Facebook, Salesforce: Why AllianzGI Fund Likes Them

Like many fund families, Allianz Global Investors has an army of analysts. Allianz also has a survey division that helps managers decide how to invest in stocks.

That's one reason a portfolio like $489 million AllianzGI Focused Growth Fund is still comfortable with Facebook (FB).

The social networking platform, which went public in May 2012 at 38, now trades around 26. Investors question its ability to shift to mobile advertising from desktop computers. And the media have mocked the company's pratfalls, says Focused Growth lead manager Scott Migliori.

But Allianz's latest survey of Facebook users, a month ago, found many are enthusiastic about features such as its photo-sharing app Instagram. "Instagram is a hidden asset," Migliori said. "It's getting traction with new video feeds."

Insights like that give the fund conviction in its Facebook stake. The fund boosted its position 3% in June to over 686,000 shares. The stock is up 16% from its June 6 low vs. about 8% for the S&P 500.

Migliori's team has run the fund since Sept. 24. The biggest change it made was to make the fund more concentrated.

The fund has 37 stocks, about the midpoint of its range of 25 to 45. Previously the fund typically held 50 stocks.

When volatility drops and the market is poised to rise, the fund wants to be more focused. The fund is likely to expand its portfolio soon. "We're close to where volatility is likely to rise," Migliori said.

Tech Trims

The fund's biggest sector is technology. Its 26% weighting as of June 30 topped the 24% average for large-cap funds tracked by Morningstar Inc. and 17% in the S&P 500.

The fund's biggest tech holdings are Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOG) and Facebook.

The fund has pared its Microsoft and Google positions since January. "Both have had good runs," Migliori said. "We took profits and reallocated to other areas."

The fund sold the last of its Oracle (ORCL) stock in June after two months of trims. The analytics software maker's Q4 earnings fell 2% as the company reported its sales fell short of analysts' expectations.

"Oracle has been negatively impacted by cloud pure plays like Salesforce.com (CRM) and WorkDay (WDAY)," Migliori said. "So Oracle's fundamentals are not progressing."

The fund also owns Salesforce.com. The fund began its current stake in February. It boosted its position in June to nearly 309,000 shares, up 26% from May.

Stock in the enterprise software company has regained roughly half of what it lost in a sell-off that began in late May when it gave guidance that just missed views and released Q1 earnings that just met expectations.

The fund upped its stake in Biogen Idec (BIIB) by 57% in June. Biogen bought an interest in multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri. Migliori expects the deal to be accretive to Biogen earnings.

He also likes MS drug Tecfidera despite some investors' concerns about Biogen's ability to win patent protection in Europe.

The fund was up 16.59% this year going into Monday vs. 16.94% for its large-cap growth rivals tracked by Morningstar Inc. and 19.16% for the S&P 500. Over the past three years its average annual return is 17.01% vs. 16.81% for its peer group and 18.44% for the S&P 500.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/external/investors/rss/SIG=1311fkhmm/*http%3A//news.investors.com/article/663773/071513/surveys-help-allianzgi-fund-choose-its-buys.htm?ven=yahoocp&ven=yahoo

Asteroid 2012 DA14 Reeva Steenkamp rubio Affenpinscher Dorner Banana Joe state of the union

Japanese auto companies eye Indonesia and India

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.arabnews.com/node/458130

Preakness results justin bieber John Hurt taylor swift taylor swift Candice Glover Warriors

Parent of firm planning state jobs under scrutiny

LONDON ? The parent company of Serco Inc. ? the firm with plans to employ as many as 1,000 people in Northwest Arkansas ? is being investigated by British government auditors who say Serco Group PLC and security company G4S overcharged on contracts to monitor offenders ordered to wear electronic monitoring devices.

---

Subscribers must LOG-IN to read this full story.
Monthly and yearly online subscriptions are available. Access is free for print subscribers. Click here to see rates and register.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 07/13/2013

Source: http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2013/jul/13/parent-firm-planning-state-jobs-under-scr-20130713/

utah jazz lawrence of arabia denver nuggets new jersey devils torn acl derrick rose injury st louis news

Italian senator likens black minister to orangutan

ROME (AP) ? Premier Enrico Letta has harshly criticized a top Italian senator who likened the country's first black Cabinet minister to an orangutan, the latest episode of high-profile racial tension in a nation grappling with immigration.

In a statement Sunday, Letta denounced Roberto Calderoli's words as "unacceptable" and "beyond every limit."

Calderoli, the Senate's vice president and a leader of the anti-immigrant Northern League party, made denigrating remarks about Immigration Minister Cecile Kyenge while he was speaking at a party rally Saturday in northern Italy, the populist movement's power base.

"When I see images of Kyenge I cannot help think, even if I don't say that she is one, of a resemblance to an orangutan," Corriere della Sera newspaper quoted Calderoli as saying. On Sunday, Calderoli said he was making a joke, and meant no offense to the minister.

Kyenge is a Congolese-born doctor who became Italy's first black minister when Letta's Cabinet was sworn in in April. Reactions to her appointment have added to political tensions in Italy this summer, and Letta's coalition government, which faces economic and other pressures, is extremely fragile.

Calderoli told the rally that Kyenge has done well to become a minister, but "perhaps she should do it in her own country." He further was quoted as saying she "makes so many clandestine migrants who come here dream" that they will find "America" in Italy.

The Northern League isn't in the government but has long been the closest political ally of former Premier Silvio Berlusconi's center-right party, which is Letta's main partner in the coalition government. Calderoli's remarks sparked calls for him to resign, including from one of Kyenge's fellow ministers, Gianpiero D'Alia.

D'Alia, a centrist who serves as Letta's public administration minister, told Sky TG24 that Calderoli's comments recalled the "language of the Ku Klux Klan," the U.S.-based white supremacist movement.

Kyenge said politicians should take the occasion to "reflect on what kind of debate they want ... about content or about insults."

Last month, Kyenge, who has lived in Italy since 1983, received death threats before she visited the northern region that is Calderoli's party base. The xenophobic Northern League expelled a local politician after she suggested on Facebook that someone should rape Kyenge so she "can understand what victims of atrocious crimes feel." The League's leaders blame immigrants for violent crime in Italy.

Northern League secretary Matteo Salvini said Calderoli 's orangutan remark was a "shocking wisecrack, an out-of-line" comment.

Kyenge has in the past said that such racism is really directed at all Italians, not just her.

Immigration is a relatively new phenomenon in Italy, where past centuries saw many Italians leave in search of work in North and South America and Australia.

Kyenge, interviewed by Sky, said Italy needs to develop a culture against racism.

She said racism "is about hate, the fear of what's different."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italian-senator-likens-black-minister-orangutan-140226347.html

fourth of july American flag Happy 4th of July Laura Elizabeth Whitehurst al jazeera Armie Hammer Aaryn Gries

Boycott Florida

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Source: www.olddominionblogs.com --- Sunday, July 14, 2013
Posted at The Richmonder - Read more: Boycott Florida ...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OldDominionBlogs/~3/m7IKFDRiX9E/

Carnival Triumph charles barkley valentines valentines day George Ferris happy valentines day all star game

An injured Mariah Carey performs at MLB-Sandy show

NEW YORK (AP) ? Mariah Carey has a new accessory: the stylish sling supporting her injured shoulder.

The pop diva performed in a fashionable sling that matched her shimmering white dress on Central Park's Great Lawn on Saturday night for the 2013 MLB All-Star Charity Concert. It was for the benefit of Superstorm Sandy victims.

She asked the crowd: "We like it?"

The 43-year-old went to the hospital Sunday after dislocating her shoulder while filming a music video. She told the crowd Saturday she "was in a tiny bit of pain, but I'm OK."

Carey performed four songs ? which sounded live ? with the New York Philharmonic. Her recent performances at the BET Awards and on "American Idol" have been criticized as Carey appeared to lip sync. She kicked off the four-song concert with "My All" ? full of breathy riffs ? and added a white fur to her sling when she sang "Looking In."

"I'm not in the best of health," she said. "I'm filming this for my own self for incredible laughs."

Carey added that she was humbled to perform at a benefit for Sandy victims. Major League Baseball made a $1 million donation for Sandy relief efforts.

The singer appeared in a black dress when she returned to perform two songs; she also had a feathery black sling to match her outfit.

Randy Jackson played guitar when Carey sang "#Beautiful" and a choir joined the singer when she closed her set with "Hero."

The wife and daughter of MLB legend Jackie Robinson, Rachel and Sharon Robinson, were in the crowd Saturday and earned a roaring cheer from the crowd.

____

Online:

http://mariahcarey.com/

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2013/charity_concert.jsp

____

Follow Mesfin Fekadu on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MusicMesfin

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/injured-mariah-carey-performs-mlb-sandy-show-030009020.html

windows 8 preview leap year moratorium dwts season 14 cast leap day michigan primary results olympia snowe

Caterpillars attracted to plant SOS

July 1, 2013 ? Plants that emit an airborne distress signal in response to herbivory may actually attract more enemies, according to a new study published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Plant Science .

A team of researchers from Switzerland found that the odor released by maize plants under attack by insects attract not only parasitic wasps, which prey on herbivorous insects, but also caterpillars of the Egyptian cotton leafworm moth Spodoptera littoralis, a species that feeds on maize leaves.

When damaged, many plants release hydrocarbons called volatile organic compounds, similar to the compounds that cause the characteristic smell of freshly cut grass. These volatile organic compounds are known to be attractive to parasitoid wasps that lay their eggs inside other insects, killing them. Plants appear to use this strategy to fight back against herbivorous insects by calling for their enemies' enemies. In contrast, herbivorous insects tend to avoid the herbivore-induced volatile organic compounds.

"Adult moths and butterflies avoid food plants that are under attack by conspecifics. This seems adaptive, because it reduces both competition and the risk of predation by parasitoids. But we found that S. littoralis caterpillars are actually attracted to the odor of damaged maize plants, even when this odor is mimicked in the laboratory with a mix of synthetic compounds," said Prof. Ted Turlings, an author of the study and head of the Laboratory for Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology Institute of Biology at the University of Neuch?tel, Switzerland.

To determine what kind of odors the caterpillars preferred, the researchers let the caterpillars chose among several odors by placing them in an olfactometer, a device consisting of four tubes connected to a central chamber, with each tube introducing an airflow carrying a different odor. The caterpillars were more than twice as likely to crawl towards the odor from maize plants under attack by conspecifics than towards undamaged plants, especially if the damage was recent and the caterpillars had already fed on maize.

So what might be the advantage to the caterpillars of moving towards plants that are already infested? "When S. littoralis caterpillars drop from a plant they are highly vulnerable to predators and pathogens in the soil, as well as to starvation. The advantage seems to be that fallen caterpillars can quickly rediscover the plant on which they fed. The caterpillars feed less and move more when exposed to high concentrations of the volatiles. By moving away from freshly damaged sites, they can minimize risk of predation and avoid competition," explained Prof. Turling.

Turlings and colleagues propose that hungry S. littoralis caterpillars do the best of a bad job by moving towards volatile organic compounds released by damaged maize plants. On these plants the competition may be more intense, but at least the caterpillars are assured of a suitable plant. Adult moths, on the other hand, are much more mobile and take little risk exploring the environment to discover the best food source -- so they avoid maize that is already under attack.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/705wA7hAnIw/130701135820.htm

tupac back tax deadline death race buffet rule carlos santana dodgers triple play baa