I went out on a limb last week, and now it's time to see how that decision played out.

• I predicted that Microsoft would close lower on the week. Steve Ballmer's surprising pending resignation led to a spike a week earlier, but it seemed overblown for a company that will struggle in the transformation from a software company to one that excels at products and services. Mr. Softy's stock took a 4% hit on the week. I was right.
• I predicted that the tech-heavy Nasdaq would outperform the Dow Jones Industrial Average. . This has been a tricky call lately, so how did it play out this time? Well, this was a bad week for tech stocks. The Nasdaq moved 1.9% higher, and that was worse than the Dow's 1.3% slip. I was wrong.
• My final call was for OmniVision Technologies to beat Wall Street's income estimates in its latest quarter. The maker of image sensors used in digital cameras, smartphones, and tablets has been cashing in on the popularity of portable computing gadgetry. It had also been posting blowout quarterly results over the past year. I was banking on seeing the trend continue. Analysts were looking for a profit of $0.43 a share during the quarter, and it came through with adjusted net income of $0.55. The stock fell on OmniVision's disappointing outlook, but it was still a beat looking back. I was right.

Two out of three? I can do better than that.

Let me once again whip out my trusty, dusty, and occasionally accurate crystal ball to make three calls that may play out over the next few trading days.

1. Tesla Motors will close lower on the week
Everything seems to go right for Elon Musk these days, and Tesla Motors shareholders are grateful. the maker of plug-in electric cars has seen its shares pop fivefold.

The future's bright for Tesla, but its $20.5 billion market cap seems a bit extreme for where it is in its life cycle. Against this backdrop, the market's showing plenty of volatility, making high-beta stocks vulnerable. Tesla has bucked the malaise so far. August was the market's worst month in more than a year, but Tesla had no problem moving higher. It hit a new high earlier this past week.

For a week, at least, Tesla's likely to be due for a breather. My first call is for this Wall Street darling to close lower on the week.

2.The Nasdaq Composite will beat the Dow this week
Tech has been a big winner in recent years, so betting on tech over stodgy blue chips has been a good bet for me more often than not.

I'm going to stick with this pick. Most of the names in the composite are just too cheap at this point, and tech should be what carries us through the economic recovery. Earnings reports were rough in some places this past season, but the long-term outlook is still quite favorable. The market is ripe for the tech-stacked secondary stocks to continue to outpace the 30 megacaps that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

3. Bazaarvoice will beat Wall Street's earnings estimates
Some stocks are just flat-out better than others.

Bazaarvoice is a leading provider of social commerce solutions. More than 1,000 retailers lean on Bazaarvoice's data -- covering more than 400 million questions and experiences on roughly 20 million different products -- to drive sales, awareness, and customer loyalty.

Another thing it does is make analysts look like perpetual underachievers. If analysts say the company posted a loss of $0.08 a share in its latest quarter, I'll argue that it held up better than that. History's on my side!

One of my best tricks to beating the market is finding stocks that perpetually land ahead of the prognosticators. Let's go over the past year of earnings reports.

Source: Thomson Reuters.

Things can change, of course. Bazaarvoice isn't profitable, so the beats so far have merely resulted in its posting a smaller loss than Wall Street was expecting. New projects or hiring sprees can bump costs and deficits higher. This is also a competitive market, as tech companies armed with data try to reach out to businesses.

However, it's hard to argue against the trend. Everything seems to be falling into place for another market-thumping quarter on the bottom line.

Three for the road
Well, there are three predictions right there. Let's see how I fare this week.

August was a tough month for stocks -- unless you're talking about Apple , that is. The nation's second largest company by market capitalization outperformed the S&P 500 by an impressive 11.5%, ending the month behind only four other index components -- click here to see which stocks beat the storied iPhone maker last month.

To be fair, shares of Apple were primed for a superior performance. By the end of June, they had lost more than 40% from their September high of $705. They trade for 12 times earnings, which equates to a 31% discount to the S&P 500 overall. And they yield 2.5%, which beats the broader market's 2.12% yield by 18%.

On top of that, or perhaps because of it, the stock has recently caught the eye of at least one high-profile investor. Carl Icahn, the noted activist investor, announced earlier in the month that he had taken a $1.5 billion stake in the company. His thesis is simple: Apple is undervalued and has the resources to execute an even larger capital return than the $100 billion program announced in April.

"Buy the company here and even without earnings growth, we think it ought to be worth $625," Icahn said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Just this past week, moreover, Icahn went to Twitter to announce that he and Apple CEO Tim Cook will be having dinner soon to discuss both the magnitude and timing of the company's buyback. And while some people are equating Icahn's move as a meddlesome analogy to his position in Dell, as my colleague Adam Levin-Weinberg noted, his "activism poses no credible danger at all."

It's worth observing here that Apple's performance last month wasn't wholly the result of external factors. In the first case, the rumors continue to circulate that a new product line is in the mix. On Wednesday, for example, the Apple blog AppleInsider reported that the Cupertino-based company "is rumored to be gearing up to partner with Inventec in 2014 to manufacture a massive 63.4 million smart watches priced at $199."

In addition, it's widely assumed that Apple has chosen Sept. 10 to announce the release of its latest iPhone, the 5S, in addition to a cheaper version, the 5C, that's presumably geared toward consumers in emerging markets. The hope is that the move puts Apple a step closer to locking up a deal with China Mobile, the world's largest mobile network which for now remains off-limits to Apple's wares.

Even as the new Chevy Silverado impresses customers, Chevy's customer-satisfaction scores remain low. Photo credit: General Motors.

General Motors is facing an interesting challenge. On one hand, its product line is arguably better than it has ever been -- and it's continuing to improve rapidly. On the other hand, sales and profits still aren't as strong as GM would like -- and recent customer satisfaction ratings on GM brands like Chevrolet have been among the worst in the industry.

In the midst of this, GM is funding a new initiative for its dealers: Web-tracking software that is said to help dealers pull more customers in the door. Is that likely to help, or hurt? In this video, Fool contributor John Rosevear looks at this initiative, and at whether it will improve the sales process for customers -- or just make them even more wary of car-dealer tactics.

One of the under-appreciated reasons great technology companies fall is that once they hit a certain size, talented employees who have risen through the company's ranks begin leaving for younger, more dynamic companies with longer runways for growth. 

While Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) still ranks atop many lists for best employers, its size-and the inherent bureaucracy that comes along with it-is a major challenge to keeping talent. The most recent illustration of this is that Hugo Barra is leaving the company to join Chinese smartphone upstart Xiaomi. His exit comes just six months after Android chief Andy Rubin left the company. 

While there might have been unique personnel issues behind Barra's departure (reports cited a recent break-up with an employee now dating Google co-founder Sergey Brin), his departure to a Chinese start-up is interesting on its own. Yet, it becomes even more fascinating when you consider Xiaomi heavily forks Android, ripping out key Google services like its app store. 

Xiaomi is definitely a fascinating company, data from smartphone research companies showed it outselling Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) last quarter. To hear more about the troubles of big tech companies retaining talent and why Barra might be interested in moving on to a company many call the "Apple of China," watch the video below. 

Dividend investors would be wise to focus not just on a stock's current yield, but also on the long-term growth potential of its dividends. That's because strong businesses that consistently raise their dividend payouts reward shareholders with a steadily rising income stream that essentially equates to a raise every year. And, well, who doesn't like a raise?

But there are other reasons to value dividend growth so highly, and they're well supported by research. For instance, a study by C. Thomas Howard published in Advisor Perspectives found that for every percentage point a stock's yield rises, its annual return increases by 0.22 percentage points if it's a large cap, 0.25 if it's a mid cap, and 0.46 if it's a small cap. Even better, Howard found that dividend-growing stocks outperformed dividend cutters by 10 percentage points per year from 1973 to 2010 and beat both flat- and no-dividend stocks. And the icing on the cake is that Howard showed that this outperformance came with a third less volatility. Higher returns, less volatility-induced stress, and a steadily growing income stream -- what's not to love?

With that in mind, here are five stocks that have grown their dividends by more than 10% over the past year.

Source: S&P Capital IQ.

Ecolab provides cleaning and related products and services to the hospitality, food-service, health-care, and industrial markets. CAPS participants have awarded Ecolab with a top five-star rating, and the company is paying out a growing 1% dividend.

Fastenal operates as a wholesaler and retailer of industrial and construction supplies. Its product lineup includes fastener products such as bolts, nuts, screws, studs, and related washers; and miscellaneous supplies and hardware consisting of various pins and machinery keys, concrete anchors, metal framing systems, wire ropes, strut products, rivets, and related accessories. Fastenal currently has a four-star ranking on CAPS and offers investors a 2.2% yield.

CSX provides rail, intermodal, and rail-to-truck services that together help to make it one of the leading transportation companies in the United States. Fools appreciate the wide competitive moat surrounding CSX's rail network -- as well as its rising 2.4% dividend -- and have given it a top five-star rating in CAPS.

Huntsman is a global manufacturer of organic and inorganic chemical products including polyurethane chemicals, epoxy resin compounds and formulations, textile chemicals and dyes, and titanium dioxide. Huntsman sports a four-star rating in CAPS and is yielding 2.8%.

Teck Resources engages in the exploration, acquisition, and production of natural resources, including copper, steelmaking coal, gold, silver, and specialty metals. In addition, it holds ownership interests in oil sands projects in the Athabasca region of Alberta. Teck Resources has a four-star CAPS rating and offers investors a 3.4% dividend.

The Foolish bottom line
Had you invested in these companies a year ago, you would have enjoyed total dividend increases ranging from 12% to nearly 15%. That level of growth would provide a substantial boost to just about any investor's dividend income. But more important to investors today is to identify the companies that will grow their dividends substantially in the years ahead. If you're interested in hearing about some excellent companies that are likely to boost their dividends from this point forward, I'd like to offer you a brand-new free report from The Motley Fool's expert analysts called "Secure Your Future With 9 Rock-Solid Dividend Stocks." Today I invite you to download it at no cost to you. To discover the identities of these companies before the rest of the market catches on, you can access this valuable free report by simply clicking here now.

Oil and natural gas producer Vanguard Natural Resources likes to go against the grain. While most of its peers have been focused on acquiring or developing oil-rich assets, Vanguard has been shopping in the clearance isle and stocking up on natural gas. It's a move that could pay off handsomely in a couple of years as the supply and demand balance for natural gas begins to shift.

Vanguard's business model is pretty simple. It buys up oil and gas reserves and then locks in the margins of the future production by hedging it for the long term. In its most recent natural gas acquisitions, the company was able to pick up dirt cheap assets that will earn a fair profit on the production over the next few years. However, over the longer term, those assets could turn out to be a real gem as the supply and demand imbalance for natural gas begins to shift. The following slide breaks down those fundamentals:

Source: Vanguard Natural Resources Investor Presentation (link opens a PDF).

Clearly, the biggest demand driver will come from already approved natural gas export terminals such as Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass. These projects will sop up a big portion of the increase in natural gas production over the next few years. As the slide shows, by 2018 we should be exporting about 5.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, or Bcf/d. For some perspective, as of this past May, natural gas production in the contiguous 48 states was 73.37 Bcf/d, meaning these future approved exports would equate to less than 8% of current production.

Another major future demand driver will come from transportation, where gas-to-liquids and compressed natural gas, or CNG are expected to sop up another 3.1 Bcf/d of incremental demand. Driving this demand, at least on the CNG side, is Clean Energy Fuels , which is building America's Natural Gas Highway. What should be noted, though, is that Clean Energy has a lot more potential outside the CNG market. While CNG has the potential to displace 5.5 billion gallons of fuel per year in transit buses and garbage trucks, the bigger market is the LNG potential for the long-haul truck market, which is a 25 billion-gallon-a-year market. If Clean Energy can make inroads into that market, it could add significant demand for natural gas in the coming years that's not reflected on the next chart.

Source: Vanguard Natural Resources.

This potential imbalance is good news for natural gas producers, like the nation's No. 2 producer, Chesapeake Energy , as well as other natural gas heavy producers like SandRidge Energy . While both companies are focused on growing oil and natural gas liquids production, as the supply and demand dynamics shift over time, it should lead to higher prices.

Chesapeake currently produces about 3.1 Bcf/d of natural gas, which is nowhere near as profitable as the oil and NGLs it produces. However, for some perspective, Chesapeake could earn 10% more money this year if gas stays above $5 for the rest of the year. It's a similar story for SandRidge. In its case, 55% of its Mississippian Lime production is natural gas, yet the company derives 80% of its revenue from the 45% of its production that's oil-focused. Bottom line: Higher natural gas prices means higher revenue and earnings for both companies.

All this is not to say that Americans should expect a natural gas price spike leading up to 2018. On the contrary, as the price rises, so should production. Several natural gas basins are currently not economical, but they would be if the price of natural gas rose to between $5 and $6 per Mcf. In fact, that price just might be the long-term happy-medium price that everyone can live with, much as $100 oil is today.

For investors and consumers alike, the future is clear: Demand and therefore the price for natural gas is likely to head higher over the longer term. That's quite positive for everyone involved, especially smart companies like Vanguard that are getting in early on the natural gas revolution. 

Dividend stocks are everywhere, but many just downright stink. In some cases, the business model is in serious jeopardy, or the dividend itself isn't sustainable. In others, the dividend is so low, it's not even worth the paper your dividend check is printed on. A solid dividend strikes the right balance of growth, value, and sustainability.

Today, and one day each week for the rest of the year, we're going to look at one dividend-paying company that you can put in your portfolio for the long term without too much concern. This isn't to say that these stocks don't share the same macro risks that other companies have, but they are a step above your common grade of dividend stock. Check out last week's selection.

This week, we'll turn our attention to our bellies and look at why Mondelez International could be the perfect stock for growth and income-seeking investors.

Source: gfpeck, Flickr.

The great dilemma
Let's face it: Not too many of us follow the "eat your vegetables" rule all too well, so it really shouldn't come as a surprise that snack foods have been a bright source of growth for food producers over the past few years. To take advantage of this growth, and to make the company more transparent for investors -- which often tends to unlock shareholder value -- Mondelez International was spun off from Kraft Foods in September 2012, separating its U.S.-based and slower growth Kraft business from the potentially faster overseas growth in its Mondelez division.

Overall, it sounds pretty straightforward -- that Kraft would be the slow-but-steady low-growth company that dividend investors sit on, while Mondelez would pour on the growth. But, of course, it hasn't been nearly that easy.

One of the biggest challenges for Mondelez has been uncooperative foreign currencies, which, when translated back into dollars, actually reduces how much Mondelez is bringing in. Based on Mondelez's second-quarter results, the company delivered an adjusted EPS of $0.71; however, it also faced a negative-$0.05 headwind related solely to currency translation. Mondelez isn't alone, either. Kellogg , the cereal and snack maker, stuck by its full-year EPS guidance when it released its second-quarter results, but it also upped its estimate for negative foreign currency translation impact by $0.07 to $0.09 for the year.

Foreign currency translation isn't the only concern. Competition among snack-food companies is increasing by leaps and bounds outside the United States - so much so that activist investor Nelson Peltz, the head of Trian Fund Management, suggested that PepsiCo purchase Mondelez and spin off its beverage operations. The idea would make a lot of sense given the increased levels of competition between the two companies, but PepsiCo doesn't appear keen on the idea. 

The Mondelez advantage
So if currency translation is an earnings drag and competition is increasing, why buy Mondelez? The answer to that question relates back to why Mondelez was spun off in the first place: emerging-markets exposure.

Shareholders should be more than willing to deal with a few pennies in negative foreign currency translation if it gives them the opportunity to jump aboard some very recognizable brand names -- Oreo, Cadbury, and Nabisco among them -- in rapidly growing emerging-market countries such as China, Russia, and Brazil. Revenue from emerging markets, led by the BRIC countries, jumped 9.7% sequentially in its second-quarter results. Furthermore, the company's Power Brands segment (Oreo, Cadbury, Chips Ahoy!, and Stride gum, to name a few) collectively grew by 7.9% which is double the company's average growth rate.

Where I think Mondelez offers its greatest advantage is in its Latin American and Eastern Europe/Middle East operations. Latin American revenue was pretty much flat in its latest quarter, yet its Power Brands grew by 14% in the region from the previous year. Eastern Europe and the Middle East, however, was its most robust growth region, with net revenue rising 7.7% and Power Brands gaining 15.6%.

This brings me to another key point for why Mondelez is an intriguing buy: organic growth! Mondelez isn't trying to scoop up another company every six months to boost its top line overseas -- it's doing it almost entirely from organic growth. Mondelez has practically perfected passing along price increases (there's a tongue twister for you!) to overseas consumers as food inflation rises while being able to fall back on the worldwide power of its brand-name products as justification for the increase. With solid pricing power, all Mondelez has to do is provide a good mix of snacks and beverages on supermarket shelves to make its top and bottom lines grow.

Show me the money, Mondelez
I know what you're probably thinking: "Kraft Foods is the dividend play here!" If we look at this from a pure yield standpoint, then yes, it is. However, if you would like your dividend stocks to show signs of growth so your share price has a shot at increasing along with your dividend, then Mondelez sure looks like the better choice of the two.

To begin with, Mondelez does a phenomenal job of taking care of its shareholders. Announced during the second quarter, Mondelez bolstered its share-repurchase program from just $1.2 billion to a whopping $6 billion through 2016. To put this in a different context, based on Mondelez's closing price on Friday, the company could repurchase about 195.6 million shares of its own stock -- roughly 11% of its outstanding share count -- and drop its forward P/E of 17.8 down below 16. Mondelez is making it very clear that boosting shareholder value is important to this management team.

Where Mondelez can really tack on value, though, is through its dividend. As you'll see, the big drop-off last year relates solely to the spinoff:

Source: Nasdaq.com.
*Assumes payout of $0.14/quarter for remainder of 2013.

Even during the Great Recession of 2009, Mondelez/Kraft was able to maintain its dividend despite the financial catastrophe that was unfolding around them. Also in its second quarter, Mondelez announced that it would boost its payout by 8%, or $0.01, to $0.14 going forward. The new projected yield based on its revised payout is 1.8%.

Foolish roundup
With Mondelez, growth and income investors are getting the entire package. They're getting exposure to rapidly growing emerging-market economies from a snack food and beverage perspective; they have well-recognized brand names to help buoy cash flow and allow Mondelez to pass along price increases with relative ease; and they have a company that may buy back up to $6 billion of its own shares through 2016 with a payout ratio of less than 33%, making dividend growth all but a certainty. I don't know about you, but that sounds like a tasty recipe for a great dividend stock to me!

Photo credit: Flickr/photologue_np.

This year, oil and gas companies operating in the Marcellus and Utica Shale plan to hire at least 4,000 new employees. Available jobs range from engineering and construction to operations and maintenance, as well as positions in environmental health, safety, and administration. The problem is that these companies are often looking for qualified candidates, which are tough to find as so few have the technical experience these companies desire.

The good news is that because of the competition for qualified candidates, many companies are now looking to hire and train more local candidates. In fact, last year 96% of the new hires in the Marcellus and Utica were local candidates, as fewer experienced oil-field professionals are looking to relocate because of the oil and gas boom elsewhere in the United States. This is really good news for those looking for a job in the booming energy industry.

One company that's aggressively hiring in the region is Nuverra Environmental Solutions . The company was caught flat-footed last quarter as business grew faster than it expected. That situation forced the company to subcontract some of its work out, which hurt its profits. Now the company, according to CEO Mark Johnsrud, is "aggressively recruiting and hiring staff needed to expand our operations and meet the increased demands of our services." Anecdotally, I can attest to this. On a recent trip I saw a big billboard sponsored by the company that said it was hiring drivers for its water recycling business. (For those interested, Nuverra's career website is here.)

Another critical skill the energy industry requires is welding. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of welders is expected to grow by 15% from 2010 to 2020. In fact, both direct and indirect welding jobs currently account for about 2 million jobs, or about 10% of the country's manufacturing workforce.

Oilfield service companies such as Weatherford and Halliburton are among the many companies in search of welders. The operations of both companies span the globe. Weatherford employs more than 58,000 in over 100 countries, while Halliburton has more than 75,000 employees spread around 80 countries. Both have solid long-term growth opportunities both here in the U.S. and abroad. (For those specifically interested in a welding career at either of these two oilfield service giants or one of the many other companies hiring welders, click here.)

A sign of a strong business or industry is one that's hiring. Currently, the oil and gas industry is one of the fastest growing in the country, thanks to the vast amounts of oil and gas now being unlocked with horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. That means it's a great time to be not just a job seeker, but also an investor. The oil and gas sector really has the potential to be a very lucrative one for investors positioned to profit from this energy boom. 

Utilities have been busy this past week, making moves to maximize profit potential. With nuclear and coal closures accompanying expanded transmission projects, here's what you need to know to stay on top of your dividend stocks' latest moves.

Mission for transmission
AGL Resources announced last Monday that its New Jersey regulators have given the thumbs-up to a $115 million natural gas infrastructure improvement project. The upgrades are expected to take four years to be completed, and an accompanying rate case request should cover construction costs. AGL also received approval two weeks ago for a $275 million Georgia natural gas project.

In the latest transmission news, Westar Energy got the go-ahead Thursday to spend $66 million on an electric transmission project to increase reliability and efficiency in the area. Kansas regulators approved the project, along with recovery costs for the three- to four-year project.

Although natural gas additions have been ramping up lately, transmission projects overall have attracted the attention of many utilities. Their "tollbooth" business model can provide steady income with low operational costs, a welcome relief from the volatile world of competitive energy generation.

Can coal and nuclear cut it?
Natural gas has been choking coal's competitiveness, but environmental groups have their own agenda against this energy source. After extensive litigation, Duke Energy announced this week that it has reached an agreement with several major environmental groups over air permits at its Indiana Edwardsport coal-fired power plant.

Source: Duke Energy.

Generally speaking, the settlement puts in writing what Duke would probably be doing otherwise. It sets mandatory dates for coal retirement, provides opportunities for natural gas switchovers, and outlines the possibility for small-scale renewable power projects. The utility has already planned to retire 3,400 MW of coal-fired power generation, is eyeing new natural gas investments, and just bought one of the largest urban solar farms in California to add to its 100-plus MW of solar generating capacity.

Duke has also been opting out of proposed nuclear projects -- and it's not alone. Entergy announced this past week that it'll take a $240 million hit to put a Vermont nuclear facility into early retirement. The utility cited cheap natural gas prices, high operational costs, and a tough regulatory environment as reasons for its "extremely tough call."

Entergy's decision to pull the plug might seem counterintuitive, considering the company's $400 million in investments over the past decade and licensing approval through 2032, but nuclear power is an increasingly risky business. Uranium costs are headed higher as sourcing remains a tricky affair, and natural gas' stubbornly low prices are killing the competitive outlook for many baseload energies.

Stay current on electricity
The world of utilities is changing fast, and dividend stocks aren't the stable stalwarts they once were. Be sure to check back weekly for the latest on your portfolio's moves, and you'll be well on your way to electrifying earnings.

Charles Baudelaire once said, "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he did not exist." Fast-forward 150 years or so, and consider that it may turn out that the greatest trick Google ever pulled was convincing the world that it was not a device company. Well, right up until it reminded us in resounding fashion that it was, in fact, a world-class device company.

When Google released Chromecast, the device was an immediate success, selling out and going on back order both from Google itself and also from Amazon.com and Best Buy. This has been a significant departure from some recent Google projects that have been glossed over as fun little experiments -- Project Loon, Google Glass, and even Google Fiber. Much of what was written about these projects was couched in the assumption that Google is a search company that builds stuff to support that effort. Despite reaching a global market share, according to IDC, of 79.3% with Android, the free nature of the OS means it's often overlooked.

While Chromebooks -- or ultraportables -- have become the fastest-growing segment of the PC market, again, they are often looked at as a quirky afterthought. I think that's exactly what Google wants, and exactly why you should be jumping on the bandwagon early. By the time it becomes obvious that Google is a legitimate threat to Apple and Samsung in devices, a big part of the stock's move may have already been missed.

Chromecast was just the beginning
While Chromecast has received some mixed reviews, some believe it has the potential to be a game-changer for the streaming industry. The device isn't perfect, but it is cheap, works easily, and is clearly in hot demand. Unlike Google Glass, which at $1,500 is drawing more press than consumer buzz, Chromecast is a seller.

Along these same lines, Google looks to be stealthily preparing to explode into the smart-watch world. GigaOm recently reported that Google had acquired WIMM Labs to drive its ability to enter the new product segment. The story also noted that the WIMM team was working with the Android development team, suggesting that Google is looking to move quickly to market rather than park the project in multi-year development mode. Samsung is expected to roll out its own smart watch on Sept. 4, and Google may be close on its heels.

In addition to making it an entrant in the new product segment, the WIMM acquisition demonstrates how seriously Google takes another coming trend in technology. With add-on devices such as smart watches, Glass, and other wearable tech, you should expect to see your smartphone become the hub through which many of these other devices draw support. In this context, the importance of the integration between the OS and the hardware becomes obvious -- suddenly, the acquisition of Motorola seems to make a little bit more sense. As the next wave in technology is ready to unfold, it seems clear that Google is more than ready.

For the past period, Apple has been the undisputed heavyweight in personal electronics, with Samsung recently emerging as the only real competitor. Google has successfully downplayed its efforts and not looked like a real threat to most. I think that's about to change and that getting in now has the potential to reap significant rewards over the near term. Apple and Samsung are positioned to respond, but as things stand, Google is a stock to include in your portfolio.

When Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) announced iOS in the Car at its Worldwide Developer Conference in June, the company projected a slide with many of the world's most recognizable car company logos. All the companies on the slide were onboard with incorporating iOS in the Car functionality starting in 2014. 

Eddy Cue unveils iOS in the Car auto partners at this year's WWDC. 

One notable omission was Ford (NYSE: F), which led many to believe the company was content with its Sync entertainment system which is built on Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) an embedded Windows Automotive operating system. 

Yet, in a recent interview with GottaBe Mobile, Ford's director of Electrical and Electronic Systems said the company hadn't ruled out using iOS in the Car. Instead, they were still evaluating the system and weren't ready to commit to a 2014 launch. 

While Apple trails Android's smartphone global market share by a large amount, its much more popular in the United States where it has around 40% share of the market. With Ford receiving more than half of its sales from the United States and Apple being very dominant in the American market, it only makes sense the company would consider ditching a Microsoft system it has heavily invested in for something that has stronger ties with Apple. 

To see a discussion on the future of in-car entertainment and why Ford is wise to take iOS in the Car seriously, watch the video below. 

As the crisis in Syria reaches the boiling point, sending oil higher, it's time to rethink America's energy independence. It's estimated that 30% of the country's undiscovered oil and gas reserves lie within federal lands that are currently unavailable to oil and gas drillers. It's quite possible that there is even more oil than that just waiting to be discovered.

New technologies such as horizontal drilling, when combined with hydraulic fracturing, have unlocked shale oil reserves such as the Bakken and the Eagle Ford Shale. Top Bakken driller Continental Resources believes there are more than 24 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil equivalent in the Bakken, which, because of the oil-heavy nature of the formation, could double current proven oil reserves. Meanwhile, the discoverer of the Eagle Ford, EOG Resources , believes that it alone can recover 8% of the estimated 26.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent in place. These two massive oil discoveries have brought U.S. oil production to a 24-year high.

But it's not enough. The oil fields of yesteryear are declining even as companies such as ConocoPhillips are investing billions just to mitigate base decline in places like Alaska's North Slope. To reach energy independence, America needs to open up new areas to drilling.

The slideshow that follows overviews what we know about the five areas that are currently off limits to drilling but could hold the keys to our energy independence. One of the locations alone is believed to have the potential to displace the entire 1.35 million barrels of oil per day that the U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia. If unleashed, it represents OPEC's worst nightmare.

Anyone who's been paying attention to the chatter of late knows that Apple is expected to roll out the next generation of iPhones on Sept. 10, and that the new iPhone 5S is expected to include fingerprint scanning technology. Apple acquired AthenTec in 2012, and the acquisition is expected to lead to the inclusion of a fingerprint security feature in the iconic iPhone home button in the next model. If that's true, I believe there are three significant concerns Apple shareholders should be watching in the early weeks after the new devices begin to be reviewed and make it into the consumers' hands: Does it work, does anyone care, and is it being copied?

Does it work?
If you take for granted that the technology will be included in the iPhone 5S, the big question about the fingerprint scanner is whether it works as close to perfectly as people have come to expect. We all recall the barrage of bad press that came Apple's way when its Maps app was released and Google Maps was kicked off the iPhone, yet Apple's app was riddled with bugs. While some of these hiccups have been addressed, and Google has since released a Google Maps app for iOS, the entire exercise still stands, to me, as a step backwards. In my experience, Apple Maps still makes a fair number of mistakes, or at the least picks less desirable routes. The Google alternative works better, but because it isn't well integrated with the phone -- without several additional steps -- the end result is a less reliable experience.

I believe the bar is raised even further when we're talking about iPhone security. If the fingerprint scanner proves as temperamental as Siri -- the voice-activated digital assistant -- Apple could have a real problem. You can easily skip using Siri, or even Apple Maps, but if you become unable to access your phone at all, the technology has the potential to cause problems far beyond those Apple has ever seen. The logical belief is that Apple will find a way to let users reset their phones, should that happen; but if there's an easy workaround, then what kind of security does the technology really provide? I think it's admirable that Apple is reaching for progress, but the stakes seem to be very high.

Will anyone care?
I can't speak for the millions of people who use iPhones on a daily basis, but I've never any users lamenting that their iPhone was breached to their detriment. If the four-digit security function has proved insufficient for most users, it certainly has escaped the attention of the blogosphere. With that in mind, it seems improbable that anyone but those with a thirst for the latest and greatest would find a fingerprint scanner to be reason alone to buy an upgraded phone. The new device's other expected upgrades -- better camera, improved battery life, and greater speed -- must, therefore, be sufficient motivation.

Imitation is the purest form of flattery
If fingerprint scanning technology is well received on a broad basis, you should expect to see others copy it as quickly as they can. Where Apple has a distinct advantage is that because it controls both the device and the OS, it's probably better positioned to bring such technology to market. Would a competing offering come from Google through Android, or from Samsung in the Galaxy S series? In all probability, the two would have to work together. That's a definite advantage for Apple, particularly if it can expand the technology beyond smartphones.

The takeaway
While Apple is taking, in my opinion, a significant risk with fingerprint technology, the long-term benefits may be worthwhile. Imagine how appealing a similar feature might be for "iOS in the Car," for example. While you may have few concerns over the security of your smartphone, the security of your car is a different matter. Apple investors should pay careful attention to the reception that this feature gets over the weeks and months following the release, because it has the potential to be a huge immediate risk with substantial long-term rewards.

Steve Ballmer's Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) days are numbered. Within the next year, he'll be moving on from the company and the company will have just the third CEO of its 38 year history. 

Investors clearly wanted Ballmer to leave Microsoft; its shares jumped 7% on the news of his departure. However, the focus now shifts to what kind of leader Microsoft needs. 

In the video below Fool analysts Simon Erickson, Jamal Carnette, and Eric Bleeker discuss who the favorites are to talk over for Ballmer, and what kind of leader the company needs. Microsoft is deeply troubled in mobile and its online services, but also still reaps huge profits from Windows and its business unit and has seen big gains from its Server and Tools unit. Does Microsoft need a revolutionary leader, or someone to improve on the areas that are still working for the company?

This summer hasn't been very relaxing for investors, who have had to deal with the threat of tapering, rising interest rates, a number of new record highs on the major indexes, and, more recently, a possible military offensive in Syria. And with many market participants believing the Federal Reserve's stimulus tapering will begin in September, all while interest rates have been increasing and the Syrian conflict has escalated, August was the worst month for the major indexes thus far this year.

During the month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 689 points, or 4.44%. The blue-chip average entered the month trading at 15,499 and hit an all-time high of 15,658 on Aug. 2. Now the index rests at 14,810. That performance follows a 3.5% gain in July -- proof that as quickly as gains can come on the market, they can disappear just as quickly.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have taken a slightly different path from the Dow, but they've moved similar to each other the past two months. The S&P 500 started July at 1,606, ended the month at 1,685, hit a high of 1,709 Aug. 2, and closed August at 1,632. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, entered July at 3,403, closed the month at 3,626, peaked on Aug. 5 at 3,692, and closed the month at 3,589. The Nasdaq performed the best on a percentage basis, as it rose 6.55% in July and dropped only 1.02% in August, which still gives it a net gain of 5.46% over the past two months. The S&P 500, meanwhile, rose 4.91% in July and dropped 3.14% in August, leaving it with a two-month net gain of 1.61%.

And the Dow? It lost ground over the past two months, starting July at 14,909 and ending August at 14,810, a 99-point, or 0.66%, loss. August was only the second month this year it ended a month down, the last being in June, when it lost 1.36%. Back then, interest rates quickly rose in the last few weeks of May and through the majority of June as we first heard talk of tapering from the Federal Reserve members. I've written in the past about how big moves on the Dow this year have all related to days and months in which the Federal Reserve is meeting, having a press conference, or releasing meeting minutes.

I believe that for the remainder of 2013, we're bound to see more volatility in the market as the year ends and investors grow more concerned about tapering, or it actually begins and the markets react to the tearing off of the bandage. With that said, the sooner the Fed begins the tapering, the sooner the uncertainty and fear pertaining to it will begin to dissipate, which I believe will allow the markets to begin moving higher again.

But since we don't know when the tapering will start, or when the market will begin rising, average investors can only sit patiently and wait. And since you're just killing time until the next pop, if the market does continue to move lower, cheap buying opportunities may begin presenting themselves to those who are both patient and alert.

This Labor Day weekend tens of millions will be travelling, enjoying the great outdoors. Yet, next weekend will see a different migration: to couches across America. Tens of millions will migrate back into their living rooms, whip up some nachos, and watch the daytime games on CBS and Fox. 

However the most zealous fans can currently watch almost any daytime game on DirecTV's (Nasdaq: DTV) Sunday Ticket. Its a package which costs hundreds of dollars, but has become a major draw for DirecTV. The company reportedly pays about a billion per year for Sunday Ticket, but still loses money on the package. Overall, even with direct losses piling up on Sunday Ticket, DirecTV has been happy with the package as a loss leader which encourages users to switch to broader satellite packages. 

Yet, that money losing package might get even more expensive in the future. The NFL confirmed commissioner Roger Goodell met with Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) last week, the presumed interest was Sunday Ticket. 

In the video below Fool analysts Eric Bleeker, Jamal Carnette, and Simon Erickson discuss the NFL's continued success stretching the value of its content. In addition, they look at how the NFL's continued negotiating clout with media companies could illustrate how sports have become the kingmaker in the new age of media where giant tech companies are looking to bring content online. 

Natural gas prices remain low in the United States, and that's meant pain for energy majors that have made domestic natural gas a strategic priority. This is evident in the recent struggles for ExxonMobil , which is suffering in the unfavorable environment for natural gas.

ExxonMobil famously purchased XTO Energy, the nation's largest holder of natural gas reserves, in 2009 for a staggering $41 billion, and the company now has egg on its face in light of the fact that its natural gas operations are serving as a drag on results.

Did ExxonMobil make a tragic mistake paying so much for XTO Energy? And, will other majors regret investing in natural gas as well?

Hindsight is 20/20

At the time of the acquisition, ExxonMobil appeared to make a savvy decision, positioning itself at the ground floor of what was predicted to be the great natural gas revolution in the United States.

Four years later, and ExxonMobil looks foolish for having paid such a huge amount of money for XTO. As Exxon readily admits, natural gas prices were roughly twice as high when the deal was completed as they are now.

At the company's annual shareholder meeting, Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson said "While we anticipated at the time of the merger that it would be non-accretive in the near-term, because we expected that natural gas prices had not yet bottomed out, they stayed low much longer than we expected".

Poor natural gas pricing in the United States, in addition to other headwinds such as lackluster refining results, combined to bring Exxon's second-quarter net income down 57% year over year. On a per-share basis, Exxon earned $1.55 in the quarter, representing the company's lower quarterly EPS number since September 2010.

To be fair, Exxon isn't the only oil major to have over-estimated the recovery in domestic natural gas prices. Competitor Chevron is also diving head-first into natural gas, noting that natural gas now comprises 22% of global energy demand.

The company estimates that as global populations expand, under-developed economies emerge, and the world's thirst for energy grows, natural gas will play an increasing role in the global energy mix. Chevron produced 5.07 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day in 2012, and will increase production exponentially over the next decade.

Specifically, the company points investors to its major projects in Australia and Africa, including the Gorgon Project which includes a 15 million metric-ton-per-year liquefied natural gas facility.

Importantly, Chevron's focus on natural gas outside the United States has spared it some of the pain currently afflicting ExxonMobil.

Chevron's own second-quarter results disappointed, but its 26% drop in quarterly profit wasn't as bad as Exxon's quarter. Moreover, Chevron shares have registered gains twice as big as Exxon's in the years since the XTO deal, rising 60% since the acquisition was announced versus 30% gains for Exxon.

Did Exxon make a $41 billion mistake?
In my estimation, only in the short term. U.S. natural gas prices remain at depressed levels, making Exxon's push into domestic natural gas look foolish today. But this seems like a simple matter of poor timing, rather than a mistake on the whole.

While $41 billion is certainly a huge sum of money, a juggernaut like ExxonMobil has the financial resources to endure, even if it did overpay for XTO Energy. And, the trend toward natural gas in America means that prices likely won't stay at such low levels for long. Sooner or later, as demand keeps rising, prices should follow suit.

Meanwhile, Chevron's focus on developing natural gas outside the United States means it's being spared some of the pain. For investors not willing to wait for the domestic natural gas turnaround, Chevron looks like a better near-term bet. But, the long-term vision of U.S. natural gas remains sound, in my opinion, and ExxonMobil should provide strong results for years to come.

The pre-salt formation off the coast of Brazil has many speculators wondering whether there's a mirror-image formation on the West African side of the Atlantic, and several companies are taking a deeper look in hopes of finding massive quantities of oil opposite Brazil's Santos Basin. So far, the results of the exploration program haven't been as successful. BP's exploration program off the coast of Namibia was a dud, but companies looking further north have had more success.

Since this region is still very much in the exploration phase, investing here should be considered a rather high-risk play, but there are some other ways to invest in the region if you believe in its potential. Tune in to the following video, where fool.com contributor Tyler Crowe looks at whether the mirror theory has legs and how you can play this trend.