% of the beer market, it would have an easier time of getting better distribution. Their MillerCoors joint venture was created in 2007 and mainly distributes beer in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, but it also allows Molson to market and distribute certain Miller brands in Canada.

• [By Barry James]

  LONDON -- In its final results for the year to March 31, SABMiller (LSE: SAB  ) (NASDAQOTH: SBMRY  ) , the global beverage-brewer and bottler with more than 200 beer brands and Coca-Cola bottling operations, saw group revenue increase by 10% to $34.5 billion and EBITA rise 14% to $6.4 billion, while pre-tax profit fell 16% to $4.7 billion.

Top 5 Asian Stocks To Own Right Now: M&T Bank Corporation (MTB)

M&T Bank Corporation operates as the holding company for M&T Bank and M&T Bank, National Association that provide commercial and retail banking services to individuals, corporations and other businesses, and institutions. It offers business loans and leases; business credit cards; deposit products, such as demand, savings, and time accounts; and financial services, including cash management, payroll and direct deposit, merchant credit card, and letters of credit. The company also provides residential real estate loans; multifamily commercial real estate loans; commercial real estate loans; one-to-four family residential mortgage loans; investment and trading securities; short-term and long-term borrowed funds; brokered certificates of deposit and interest rate swap agreements related thereto; and branch deposits. In addition, it offers foreign exchange, as well as asset management services. Further, the company provides consumer loans, and commercial loans and leases; cred it life, and accident and health reinsurance; and securities brokerage, investment advisory, and insurance agency services. As of December 31, 2009, it had 738 banking offices in New York State, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia; a commercial banking office in Ontario, Canada; and an office in George Town, Cayman Islands. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Buffalo, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  Credit Suisse announced on Friday that it has downgraded financial services company M&T Bank Corporation (MTB).

  The firm has cut its rating on MTB from “Outperform” to “Neutral” due to a valuation call. Credit Suisse currently has a $122 price target on MTB, which suggests a 5% increase from the stock’s current price of $115.91.

  M&T Bank shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Friday. The stock is up 18% YTD.

Top 5 Asian Stocks To Own Right Now: Pacific Drilling SA (PACD)

Pacific Drilling S.A., incorporated on March 22, 2011, is an international offshore drilling Company. The Company is a provider of ultra-deepwater drilling services to the oil and natural gas industry through the use of high-specification drilling rigs. The Company�� primary business is to contract its ultra-deepwater drilling rigs, related equipment and work crews, primarily on a dayrate basis, to drill wells for its customers. The Company is primarily focused on the ultra-deepwater market. The Company generally consider ultra-deepwater to begin at water depths of more than 7,500 feet and to extend to the maximum water depths, in which rigs are capable of drilling, which is approximately 12,000 feet.

The Company operates four drillships and has four drillships under construction, two of which are under customer contract. In connection with the Restructuring, the Company�� Predecessor was contributed to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company by a subsidiary of Quantum Pacific International Limited.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  Management recently announced a hefty 50% hike in its quarterly dividend to 37.5 cents per share of NE stock. And with a 4.8% dividend yield, NE stock is now one of the best-paying dividend stocks in the energy sector.

  Dividend Stocks To Buy #5 — Pacific Drilling (PACD)

  Estimated Dividend Yield: 6.5%

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  On the surface, offshore drilling stocks appear inexpensive with multiples at the low end of historical ranges and many stocks trading below book values. While contrarian and deep value players are beginning to nibble, we believe the offshore floating rig companies are still in the early innings of a cyclical downturn in utilization and dayrates. After a decade of good times, the deepwater drilling rig market is facing a multiyear down-cycle. Historically, most offshore drilling cycles have been short-lived as there have usually been sudden demand shocks that tend to self correct relatively quickly. This time, it is more of a new rig supply problem compounded by a moderation in offshore spending from the suddenly ��eturn driven��multinational major oil companies. That means this down-cycle should be more drawn out than usual. Specifically, we think the downturn will take about three years to play out with average floater day-rates falling about 25% with over 60 floating rigs needing to be stacked (either warm stacked or cold stacked). More importantly for investors, we think consensus 2016 floater estimates (on average) are still about 25% too high. Put another way, earnings multiples are not as attractive as some now think, in our view. Obviously, the lower-end, older floating assets will be hit the hardest. While everyone loses in this environment, we are more comfortable in owning companies with higher-quality assets that also carry higher floater contract coverage, as we expect this to provide relative safety during this downturn. Specifically, we relatively favor Ocean Rig UDW (ORIG), Pacific Drilling (PACD), and Rowan, given their high-specification exposure. Of course, this downturn is not limited to the floater side of the offshore arena. Next week, we will detail our expectations for the timing and magnitude of the utilization and dayrate declines for the offshore jackup space.