5 Best Regional Bank Stocks For 2015

Almost by stealth, there's a group of stocks that have put up strong numbers in November and for the year -- even while many people profess to, well, hate them. We're talking banks.

Big banks are doing splendidly. Regional banks are doing even better. If interest rates start to rise -- a question of when, not if -- bank and financial services stocks should do even better. Plus, the regional banks are lovely takeover candidates.

In other words, if banks stocks do well in the coming months, they will give support to the stock market rally.

The winners so far include JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), which is the top performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, up 11.5 percent for the month.

Top 5 Wireless Telecom Companies To Watch For 2016: Vanguard Consumer Staples Etf (VDC)

Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (the Fund), formerly known as Vanguard Consumer Staples VIPERs, is an exchange-traded share class of Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund. The Fund employs a passive management or indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) US Investable Market Consumer Staples Index (the Index). The Index is an index of stocks of large, medium and small United States companies in the consumer staples sector, as classified under the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS). This GICS sector is made up of companies whose businesses are less sensitive to economic cycles. It includes manufacturers and distributors of food, beverages and tobacco, as well as producers of non-durable household goods and personal products. It also includes food and drug retailing companies, as well as hypermarkets and consumer supercenters.

The Fund attempts to replicate the Index by investing all, or substantially all, of its assets in the stocks that make up the Index, holding each stock in approximately the same proportion as its weighting in the Index. The Fund also may sample its target Index by holding stocks that, in the aggregate, are intended to approximate the Index in terms of key characteristics, such as price/earnings ratio, earnings growth and dividend yield.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Versace, Editor, PowerTrend Brief and PowerTrend Profits]

  That, to me, says they're going to favor inelastic goods over elastic ones, so when you think of the things that we need each and every day, toilet paper, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, household cleansers, that sort of thing, that's what brings me into (XLP) and (VDC).

5 Best Regional Bank Stocks For 2015: Turkish Investment Fund Inc (TKF)

The Turkish Investment Fund, Inc. (the Fund), incorporated on September 27, 1988, is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Fund�� investment objective is long-term capital appreciation through investments primarily in equity securities of Turkish corporations. Its portfolio includes Turkish common stocks and short-term investments.

The Fund invests in industries, such as automobiles, beverages, commercial banks, construction materials, diversified financial services, real estate and wireless telecommunication services. The Fund�� investment advisor and administrator is Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Liquidity can be an even bigger concern among alternatives to ETFs. The closed-end Turkish Investment Fund (NYSE: TKF  ) has been even more volatile than the Turkish stock market, as the limited availability of closed-end fund shares produces even greater disparities between net asset value and share price. Yesterday, the Turkish closed-end traded at a 13% discount to net asset value, but that discount has moved in a wide range between 6% and 15% at various points during the past year, with some of the biggest discounts coming on days of heightened activity among protesters.

5 Best Regional Bank Stocks For 2015: Franklin Street Properties Corp. (FSP)

Franklin Street Properties Corp. provides real estate and investment banking/investment services in the United States. The company�s Real Estate Operations segment involves in real estate rental operations, leasing, and secured financing of real estate for interim acquisition or other property financing, as well as provides asset management, property management, property acquisitions, dispositions, and development. As of December 31, 2008, it owned and operated a portfolio of 29 real estate properties, which include 28 office buildings and 1 industrial use property. The company�s Investment Banking/Investment Services segment involves in the structuring of real estate investments and broker/dealer services that include the organization of Sponsored real estate investment trusts (REITs), the acquisition and development of real estate on behalf of Sponsored REITs, and the raising of capital to equitize the Sponsored REITs through sale of preferred stock in private placemen ts. This segment offers investment banking/investment services primarily to institutions and high net-worth individuals. The company has elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. As a REIT, it would not be subject to federal income tax, provided it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders. Franklin Street Properties Corp. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By , DividendChannel.com]

  So when stocks turn up that see insider buying, and are also top ranked, investors are wise to take notice. One such company is Franklin Street Properties (FSP), which saw buying by Director John N. Burke.

• [By Lawrence Meyers]

  I would consider BLE stock a somewhat risky choice, but not as crazy risky a full-on junk bond portfolio. It�� well-diversified, trades at $14 and certainly is a high-yield qualifier at roughly 7% annually.

  High-Yield Stocks: Franklin Street Properties (FSP)

  FSP Dividend Yield: 6.1%

5 Best Regional Bank Stocks For 2015: (TELNY)

Telenor ASA operates as a telecommunication company worldwide. It provides mobile communication, fixed line communication, and television (TV)-based services. The company?s mobile communication services include voice, data, Internet, content, and electronic commerce services, as well as customer equipment, such as telephone sets, mobile phones, smart phones, computers, and PABX?s. Its fixed line services comprise analogue PSTN, digital ISDN, broadband telephony, xDSL, Internet, and leased lines, as well as communication solutions. The company?s TV-based services consist of pay-TV services via satellite dish, cable TV-networks, satellite master antenna TV-networks systems, broadband access services to cable TV-subscribers, and broadcasting rights, as well as security solutions to pay-TV operators. It also provides consulting and information technology services; maritime and aircraft telecommunications services; Internet protocol services; and mobile marketing agency service s, as well as manages two funds. The company has approximately 120 million mobile subscriptions. Telenor ASA was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in Fornebu, Norway.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Charles Sizemore]

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  European Dividend Stocks to Buy: Telenor ASA (TELNY)

  Dividend Yield: 5.3%

  Norwegian telecom operator Telenor (TELNY) has exactly what I like to see in ��merging markets lite��dividend stocks. It�� headquartered in a well-regulated European market, and it has a large-enough market presence in developed markets to provide a level of stability. Norway accounts for 24% of revenues, with other European markets (primarily Sweden and Denmark, though Telenor has significant operations in Hungary, Serbia. Montenegro and Bulgaria as well) making up another 24%.