Top Quality Companies For 2014

General Motors (NYSE: GM  ) has made phenomenal improvements over the past several years. Its vehicles' quality and design have improved, costs have dropped, and management has capitalized on opportunities throughout the world. However, General Motors is still at the mercy of global demand. In this article, we'll determine whether GM is a better investment than its peers.

Regional breakdown

The table below shows GM's wholesale vehicle sales for the second quarters of 2012 and 2013. Wholesale sales data is GM's largest revenue component -- and therefore, its most important:

Sales Region�

2012

2013

North & Central America and the Caribbean

760,000

809,000

Western Europe

Top 10 Safest Companies For 2015: SciQuest Inc.(SQI)

SciQuest, Inc. provides an on-demand strategic procurement and supplier enablement solution worldwide. The company?s solution integrates its customers with their suppliers for automating the source-to-settle process. Its solution include various modules, such as sourcing director, spend director, requisition manager, order manager, settlement manager, supplier contract management and authoring, total supplier manager, supplier diversity manager, and materials management. The company delivers its solutions over the Internet using a software-as-a-service model. It serves higher education, life sciences, healthcare, state and local government entities, and commercial customers through direct sales force. SciQuest, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Cary, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steve Symington]

  What:�Shares of SciQuest, (NASDAQ: SQI  ) plunged 19% Friday after the cloud-based business-automation specialist released�in-line first-quarter results, but followed with disappointing forward guidance.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  A second company that makes enterprise software is SciQuest (SQI), which provides procurements and spending management software on a subscription basis. Unlike one of its chief competitors, which targets everyday supply purchases made by big companies, SciQuest provides automated purchasing to a different segment by focusing on universities, hospitals, local and state governments, etc.

Top Quality Companies For 2014: Bovis Homes Group PLC (BVS)

Bovis Homes Group PLC is a builder of traditional homes in England and Wales. The Company�� business involves the designing, building and selling of new homes for both private and public sector customers. The Company delivers projects such as Land acquisition, Planning, Legal, Design, Surveying, Engineering, Purchasing, Construction, Sales and marketing, Public relations and Customer service. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Bovis Homes Group Plc (BVS) climbed 4 percent to 790 pence. Liberum Capital Ltd. raised its rating on the housebuilder to buy from hold. Persimmon Plc (PSN), the U.K.�� largest residential property developer, gained 2.5 percent to 1,255 pence.

Top Quality Companies For 2014: 22nd Century Group Inc (XXII)

22nd Century Group, Inc. (22nd Century Group), incorporated on September 12, 2005, is a holding company. The Company�� wholly owned subsidiary, 22nd Century Limited, LLC (22nd Century Ltd), which is a plant biotechnology company. The Company�� products include X-22 Smoking Cessation Aid, Modified Risk Cigarettes, BRAND A Cigarettes and BRAND B Cigarettes. On January 25, 2011, 22nd Century Limited, LLC (22nd Century Ltd) completed a reverse merger transaction (the Merger) with 22nd Century Group, and as a result, 22nd Century Ltd became a wholly owned subsidiary of 22nd Century Group, which continues to operate the business of 22nd Century Ltd. the Company�� drug application for X-22 was cleared by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July 2011. The Company�� subsidiary, Goodrich Tobacco Company, LLC (Goodrich Tobacco), had introduced two cigarette brands, RED SUN and MAGIC, into the United States marketed during the year ended December 31, 2011. In December 2013, 22nd Century Group Inc acquired an undisclosed manufacturing facility located in Mocksville, North Carolina. Effective December 11, 2013, 22nd Century Group Inc acquired NASCO Specialty Brands LLC.

X-22 is a tobacco-based botanical medical product for use as a smoking cessation therapy. X-22 is a prescription-only kit consists of very low nicotine (VLN) cigarettes made from its tobacco. The therapy protocol allows the patient to smoke its VLN cigarettes without restriction over the six-week treatment period to facilitate the goal of the patient quitting smoking by the end of the treatment period. In 2011, Biotech Crops were planted in 29 countries on 395 million acres (160 million hectares).

The Company competes with Pfizer Inc., GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Novartis International AG, Reynolds American Inc, Philip Morris USA Inc., Reynolds American Inc., Lorillard Inc., Commonwealth Brands, Inc., Liggett Group LLC, Vector Tobacco Inc., Star Scientific Inc, Philip Morris International Inc., British! American Tobacco, JT International SA, Imperial Tobacco Group PLC and China National Tobacco Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Chromadex Corp (OTCMKTS: CDXC) and 22nd Century Group Inc (OTCBB: XXII) are, one way or the other, focused on natural products and have been getting some extra attention lately. Moreover, one of these stocks have been the subject of a disclosed investor awareness campaign. Keeping that in mind, are these two small cap stocks natural winners for investors? Here is a quick look:

Top Quality Companies For 2014: Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS (GARAN)

Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS (the Bank) is a Turkey-based financial services company. The Bank provides retail, commercial, corporate and small and medium size enterprises (SME) banking, leasing, insurance, asset management and factoring services. Other operation heading under the banking segment include mainly treasury and investment banking activities as well as unallocated income and expense items. It has a network of 822 domestic branches, seven foreign branches, three representative offices abroad and 104 offices. In addition to its branches, the Bank has 100% ownership in three banks each of which is located in Amsterdam, Bucharest and Moscow. The Bank and its affiliates operate principally in Turkey, but also have operations in the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Malta, Luxembourg and Germany. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Julia Leite]

  The Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange National 100 Index climbed from a six-month low. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was ready to listen to the demands of anti-government protesters. The lira strengthened for the first time in three days and bonds gained. Lenders Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS (GARAN) and Akbank T.A.S. added at least 3.2 percent.

• [By Ian Sayson]

  Russia�� Micex Index declined, trimming its weekly gain to 2.5 percent. OAO Mechel, the nation�� biggest producer of coal for steelmakers, slumped 1.7 percent. The Borsa Istanbul National 100 Index sank 2 percent as Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS (GARAN) led losses in lenders. Benchmark gauges in the Czech Republic and Hungary declined at least 1.2 percent.

• [By Halia Pavliva]

  Turkiye Garanti (GARAN) Bankasi AS, the largest Turkish lender by market value, led gains on the Borsa Istanbul National 100 Index, which rose 1.5 percent. Garanti climbed 1.3 percent after slumping 4.1 percent to the lowest level since Sept. 13 yesterday. The government is selling $1.25 billion of five-year Islamic bonds today, according to a person with direct knowledge of the transaction, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

Top Quality Companies For 2014: Capital Bank Financial Corp (CBF)

Capital Bank Financial Corp, formerly North American Financial Holdings, Inc., incorporated in 2009, is a bank holding Company. The Company focuses on creating a regional banking franchise in the southeastern region of the United States through organic growth and acquisitions of other banks. As of March 31, 2011, the Bank operated 82 branches in Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. On July 16, 2010, the Bank acquired approximately $1.2 billion of assets and assumed approximately $960.1 million of deposits of three banks from the federal deposit insurance corporation (FDIC): First National Bank of the South in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Metro Bank of Dade County in Miami, Florida and Turnberry Bank in Aventura, Florida. On September 30, 2010 and January 28, 2011, the Bank consummated controlling investments in TIB Financial and Capital Bank Corp., respectively. The Bank�� products and services included commercial bank business, consumer bank business, Mortgage Banking, and Private Banking, Trust and Investment Management. In October 2012, it acquired Southern Community Financial Corp.

Lending activities

As of March 31, 2011, the Bank�� loans included: Real estate mortgage loans, Commercial and agricultural loans and Home equity loans. Real estate mortgage loans include: Commercial, Residential, and Construction and vacant land. As of March 31, 2011, covered loans were $656.6 million, representing 22.3% of its loan portfolio. As of March 31, 2011, non-covered loans were $2.3 billion, representing 77.6% of its loan portfolio. As of March 31, 2011, loans related to real estate totaled $2.6 billion (or 87% of the Bank�� total loan portfolio). At March 31, 2011, commercial real estate loans in all regions totaled $1.8 billion.

Investment activities

Investment securities represent a major portion of the Bank�� assets. As of March 31, 2011, the Bank�� investment securities included mortgage backed securities, United States government agen! cies, states and political subdivisions, corporate bonds, equity, collateralized debt obligations and foreign government. Of the securities in the portfolio, 94% were rated AAA, and 97% were rated A or higher.

Sources of Funds

As of March 31, 2011, the Bank�� deposits included Non-interest demand deposit accounts, Interest Bearing demand deposit accounts, Savings and Money Market. It also included Customer Time Deposits and Wholesale Time Deposits. At March 31, 2011, total deposits were $3.5 billion of which $3.4 billion (or 97%) were non-brokered deposits and $94.4 million (or 3%) were brokered deposits. At March 31, 2011, the Bank�� core deposits (which are all deposits other than time deposits) consisted of $463.2 million of non-interest checking, $430.7 million of negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, $157.5 million of savings accounts and $456.2 million of money market deposits.

The Bank competes with Bank of America, Wells Fargo, BB&T, First Citizens, Royal Bank of Canada, SunTrust, Regions, FNB United Corp., Toronto-Dominion, Synovus, First Financial, SCBT, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, EverBank, Fifth Third Bancorp, First Horizon, Pinnacle Financial, First South and U.S. Bancorp.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  The year ahead should be a great one for the smaller bank stocks. Larger regionals like Huntington Bancorp (HBAN) and Capital Ban Financial (CBF) have made it clear they intend to grow by acquisition in the years ahead. Banks like First Merit (FMER) and First Merchants (FRME) have done deals in the past year and are open to doing more to increase their market share and footprints. This should be the year the floodgates open and we see the first wave of merger activity in small banks.

Top Quality Companies For 2014: Twitter (TWTR)

Instantly connect to what's most important to you. Follow your friends, experts, favorite celebrities, and breaking news. TechCrunch is a leading technology media property, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups, reviewing new Internet products, and breaking ... Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) was down, falling 9.83 percent to $34.94 on the end of lockup period.

  Commodities
  In commodity news, oil traded up 0.44 percent to $99.92, while gold traded down 0.12 percent to $1,307.70.