Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: In the absence of any significant positive news, shares of ChinaCache International Holdings, Ltd. rose another 20% Wednesday.

So what: Shares are have jumped more than 40% over the past two days alone, and today's move came on more than twice ChinaCache's average volume. Even so, remember these kinds of wide swings aren't entirely uncommon as large market players step into and out of small companies like ChinaCache, the entire market capitalization for which still stands under $500 million after the pop.

On that note, ChinaCache did announce a "memorandum of understanding" with Server Farm Realty last Thursday, through which the two companies will collaborate on helping multinational businesses host their cloud services in China. That could be great news for ChinaCache, which is working hard to position itself at the forefront of developing the country's fast-growing data center industry.

Now what: However, I still think investors should tread lightly here, and prefer to let the dust settle a bit before making any long-term decisions. As it stands, I'm perfectly happy waiting for more color on its progress toward sustained profitability when the company reports fourth quarter results on March 12.

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of SM Energy fell as much as 19% after reporting and being downgraded by an analyst.

So what: Financial results from the fourth quarter showed a 46% increase in proved reserves to 428.7 million barrels of oil equivalent, or MMBOE, and adjusted fourth-quarter net income of $85.9 million, or $1.26 per share. The problem is that analysts were expecting $1.46 per share in earnings and that led KeyBlanc to lower its rating to hold and remove its price target.  

Now what: What's concerning analysts and investors is potentially higher costs in Eagle Ford resulting from longer lateral length drilling, which increases costs. That's a concern but consider that shares still trade at just 13 times forward estimates and the growth and cost cutting that SM Energy has in place has it on the right path. Rising energy prices will also help profits going forward, so I think there's more positive here than negative, and today presents a real buying opportunity.

Some six weeks into the new year, 2014 has seen its fair share of ups and downs for technology superpower Apple .

Apple disappointed investors with its first earnings report of the year late last month. However, new product rumors and some savvy buying of its own shares have helped buoy investor confidence in the past few weeks.

Bar none, the single most important question facing Apple is how the company intends to continue to grow as the global smartphone and tablet markets mature, especially at the higher end of these markets where Apple operates.

Apple is on the record saying it will introduce at least one new product this year, and many expect the oft-discussed iWatch to be among the most likely candidates in Apple's potential product pipeline. And if that's indeed the case, Apple should be shaking in its boots, at least according to one source.

The company Apple should fear most
Reading over the weekend, I came across an interesting pice from Wired, a publication I generally respect, discussing the one start-up Apple should fear the most.

In the article, Wired staff writer Marcus Wohlsen makes the case that the start-up best suited to disrupt Apple's future efforts is none other than Jawbone, the consumer audio and wearable start-up. 

Source: Jawbone.

Going by the article's logic, Jawbone presents such an imminent threat to Apple for a number of reasons. For starters, Wohlsen notes that each time Jawbone has raised venture capital money, it has preceded a push on its part into a new space, and that its recently closed $250 million round of funding is likely no different. A more advanced smartwatch or wearable sensors placed in actual clothing are the two specific advancements Wohlsen cites as most likely.

Like Apple, Wohlsen goes on to note that Jawbone places design at the core of every product it makes, and that its devices, notably its Up smartband, which has helped establish an early foothold for Jawbone in the wearable tech category. By moving quickly into the smart wearables space, Wohlsen believes Jawbone now faces a key advantage over Apple's still unreleased iWatch.

Source: Jawbone.

Wolhsen concludes that either Apple will be forced to buy Jawbone outright, or either rival Google could snatch up Jawbone, or Jawbone could simply grow organically into a dominant force in the wearables space. Either way, the end result in this article is certainly negative for Apple.

Why I'm not buying it
To be sure, the article raises a number of worthy points. At the same time, though, I disagree with some of the author's thinking.

To be sure, Jawbone is a major threat. It's no secret that wearables, and connected devices in general, will likely be the next big thing in tech, and Jawbone is obviously well suited to benefit from the category's growth as a whole. Moreover, the author's also right in noting that Jawbone's design expertise should only help it as wearables shift from the wrist to other highly stylized areas like clothing.

But at the same time, the article makes it sound like Jawbone has beaten Apple as the wearables category is still unfolding, and that simply isn't the case.

How Apple enters markets
By now, anyone watching the tech space should hopefully have a firm grasp on Apple's tightly controlled approach to new products.

The company will build massive product teams and toil away for years in secret to develop a device it believes will revolutionize a given space before it will ever see the light of day. It's all part of Apple's tendency to want to control every aspect of the user experience, a key tenet of Steve Jobs' business philosophy.

Few doubt that Apple has some type of wearable in development. According to reports, Apple has been steadily snapping up small companies and hiring personnel with expertise in biometrics and biosensors. This supports the notion that Apple's iWatch could make huge strides with capabilities like non-invasive blood sugar and blood pressure monitoring, light years ahead of the current technologies offered by today's wearables. Likewise, rumors of possible solar or NFC charging paint the iWatch as being markedly superior to today's crop of smart wearables. 

So, given Apple's demonstrated preference to only release a product that infuses a host of new capabilities into a category, the argument that Jawbone presents so serious a threat to Apple seems premature.

Apple's biggest competitor remains the same
While Jawbone is certainly worth worrying about, the company most likely to compete with Apple in wearables is its current chief rival, Google .

With its recent $3.2 billion acquisition of smart thermostat start-up Nest Labs, Google has signaled it plans to make a major push into the Internet of Things, just like Apple. 

That fact alone should be enough to concern Apple investors. But there are other reasons to worry about Google's push toward further connected devices. In smartphones and tablets, Google has shown a strong dedication toward keeping its software as open as possible, a preference that would likely extend to connected devices. Equally worrisome, the $58 billion of cash and equivalents Google had on its balance sheet at the end of last quarter give it the dry powder to buy its way into virtually any market it deems interesting.

Apple is one of the most profitable companies on the face of the earth, and should remain so, so who's to say it's investors need to be losing sleep?

But if there is a company that should have Apple investors counting sheep, maybe it's an established powerhouse like Google they should be focusing on instead of an unproven upstart like Jawbone.

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over daily movements, we do like to keep an eye on market changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

Stocks suffered a midday reversal of fortune Wednesday, as early gains gave way to losses after comments from Fed officials and the latest minutes of the Fed's Open Market Committee quashed hopes for a slower withdrawal of quantitative easing. Yet even with major-market benchmarks falling 0.5% to 1% today, Signet Jewelers , Garmin , and Zebra Technologies defied the market's downtrend and rose substantially.

Signet Jewelers jumped 18% after announcing that it would buy jewelry rival Zale in a $690 million transaction. Signet, which is the company behind the Kay Jewelers brand, said that it would buy Zale for $21 per share, or about 40% above its closing price Tuesday. Both chains will continue to operate under their respective names. With the jewelry industry having enjoyed strong sales recently, a Signet-Zale combination should be in even better position to take advantage, especially with gold and silver prices at depressed levels.

Garmin gained almost 10% as the GPS specialist announced earnings for the fourth quarter. Even as many analysts have been concerned about the company's future potential in light of readily available GPS apps on popular smartphones, Garmin has made the most of specialty areas like fitness and aviation. Growth in non-automotive areas was almost enough to outweigh falling auto and mobile revenue, and earnings growth of 12% also came in stronger than investors had expected. Finally, Garmin raised its dividend by almost 7%, adding to the stock's already attractive 4% yield.

Zebra Technologies rose 14% on record revenue and net income for the quarter. The company's combination of RFID and real-time location services are intended to help customers keep track of their goods, and the rising trend toward the Internet of Things is definitely playing a substantial role in Zebra's future strategy. With positive guidance for the current quarter as well, Zebra appears to be making the right moves to take full advantage of technological innovation and applying it to the needs of its customers.

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of drilling-services company Nabors Industries  jumped as much as 14% today after reporting earnings.

So what: Fourth-quarter revenue was up slightly to $1.61 billion, topping estimates of $1.55 billion from Wall Street. Net income from continuing operations was down slightly to $128.5 million, or $0.42 per share, but was well ahead of the $0.20 estimate.  

Now what: The bottom line was helped by $0.16 per share in tax benefits, but even after taking that out, the results were impressive. Management also expects results to pick up in 2014, starting in the second quarter. Both international and domestic businesses look strong given rising commodity prices. Considering that shares trade at only 14 times forward estimates, which were low last quarter, I think there's room to run, especially if commodity prices remain high.

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of drilling rig owner Ocean Rig UDW Inc. jumped as much as 10% today after reporting earnings.

So what: Fourth-quarter 2013 revenue jumped 50% to $345.5 million, and the company swung from a loss to net income of $39.7 million, or $0.30 per share. Analysts were only expecting $0.16 per share in earnings, so performance was well above what investors had already priced in. 

Now what: The ultra-deepwater market that Ocean Rig has invested in continues to perform well, and the fleet operated with a 95.8% utilization rate. The momentum should continue this year with a new drillship coming in March, and two more in 2015. I'm leery of any company run by Ceorge Economou, who has a history of questionable shareholder capital allocation, but I like the ultra-deepwater market, and it continues to perform well for Ocean Rig.

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Ultra Clean Holdings rose more than 10% Wednesday after the company turned in better-than-expected fourth quarter results and solid forward guidance.

So what: Quarterly revenue rose 40.2% year-over-year to $126.3 million, which translated to net income of $0.22 per diluted share. However, excluding pre-tax amortization charges of $1.5 million associated with Ultra Clean's AIT merger, the company would have reported net income of $0.26 per diluted share.

Analysts, on average, were looking for earnings of $0.24 per share on sales of $125.68 million.

Now what: Going forward, Ultra Clean expects current-quarter revenue to be in a range of $135 million to $140 million, with earnings per share in the range of $0.25 to $0.28. Excluding AIT-related amortization costs, earnings per share are expected to range from $0.28 to $0.31. By contrast, analysts were only modeling first quarter earnings of $0.22 per share on sales of $122.4 million.

As it stands, with shares currently trading at just 0.8 times last year's sales and only 11 times this year's expected earnings, Ultra Clean looks like a pretty attractive bet even after today's pop. If the company can maintain its momentum and keep pushing margins and earnings upward, there's no reason the stock shouldn't still be able to reward patient long-term investors from here.

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over daily movements, we do like to keep an eye on market changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

Wednesday's stock market moves resembled a roller-coaster ride, with an initial gain giving way to losses for major-market indexes as news from the Fed failed to inspire bulls to buy stock. For Potbelly , SM Energy , and Navios Maritime Holdings , though, the losses were much more dramatic than those of the overall market.

Potbelly fell almost 9% as the newly public sandwich-restaurant chain disappointed investors with its quarterly results. Same-store sales growth of 0.7% wasn't nearly enough to satisfy shareholders, given the stock's pricey valuation. Moreover, even adjusting for the expenses of going public, profits fell around 20% from year-ago levels. Forward guidance looked equally gloomy, as the same poor weather that hurt results in the fourth quarter have persisted this quarter as well. After the drop, some investors are starting to consider Potbelly from a value-stock perspective, but high-growth investors are nervous about its future.

SM Energy plunged 17% after announcing its fourth-quarter results last night. The exploration and production company's average production figures were within the guided range, but costs were higher than expected, disappointing investors despite a near tripling of adjusted net income from the year-ago quarter. In addition, concerns about the stock's continued ability to produce more lucrative oil and liquids at its Eagle Ford wells led analysts at KeyBanc to downgrade the stock as well. One big question going forward is whether SM Energy can take advantage of rising natural gas prices, as that could be a further opportunity for the company.

Navios Maritime Holdings dropped 12% as the shipping company missed earnings estimates in its fourth-quarter report this morning. Despite efforts to keep costs under control, Navios' adjusted net loss ballooned to more than $18 million, up from just $1 million in the year-ago quarter. But revenue from its drybulk vessel operations jumped 14%, with improving time-charter equivalent rates pointing to a potential rebound in the long-suffering shipping industry. Still, falling revenue from Navios' logistics business weighed on the company's results, and Navios needs to make further progress in order to convince investors that the shipper is back for good.

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over daily movements, we do like to keep an eye on market changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

U.S. stocks lost ground on Wednesday, with the benchmark S&P 500 index falling by roughly two-thirds of a percentage point. The narrower Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 0.56%. Shares of automaker Tesla Motors underperformed the broad market going into this afternoon's fourth quarter earnings announcement; however, the stock's performance in the after-hours session -- up 12% -- suggests the shares will substantially outperform the market tomorrow.

Before discussing the stock market's reaction, let's cover the headline numbers: On an adjusted basis, Tesla earned $0.33 per share, handily beating the $0.21 Wall Street analysts had been looking for. The company also beat on the top line, with revenues of $761 million -- 11% above the consensus estimate.

It's worth noting that the company was also profitable on a cash basis, generating $40 million in free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capital expenditures) -- the second consecutive quarter in which it is free cash flow positive. On the earnings call, CFO Deepak Ahuja told investors and analysts that the company expects to generate "significant cash flow," before adding that it was too early to provide any numbers.

Certainly, profitability continues to improve: Tesla's automotive gross margin of 25.2% (25.8% on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles) in the fourth quarter was also ahead of its own 25% target. Looking ahead, the company ratcheted up its target for this profitability metric to 28% (GAAP and non-GAAP), to be achieved in the fourth quarter of this year. On the call, CEO Elon Musk said achieving that figure is simply a matter of scaling up.

And speaking of scale, Musk said Tesla is in the process of building a second assembly line for the model S that should be operational in the second half of the year, which will be instrumental in raising production to 1,000 vehicles per week by year end, from 600 per week presently. Battery cell supply will, however, remain a constraint on production through the first half of the year, but it's expected to improve in the second half -- Musk indicated that the company will provide an update on this issue next week.

Are these results and outlook worth a worth a 10% upward revaluation in Tesla shares? As an old-school value guy, I simply don't see how one can pin down a valuation for this company with any degree of accuracy -- certainly not to within 10%. However, the company does bring together a principled, visionary leader with the capacity to execute on his vision -- a rare combination. The most recent set of results bear this out and add credibility to this story stock. I would not feel very comfortable owning Tesla's stock at its current valuation, but this looks like one of the rare "hyper-growth" stories that has a chance of growing into its valuation.

One thing I can say with a high degree of confidence, however, is that Apple won't be acquiring Tesla Motors. A weekend report in the San Francisco Chronicle, according to which Apple's head of mergers and acquisitions, Adrian Perica, met with Elon Musk last spring helped Tesla's stock break $200 yesterday for the first time.

Given their positions, I'd be more surprised to learn that the two executives had never had a meeting together; without any additional information concerning the content of the meeting, I think we can assume it remained very "high-level." Sure, both companies are rule-breakers in their respective industries, but I'd argue that those industries are simply too far removed from one another to justify a tie-up. If you own Tesla shares because you're betting the company will be acquired, that's a mistake; besides, Tesla is proving it can do just fine on its own.

The Department of Defense awarded only six defense contracts Wednesday, worth a total of $358.2 million. Among the publicly traded companies winning contracts:

• Britain's BAE Systems was awarded a $15.2 million contract modification funding the purchase of long lead-time materials needed to manufacture propulsors for the Virginia-class nuclear attack submarines SSN 792 and SSN 793. This contract should be completed by February 2015.
• US Foods, soon to be owned by Sysco , won a sole-source, fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, bridge contract worth up to $72 million to provide "prime vendor food and beverage support" to the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies through Feb. 14, 2015.
• Raytheon won a pair of contracts. The larger, worth up to $98.2 million, was a sole-source, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to supply the U.S. Army and federal civilian agencies with unspecified "surveillance system spare parts" through Feb. 19, 2017. The smaller contract, a $35.5 million fixed-price-incentive contract, funds the purchase of three AN/AQS-20A sonar mine detecting sets, with ancillary equipment, for use aboard U.S. Navy Littoral Combat Ships. The AN/AQS-20A sonar mine detecting set is a mine hunting and identification system with acoustic and identification sensors housed in an underwater towed body. The acoustic sensors are designed for the detection, classification and localization of bottom, close-tethered, and volume targets in a single pass. The identification sensor is designed for the identification of bottom mines. Delivery of this equipment is due by February 2015, but the contract may be extended with additional "option" exercises. If all options on this contract are exercised, its value would rise to $199.7 million.

While Fools should generally take the opinion of Wall Street with a grain of salt, it's not a bad idea to take a closer look at particularly stock-shaking upgrades and downgrades -- just in case their reasoning behind the call makes sense.

What: Shares of Waste Management  slipped nearly 1% in premarket trading today after Wunderlich Securities downgraded the waste management company from buy to hold.

So what: Along with the downgrade, analyst Michael Hoffman lowered his price target to $45 (from $52), representing about 8% worth of upside to yesterday's close. While contrarians might be attracted to Waste Management's earnings-related pullback yesterday, Hoffman thinks that its appreciation potential remains limited given the relatively poor performance of its waste to energy and recycling segments.

Now what: According to Wunderlich, Waste Management's risk/reward trade-off is pretty balanced at this point. "WTE and Recycling remain margin and FCF drags: They actually underperformed expectations in 2013 and are not expected to be better than flat y/y in 2014," noted Hoffman. "Recycling is in a multi-year change in the operating model and WTE does not need to be owned 100% by WM for it to get the strategic advantage of disposal." With the stock now off more than 10% from its 52-week highs and boasting a 3%-plus dividend yield, however, those short-term concerns might provide patient Fools with a juicy long-term income opportunity.

Google strategy is to kill Microsoft's Windows, Fool contributor Tim Beyers says in the following video.

How will it happen? A recent deal with VMware that brings the company's Horizon desktop-as-a-service software to Chromebooks might speed things along by allowing those who use the devices to access Windows apps directly in the browser.

Tim says it's a potentially disruptive move that could take some time to manifest. Yet that isn't stopping Google from hyping the deal. In a press release, Amit Singh, president of Google Enterprise, said companies could save "$5,000 per computer" using Chromebooks in place of traditional PCs.  Whether or not that's fair math is an open question. What's clear is that this is a long-term threat to Mr. Softy's business, especially when you factor in the slowing pace of PC sales.

Investors should also note that Microsoft's Windows Division is third-largest by revenue and second-largest by operating profit. Tim says new CEO Satya Nadella must not let anything impede his company's ability to sell new Windows licenses, yet that's exactly what Google is trying to do.

Now it's your turn to weigh in. Would you switch to Chromebook if you could be assured of safely using Windows apps? Or is Google's strategy wishful thinking? Please watch the video to get Tim's full take and then leave a comment to let us know what you think and whether you would buy, sell, or short Google or Microsoft stock at current prices.

While Fools should generally take the opinion of Wall Street with a grain of salt, it's not a bad idea to take a look at particularly stock-shaking analyst upgrades and downgrades -- just in case their reasoning behind the call makes sense.

What: Shares of Westport Innovations opened up 2% on Wednesday after FBR Capital initiated coverage on the alternative fuel technologist with an outperform rating.

So what: Along with the bullish call, analyst Aditya Satghare planted a price target of $20 on the stock, representing about 19% worth of upside to yesterday's close. While momentum traders might be turned off by Westport's sharp pullback over the past six months, Satghare believes the stock is too cheap to pass up given his view of a profitable business model transformation over the next three to five years.

Now what: According to FBR, Westport's risk/reward trade-off is rather attractive at this point. "Investor sentiment on WPRT remains low, primarily due to concerns surrounding the company's path to profitability," noted Satghare. "We, however, believe that increasing R&D efficiency, management's focus on cost control, and new partnerships for the HPDI 2.0 product and high-horsepower applications should increase investor comfort in Westport's ability to profitably participate in the increasing use of natural gas in the on-road trucking, high-horsepower, and light-duty segments." When you couple that positive outlook with Westport's still-beaten down price -- off more than 50% from its 52-week highs -- it's easy to agree with FBR's bull stance.

This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense, and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines are focusing on alternative energy stocks, as Capstone Turbine scores an upgrade, but Waste Management and SolarCity are both downgraded

Huh? Why Waste Management?Capstone Turbine does small-scale natural gas turbines, and SolarCity leases solar power installations to consumers -- both obvious alt-energy plays. But if you're wondering how Waste Management got into this column, remember this: Through its initiatives to capture methane gas (for fuel) from landfill waste, Waste Management has become nearly as big a producer of "alternative energy" as the entire solar power industry, combined.

This is a clever business niche that Waste Management has created for itself, no doubt. But it's apparently not as profitable as investors might hope. Yesterday, the company reported earning $0.56 per share in its fiscal fourth quarter, $0.04 below analyst estimates. Revenue also came in light. Worst of all, Waste Management warned that this year's earnings will almost certainly fall short of the consensus estimate of $2.41 per share.

Responding to the news, Wunderlich Securities downgraded Waste Management shares to hold today, noting that the stock was up strongly in 2013 but has little chance of rising further this year: Waste to energy "and Recycling remain margin and FCF drags," Wunderlich warned, "they actually underperformed expectations in 2013 and are not expected to be better than flat y/y in 2014." Absent a divestiture of the company's green energy business, the analyst sees little reason to own the stock -- and I agree. 

Priced north of 16 times free cash flow (and even more expensive when valued on generally accepted accounting principles earnings), but expected to grow these earnings at only about 3% annually over the next five years, Waste Management stock is clearly overpriced. Wunderlich is right to downgrade it. The only thing I'm "wundering" is if it shouldn't perhaps downgrade the stock even farther.

Sun setting on SolarCity
Speaking of egregiously overpriced stocks, consider Elon Musk's SolarCity. Baird just downgraded this one on fears that "the current valuation prices in much of its growth/execution." Quoted on StreetInsider.com this morning, Baird worried that "execution through 2017 is largely priced into the stock," suggesting investors today could be waiting years before they see a profit on their investment. But I wonder if any profit will ever result.

Unprofitable in four out of the past five years, SolarCity has a "perfect" record of never generating positive free cash flow. The company burned through $389 million last year, along with a further $679 million over just the past nine months. Analysts who follow the solar panel lessor see no hope for a GAAP profit as far out as 2016.

In short, the stock embodies the very concept of "speculation." It might go up, certainly -- so long as "greater fools" can be found to buy it. But without any profit to back up its stock price, SolarCity is more likely to go down in flames.

Put a cap in itBatting cleanup in today's list of green energy strikeouts is Capstone Turbine. This morning, FBR Capital turned positive on the stock, assigning an outperform rating and asserting "that natural gas as a fuel is at an inflection point and that Capstone, with its reliable and versatile microturbine product, is well positioned in this market."

I'd argue that it's only well-positioned to lose investors money.

Perpetually unprofitable and forever burning cash, Capstone Turbine hasn't booked a profitable or free-cash-flow positive year, well, ever. (and it's been around since 1997). Granted, FBR is convinced that a surge of demand for Capstone's microturbines will turn this company into a "profitable and cash flow-positive business ... over the next 12-24 months." But to be painfully blunt -- if Capstone hasn't figured out a way to turn a profit in 17 years, I doubt that an extra year or two is going to make much of a difference.

Based on the company's track record, I'm fairly certain of what rating this stock deserves -- and outperform is not it.

Only about a week after CBS agreed to expand its relationship with Nielsen Holdings , which included the now controversial "hybrid" methodology of measuring local TV audiences, the National Association of Broadcaster (which includes two executives from CBS) have asked Nielsen to delay the rollout of the new service until it has been more thoroughly tested.

The issue centers around Nielsen adding "broadband-only homes" in the samples it uses to measure local TV. The NAB is concerned it may not accurately reflect the actual number of viewers in the area if it results in a reduction in counting traditional TV households. If that is the outcome, it is easy to see why the industry would call for Nielsen to delay the implementation of the service. After all, these metrics are the currency used by broadcasters and marketers to determine ad prices.

Near the end of January, CBS and Nielsen expanding their existing agreement to include measuring how viewers watched TV across a variety of devices. The measurement of local television viewership using the hybrid method was part of that new agreement. This suggests that CBS must have been contacted by its peers soon afterwards in order to press Nielsen to hold off on the initiative.

I draw that conclusion from the fact the NAB said there was "unanimous support" by its board of directors concerning a resolution demanding Nielsen halt the program. Sitting on the board are John Orlando, executive vice president-government affairs at CBS, as well as Dan Mason, president and CEO of CBS Radio. Orlando serves on the Television Board of the NAB, while Mason serves on the executive board of the NAB.

Whatever happened between the expansion agreement between CBS and Nielsen to change the outlook, the NAB (including CBS) is now presenting a united front on this issue.

CBS' metric strategy
For some time, CBS stated that it will continue to use every means it can to accurately measure all the eyes watching its content across every screen or device.

While all TV companies want this, CBS has a lot more at stake since it is the leader in overall viewership. The leader in the key 18-49 demographic also has a lot to lose if metrics aren't accurate.

CBS has enjoyed a huge boost in its share price over the last five years, and is up by over 941% during that time. It wants to maintain that pace using accurate metrics, even as the number of people watching broadcast television continues to shrink. CEO Leslie Moonves believes the company still has strong viewership, just that it has migrated to smaller, mobile screens.

This is apparently why it has decided to go along with the rest of the members of the NAB concerning the delayed rollout of the hybrid method.

Fox and local focus
Since 21st Century Fox has such a strong local focus, it is also important to it to ensure it gets the most accurate local metrics in order to get the best ad prices for its stations.

Of the major broadcasters, Fox is second only to CBS in its performance over the last five years, being up over 461% during that time. The overall entertainment industry has been on a huge upward climb, and it wants to be sure measuring the number of people viewing its TV content in a fragmented market is done using the best methodology available.

This is especially important to Fox after it spun off its News Corp. unit in 2013. It is now well positioned to take advantage of its strengths, and once the launch of its powerful Avatar film franchise over a period of three years takes place, it should enjoy a nice boost in its share price when coupled with its TV performance.

It's overall TV viewership has fallen recently, but it still attracts a good crowd in the key 18-49 demo.

Foolish outlook
Metrics are the currency of the TV industry on the ad side of the business. With numerous ways to view content at this time, it's imperative Nielsen and other metric companies use the best methodology to ensure accuracy.

It appears that Nielsen is not going to heed the demands of the NAB and is going to go ahead with the planned rollout of the new service. It did say that it is considering a variety of options to mitigate the concerns of the NAB going forward, however.

I don't think that this will have much of an impact on the broadcasters in the short term, but it does need to be watched closely in order to take into account whether or not viewers are being counted correctly. Any inaccuracies will have a real impact on the ad revenue and earnings of the companies.

Content is king. This seems to be the propaganda driving recent efforts by LinkedIn and Facebook to take their content efforts to the next level. Both companies, however, are taking very different approaches to delivering content, and using it to drive business results.

Image source: LinkedIn.

"[W]e are making a commitment to our members: the time you spend on LinkedIn will make you better at your job today," said LinkedIn in a press release this morning. LinkedIn not only is aiming to be your go-to network for professional networking, but also a place for honing your professional skills, with access to top-notch job-related content.

Before today, LinkedIn's publishing platform, referred to as LinkedIn Influencer, was only open to the elite. Voices included Richard Branson, Martha Stewart, and Bill Gates, and The Motley Fool's own Tom Gardner, among others. Influencers were hand-selected, and drove meaningful engagement on the platform with average views per post of more than 31,000. But now, LinkedIn is opening up a publishing platform to the rest of its members -- kind of.

The rollout begins with 25 thousand members -- just a fraction of LinkedIn's total 277 million members. In "the next few weeks and months to come," LinkedIn will be expanding the capability to "all members in multiple languages." Distribution for members' posts will be initially limited to the author's network of contacts, according to The Wall Street Journal. "If they get traction, they'll be distributed to a wider audience of LinkedIn users," says the Journal's Reed Albergotti. LinkedIn's corporate communications manager, Doug Madey, told The Motley Fool that the Influencer platform will remain separate from the general publishing platform.

Image source: LinkedIn's official blog.

This publishing rollout highlights the major difference between LinkedIn's approach to delivering content to its members from Facebook's approach. LinkedIn wants to be a leading source of original professional content -- it wants to hone its skills as a publisher. Facebook, on the other hand, wants to focus on personalized content -- it wants to be a curator.

Facebook, the curator
Facebook, too, has been pushing its social network as a platform for content. Facebook's approach, however, is very different.

First and foremost, Facebook's content push differs in purpose. LinkedIn wants its content to benefit members as professionals; Facebook wants to be its members' newspaper for a broad range of topics.

Second, Facebook is curating news published elsewhere, bringing it to members in a useful way. It's not making any efforts to become a publisher of its own content, like LinkedIn

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained the company's broader mission for curated news in a March 7 press conference when it unveiled the new look of its timeline.

What we're trying to do is give everyone in the world the best personalized newspaper we can. We believe that the best personalized newspaper should have a broad diversity of content. It should have high-quality public content from world-renowned sources, and it should also have socially and locally relevant updates from family, friends, and the people around you. It should also enable you to drill into any topic that you want to discuss.

Facebook's recent launch of Paper is an excellent example of what this could look like. The iOS iPhone app is a news curator with the Facebook news feed built into it, along with Facebook's other main features: messaging, liking, and sharing updates, among others.

Facebook's new Paper app. Source: Facebook's Newsroom.

LinkedIn also curates content from external sources, like Facebook. But a move to open up its publishing platform to more members, combined with its focus on professional news, draws a distinct line between the two companies' strategies 

Conclusion
The big takeaway for investors is that both companies have a focused approach to using content to drive their businesses. This is great news for investors. A focused mission is especially important for these fast-growing tech companies as they attempt to assert their image early on as the Internet becomes ever crowded with social platforms.

More specifically, content keeps users engaged, and helps the platform learn about users' interests. Both of these outcomes benefit the network by strengthening their member network effects, and by benefiting parties beyond members with more useful data about the networks' members -- particularly recruiters for LinkedIn, and advertisers for both LinkedIn and Facebook.

Photo Credit: Flickr/Bob Nichols | U.S Department of Agriculture.

Last quarter, surging natural gas prices was one factor that sliced 31% off fertilizer producer CF Industries Holdings' bottom line. However, the company still earned more money than most analysts expected, which is one reason its shares surged following that fourth-quarter earnings report.

A closer look at the numbers
CF Industries reported a fourth-quarter profit of $325.8 million, or $5.71 per share. That was quite a change from the $470.7 million, or $7.40 per share, it earned in the year ago period. Still, those earnings were much more than the $4.49 per share that most analysts expected CF Industries to earn last quarter.

Part of the reason for the drop was rising natural gas prices. On the quarter, the company took a charge of $54 million, or $0.60 per share, on natural gas derivatives, which it used to hedge against price volatility.

The other issue it faced was an overall weak fertilizer market. The company saw a decrease in its average selling prices, though its volume was higher. That same trend was felt by Terra Nitrogen Company, L.P. as well, as the company noted similar pricing issues in its fourth-quarter report. Specifically, Terra Nitrogen noted a decrease in ammonia and urea ammonium nitrate solution prices as being the two biggest culprits in its lower earnings this quarter. The good news, however, for both companies is that the nitrogen-based fertilizer market appears to be turning.

The other big item on the quarter for CF Industries was the previously announced sale of its phosphate business to Mosaic Company for $1.4 billion. It was a great deal for CF Industries. Not only did the Mosaic deal turn it into a really pure play on nitrogen, the company also scored a long-term ammonia supply deal with Mosaic, which helps to lock in some solid future returns.

Why investors are cheering
What investors liked most about CF Industries' report was the company's very positive outlook for the future. The company noted that global nitrogen prices have significantly improved, and because of this it sees robust demand through the first half of this year.

On top of that, the company sees its costs remaining in check, despite rising natural gas prices. In fact, CF Industries noted that it sees the long-term price of natural gas in North America staying in a range of $3-$5 per MMBtu. Because of that structural cost advantage, the company is really confident that it can sustain its solid cash flows. This is why the company has increasingly been returning its cash flows to investors, as evidenced by its growing its dividend by 150% and buying back 12% of its outstanding shares last year.

Investor takeaway
While natural gas prices spiked in the quarter, the long-term trend suggests fairly low prices. Add to that a recovery in the nitrogen based fertilizer market and investors have reason to cheer. Add it up and these factors should continue to fuel earnings and dividend growth for nitrogen producers like Terra Nitrogen and CF Industries. That's great news for income-seeking investors.

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over daily movements, we do like to keep an eye on market changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

Stocks traded even most of the day, but dipped late after the Federal Open Market Committee's minutes from its last meeting were released. As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average  finished down 90 points or 0.6%, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.7%. Investors, apparently, weren't happy with the Fed's plans to continuing tapering its monthly bond-buying program, barring any significant changes in the economy. According to the notes: "Several participants argued that, in the absence of appreciable change in economic outlook, there should be a clear presumption in favor of continuing to reduce the pace of purchases by a total of $10 billion at each FOMC meeting." Elsewhere, housing starts and building-permit numbers both disappointed the market, coming in at 888,000 and 937,000, but investors seem to attribute the drop to poor weather. Inflation indicators, meanwhile, showed only modest price increases in January. 

Facebook  was making waves after hours after it scooped up messaging service WhatsApp for the whopping sum of $19 billion. Facebook shares were down 2.7% on the news as investors may think that the social-network giant overpaid for the messaging app. The industry leader will pay $4 billion in cash, $12 billion in stock, and $3 billion in restricted shares that will vest over the four years for a service that counts over 450 million members, 70% of which use it everyday, and whose messaging volume is approaching the entire global SMS telecom volume. WhatsApp is also adding 1 million members every day. Facebook will leave the WhatsApp brand in tact and it will continue to operate it as a stand-alone application, and WhatsApp co-Founder Jan Koum will join Facebook's Board of Directors. The purchase is certainly a bold one for Facebook, but the company understands that its namesake site alone is not enough to dominate the future of social media. Just as it did with Instagram, the company is making a smart move but seizing another industry growth star. Observers can argue about the price tag, but this is the right strategy for Facebook.

In earnings news, Tesla Motors  soared past estimates in its earnings report once again as shares jumped 13% after hours. The electric-car maker posted a per-share profit of $0.33, ahead of estimates at $0.21, while revenue skyrocketed 148.5% to $761.3 million, much better than the consensus at $673.1 million. Even better, the company lifted its 2014 guidance, saying it expects to sell 35,000 Model S Sedans this year, ahead of previous projections at 29,000, which would give it a 55% increase over last year's total.  The company also plans to step up its production from 600 to 1,000 cars a week. Tesla shares have a sky-high price tag at a forward P/E of 121 and a market cap near half of General Motors, but shares should keep moving higher as long as the company continues to beat estimates and lift its guidance.

Some investors are so sure that their company's dividend is safe that they fail to properly examine the payout. If there is anything we've learned over the last several years, it's that no dividend is carved in stone. In the telecommunications sector, local companies seem at risk, but AT&T and Verizon seem relatively safe. The question for AT&T investors is, what can they expect from the company's dividend in the future?

Two big challenges
AT&T competes in two massive markets, wireless and wireline. The company's wireless division competes with the likes of Verizon, Sprint, and many others. On the wireline side, Verizon is a competitor, again, but added to the list are local telecoms like CenturyLink  and Frontier Communications, among others.

Two of the biggest issues facing AT&T are the ability to balance the cash needs of the business with investors' constant demand for better dividends. When it comes to needing cash, many times these companies turn to debt.

AT&T's debt-to-equity ratio of 0.8 looks relatively strong compared to Verizon's 0.9 or CenturyLink's 1.2. However, looking at AT&T's history, this number has been creeping higher each year.

In 2010, AT&T's debt-to-equity ratio was 0.53. By 2012, this ratio had crept up to 0.73, and in the current quarter to 0.76. While AT&T spends just 12% of its operating income on interest payments, if the company continues to grow its debt balances, interest costs could become a problem in the future.

The second big challenge facing AT&T has been largely conquered. The most important aspect to income-focused investors is a company's payout ratio. In the three years between 2010-2012, AT&T's core free cash flow (net income plus depreciation, minus capital expenditures) payout ratio hovered at more than 100%.

In the last four quarters, AT&T has lowered this payout ratio to 79%, and in the current quarter it dropped further to 61%. While this is higher than CenturyLink at 53% or Verizon at 25%, AT&T's dividend looks safer than before.

Six years of less
To determine what AT&T might do with its dividend in the future, it helps to look at the company's past. While history may not repeat itself, it is a good starting point to determine what investors might expect.

As you can see, prior to the Great Recession, AT&T raised its dividend by a significant amount. However, beginning in 2009, the company's annual dividend increase decelerated. With a 2.5% increase in 2009, the annual increase has declined sequentially each year to a low of a 2.2% in 2014.

Five years of more?
The good news for AT&T investors is, the last six years might be about to reverse course. With AT&T's payout ratio near 60%, the company's cash flow isn't being completely consumed, as it once was.

With analysts calling for EPS growth of about 6% over the next few years, AT&T's net income is expected to rise. This growth rate puts AT&T squarely between Verizon's expected growth of 9% and CenturyLink's expected 1% growth.

AT&T's depreciation allowance has been stable over the last year, as has the company's capital expenditures. With net income expected to rise, in theory the company's payout ratio should continue to fall. The company retired 7% of its diluted shares in the last year, which is better than CenturyLink's 6% share decline, and far exceeds Verizon's share increase of 0.5%.

Even if AT&T wants its payout ratio to fall further, net income growth should accomplish part of this feat. If this is the case, AT&T's dividend increases should be in the range of 2%-3%. However, if the company is comfortable with its current payout ratio, investors may be positively surprised. In theory, AT&T might raise the dividend to a rate closer to EPS growth of 6%.

Foolish final thoughts
With continued improvement in the AT&T wireless business, and decent performance from the wireline business, AT&T investors have a lot to like along with the company's 5.5% yield.

It seems clear that AT&T has improved, the dividend is stable, and the payout's growth may outpace the last few years. If AT&T continues on its current path, investors will be feeling anything but blue about the prospects for their company.

It's no secret that eurozone banks have been hit hard by the financial collapse in 2008-2009 and continue to be depressed by a slow-growth economy. But one German bank just showed the market that progress is being made.

Better than last year
Commerzbank AG has had a rough few years, but the 2013 results show a major turnaround is at work. The results showed a net profit of 78 million euros, marking a major improvement over the 47 million euro loss in 2012.

The bank also further improved its tier 1 capital ratio to 9% from 7.6% at the end of 2012. With European stress tests coming up, having a strong capital ratio is particularly important in avoiding future recapitalizations.

Toxic assets
Toxic assets have damaged financial institutions worldwide and Commerzbank AG did not escape. However, results for 2013 are positive on this front, showing that the bank reduced its toxic assets by 35 billion euros, exceeding forecasts.

Commerzbank has also chosen to house its toxic assets in an internal bad bank. Other banks have taken this approach as well. Royal Bank of Scotland Group made headlines last year when it agreed to move 38 billion pounds of toxic assets into an internal bad bank. Shares took an initial hit on the news, as it would result in having RBS take an impairment charge of between 4.0 billion and 4.5 billion pounds. However, shares have recovered much of their lost ground since the bad bank announcement.

But Commerzbank has already moved its toxic assets to its own bad bank and is working on winding them down over the next several years. Last year saw the sale of toxic assets largely in real estate and shipping -- two sectors that have been particularly troublesome for the bank because of foreign exposure and poor shipping industry performance.

Future goals
Commerzbank laid out some important goals ahead in the 2013 results. Near the top of the list is a target of a 10% tier 1 capital ratio for 2016, which would put the bank on more solid footing. Also being targeted for the future is further shrinkage of the bad bank from the current 116 billion euros to 75 billion euros by 2016.

A dividend could also be in the works, but it looks highly unlikely to happen in 2014. Commerzbank CEO Martin Blessing played down the possibility, saying, "We first want to have the capital situation at the bank as comfortable as possible before we pay out a dividend." With upcoming stress tests, retaining capital looks to be the best move for Commerzbank at this time.

Dividend investors may want to consider Deutsche Bank AG if they are bullish on German banks but want to collect a dividend at the same time. Although Deutsche Bank's dividend does face some risk of being cut if further capital is needed, this would be a last resort measure as dividend cuts often spook the markets and companies generally do anything possible to avoid them.

Turnaround
Commerzbank AG was hit hard by the financial crisis, and a quick look at the five-year chart will show that effect. But with an improving tier 1 capital ratio, stronger earnings, and significant reductions in toxic assets, Commerzbank is showing a major turnaround from the bank that nearly wiped out its old shareholders.

For investors bullish on a eurozone recovery, Commerzbank is definitely worth a look.