Popular on the Street:Utilities Select Sector SPDR

The Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF had a 12-month yield of 3.43% as of this morning.To have a good single digit compound rate of return is a very nice thing to have in a portfolio,said David Kotok,founder,chairman and CIO of Cumberland Asset Management.Cumberland has the etf in its managed portfolios.The fund is insulated from central bank moves and other overseas problems,consisting of mostly domestic electric utilities,with some natural gas,Mr.Kotok,who has a BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business,pointed out.*
Morningstar Associates gives the Utilities Select etf five stars out of five.It is a strong,appealing option for investors who want broad exposure to defensive,high-yielding US utilities companies,Morningstar says.It also gives the etf a sustainability rating of three for average.This rating judges how well the companies in etf portfolios are managing the environmental,social and governance issues relevant to their industries.
The top five holdings of the Utilities Select etf are:
1.NextEra Energy Inc;
2.Duke Energy Corp;
3.Southern Co;
4.Dominion Resources Inc;
5.Exelon Corp. *
Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU)

Market Prospects December 2014

Jefferies and Company says that generic drugmaker Mylan Labs is the most likely Pfizer takeover target.Pfizer,the world's largest drug company,is also rated a buy by Jefferies.*
Gold has really been pressured by the rising dollar and falling inflation expectations,said Ari Wald,CFA,CMT,executive director and market technician with Oppenheimer&Co.'s Portfolio Strategy Team.The setup is actually there to turn lower again.I'd be selling here for the next few months,Mr.Wald advised.*
The Alpine Global Infrastructure Fund has a five star rating by Morningstar Associates.In the developed markets,the infrastructure is aging;while in the emerging markets,infrastructure is being built for the first time.Canadian Pacific is one of the fund's holdings because the transport of crude oil by rail is growing.Rail allows a flexibility to go to different refineries;while pipelines are point to point.When real inflation rises,that would be the risk to owning shares of Canadian Pacific,said Joshua Duitz,CPA,co-portfolio manager at Alpine Woods Investments LLC.
Social infrastructure firms such as prison outsourcers like Geo Group are also owned by the fund.Geo has 77,000 beds and 6,000 vacancies.*
Mylan Labs(MYL),Pfizer(PFE),Canadian Pacific(CP),The Geo Group Inc(GEO),Alpine Global Infrastructure Fund(AIFRX)

Should You Invest in the Wintergreen Fund

The direction in the West is improving.People are beginning to buy,said David J.Winters of Wintergreen Advisers LLC in Mountain Lakes,New Jersey.We still believe the future of the world is in the Asia Pacific.
We own a lot of Berkshire Hathaway BRK b shares.
The public are still hiding under their desks.They haven't gone back to the equity market.At some point,the bond markets are gonna go up and people will get crushed.People are still scared,both companies and individuals.
The US is a mature economy with lots of debt,unlike Asia.The EU in general is in deep,deep trouble and we just don't want to play because it's too hard.We love companies with no debt-you don't have a lot of risk.
Hong Kong is one of the great,great places.
David J.Winters manages the Wintergreen Fund,a global value mutual fund with much of the flexibility of a low risk hedge fund.It is #23 out of 287 World Stock funds as rated by US News.Morningstar Associates gives it four out of five stars.
The Wintergreen Fund has returned 13.26% over one year;and 4.85% over five years.Its expense ratio is 1.89%,which is considered Above Average in its category.In Mornngstar's opinion,however,the fund is Below Average in risk.
Wintergreen Fund(WGRNX)