Top 10 Gold Companies To Own In Right Now

What a surprise. The big banks are not playing by the rules -- the rule of law, that is.

News last week revealed that Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) are dirty, dirty, dirty.

The Justice Department announced that it is pursuing a civil lawsuit against Bank of America on the grounds that the bank lied about the quality of the mortgages underlying its mortgage-backed securities (MBS) prior to the housing collapse and financial crisis. The Justice Department is still on a high from its successful civil lawsuit against Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s (NYSE:GS) mid-level toxic securities shill, Fabrice Tourre.

The charges allege out-and-out fraud in Bank of America's soup-to-nuts loan origination and securitization of mortgages. Loans, bad from the start, were knowingly bundled and securitized into trade-able MBS, unbeknownst to buyers.

As we all know, this play went wrong (or worked spectacularly well, if you were short housing like John Paulson) and spread poison throughout the global financial system. It is alleged that this particular fraud led to losses of at least $100 million among investors who thought they were buying securities backed by mortgages that weren't worthless.

Top 5 Promising Companies To Buy For 2015: Goldcorp Incorporated(GG)

Goldcorp Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of precious metal properties in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central and South America. It produces and sells gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc. The company was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Finally, look to other markets for guidance. For instance, precious metals bounced off their recent lows, with gold prices climbing $23 per ounce. Key gold-miners are also up sharply, with Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX  ) rising about 3% and Goldcorp (NYSE: GG  ) up 1.4%. As two of the largest companies in the industry, both Barrick and Goldcorp have the ability to make strategic moves designed to pick up lucrative assets at bargain-basement prices. As weaker junior miners have to consider extraordinary measures to stay afloat, look for Goldcorp and Barrick to take advantage of fire-sale conditions to take their pick of the litter.

• [By Daniel Putnam]

  First, and most important, earnings estimates are stabilizing. In the past sixty days, 2013 estimates for the major gold miners have begun to tick up. In most cases, the increase is very modest. For instance, Goldcorp‘s (GG) EPS estimates have climbed from $0.91 to $0.95, while Barrick Gold‘s (ABX) have inched up from $2.57 to $2.64. Newmont Mining (NEM), Anglogold Ashanti (AU), and Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI) have shown similar gains. This positive rate of change marks a significant departure from the steady stream of bad news investors have had to endure in recent years.

Top 10 Gold Companies To Own In Right Now: NEW GOLD INC.(NGD)

New Gold Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, extraction, processing, and reclamation of mineral properties. The company primarily explore for gold, silver, and copper deposits. Its operating properties include the Mesquite gold mine in the United States; the Cerro San Pedro gold-silver mine in Mexico; and the Peak gold-copper mine in Australia. The company also has development projects, including the New Afton gold, silver, and copper project in Canada; and a 30% interest in the El Morro copper-gold project in Chile. The company was formerly known as DRC Resources Corporation and changed its name to New Gold Inc. in June 2005. New Gold Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  January is nearing an end, and that means one thing: Gold miners will start announcing earnings. New Gold (NGD) will get things started on Feb 6, followed by Kinross Gold (KGC) on Feb. 12 and Goldcorp (GG) and Barrick Gold (ABX) on Feb. 13.

Top 10 Gold Companies To Own In Right Now: Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc.(TC)

Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in mining, milling, processing, and marketing molybdenum products in the United States and Canada. The company?s principal properties include the Thompson Creek Mine and mill in Idaho; a metallurgical roasting facility in Langeloth, Pennsylvania; and a joint venture interest in the Endako Mine, mill, and roasting facility in British Columbia. It also holds interests in development projects comprising the Davidson molybdenum property and the Berg copper-molybdenum-silver property located in northern British Columbia; the Howard?s Pass property, a lead and zinc project situated in the Yukon territory-northwest territories border; and the Maze Lake property, a gold project located in the Kivalliq district of Nunavut. The company produces molybdenum products, primarily molybdic oxide and ferromolybdenum, as well as soluble technical oxide, pure molybdenum tri-oxide, and high purity molybdenum disulfide. As o f December 31, 2010, its consolidated recoverable proven and probable ore reserves totaled 462.2 million pounds of contained molybdenum in the Thompson Creek Mine and the Endako Mine. The company was formerly known as Blue Pearl Mining Ltd. and changed its name to Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. in May 2007. Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. is based in Denver, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Basic Materials shares gained around 0.24 percent in trading on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Harmony Gold Mining Company (NYSE: HMY), up 4.1 percent, and Thompson Creek Metals Company (NYSE: TC), up 3.8 percent. In trading on Wednesday, cyclical consumer goods & services shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.36 percent.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Top losers in the sector included Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF), down 4 percent, and Thompson Creek Metals Company (NYSE: TC), off 3 percent.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Thompson Creek Metals Co. Inc. (NYSE: TC) was at 54% discount to its book value of $8.30 per share at the time, and the stock price of $3.90 is up from $3.03 Deutsche Bank’s team nailed upside of more than 28% here. Its price target was $4 at the time versus a consensus target of $4.50 at the time. The 52-week range here is $2.42 to $4.55, but we would point out that the consensus price target is $3.93.

Top 10 Gold Companies To Own In Right Now: CME Group Inc.(CME)

CME Group Inc. operates the CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX regulatory exchanges worldwide. The company provides a range of products available across various asset classes, including futures and options on interest rates, equity indexes, energy, agricultural commodities, metals, foreign exchange, weather, and real estate. It offers various products that provide a means of hedging, speculation, and asset allocation relating to the risks associated with interest rate sensitive instruments, equity ownership, changes in the value of foreign currency, credit risk, and changes in the prices of commodities. CME Group owns and operates clearing house, CME Clearing, which provides clearing and settlement services for exchange-traded contracts and counter derivatives transactions; and also engages in real estate operations. Its primary trade execution facilities consist of its CME Globex electronic trading platform and open outcry trading floors, as well as privately negotiated transact ions that are cleared and settled through its clearing house. In addition, the company offers market data services comprising live quotes, delayed quotes, market reports, and historical data services, as well as involves in index services business. CME Group?s customer base includes professional traders, financial institutions, institutional and individual investors, corporations, manufacturers, producers, and governments. It has strategic partnerships with BM&FBOVESPA S.A., Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, Singapore Exchange Limited, Green Exchange, Dubai Mercantile Exchange, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, S.A.B. de C.V., as well as joint venture agreement with Dow Jones & Company. The company was formerly known as Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. and changed its name to CME Group Inc. in July 2007. CME Group was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  CME Group Inc (CME) reported on Wednesday that September volume average increased 10% from September 2012, while its third quarter volume average grew 11% from last year.

  For September, volume averaged 13.1 million contracts per day, totaling 261 million for the month. Equity index volume in September averaged 2.9 million contracts per day, a 4% increase from last year. Equity index options volume was up 52% in September.

  Third quarter volume average was 12 million per day, up 11% from a year ago.

  CME Group shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Wednesday. The stock is up 48% YTD.

• [By Mark Thompson]

  The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), which operates the world's biggest derivatives market, is asking investors to stump up more cash to trade in financial products that provide protection against rising interest rates.

• [By Sue Chang]

  CME (CME) �is projected to report third-quarter earnings of 73 cents a share, according to a consensus survey by FactSet.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  But even with markets trading in a range since July, there was plenty of action in individual stocks, even as earnings season nears an end. CME Group (CME), for instance, gained 4% to $74.44, its biggest move two months, after the exchange operator said trading volume in its Brent crude oil futures contracts climbed above 100,000 for the first time on Aug. 8. CME is trying to woo traders away from IntercontinentalExchange’s (ICE) dominant futures contract. Xerox (XRX), meanwhile, finished up 3.4% at $10.49 after Citigroup upgraded its stock to Buy from Neutral and the company announced that it would acquire a Canadian company.

Top 10 Gold Companies To Own In Right Now: Sibanye Gold Ltd (SBGL)

Sibanye Gold Limited (Sibanye Gold), formerly GFI Mining South Africa (Pty) Limited, incorporated on December 12, 2002, is a producer of gold in South Africa. Sibanye Gold is primarily engaged in underground and surface gold mining and related activities, including extraction, and processing. Sibanye Gold�� operations are located in South Africa. Its principal mining operations include Kloof-Driefontein Complex (KDC) and Beatrix. Exploration activities are focused on the extension of existing ore bodies and identification of new ore bodies at existing sites. As of January 10, 2013, Sibanye Gold mined only gold, with silver as a by-product.

KDC Operation

The KDC mine is located in the Gauteng Province of South Africa in the Far West Rand mining district, some 60 kilometers southwest of Johannesburg. KDC consists of the Driefontein and Kloof mines. As of January 10, 2013, KDC is consisted of 13 producing shaft systems that mine different contributions from pillars and open ground and five gold plants of which two process mainly underground ore and three process mainly surface material. Driefontein is situated some 70 kilometers west of Johannesburg. Kloof is situated in the Magisterial District of Westonaria, some 60 kilometers west of Johannesburg.

Beatrix Operation

The Beatrix operation is located in the Free State Province of South Africa, some 240 kilometers southwest of Johannesburg, near Welkom and Virginia, and consists of the Beatrix mine. Beatrix operates under mining rights covering a total area of approximately 16 800 hectares. As of January 10, 2013, Beatrix had four shaft systems, with five ventilation shafts to provide additional up-cast and down-cast ventilation capacity and is serviced by two metallurgical plants. It is a shallow to intermediate-depth mining operation, at depths between 700 meters and 2 200 meters below surface. The mine has a refrigeration and cooling infrastructure in both its North and West Sections. Beatrix is man! aged as three operational sections: the North Section (consists of Shaft No. 3), the South Section (consists of Shaft No. 2 and Shaft No. 1) and the West Section (consists of Shaft No. 4).

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Gold: This industry jumped 1.20% by 11:40 am. The top performer in this industry was Sibanye Gold (NYSE: SBGL), which rose 3.2%. Gold futures gained 0.44% to trade at $1,281.00 an ounce.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Gold: This industry rose 0.65% by 10:25 am ET. The top performer in this industry was Sibanye Gold (NYSE: SBGL), which gained 4.9%. Gold futures fell 0.17% to trade at $1,216.70 an ounce.

Top 10 Gold Companies To Own In Right Now: Iamgold Corporation(IAG)

IAMGOLD Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral resource properties worldwide. It primarily explores for gold, silver, zinc, copper, niobium, diamonds, and other metals. The company holds interests in eight operating gold mines, a niobium producer, a diamond royalty, and exploration and development projects located in Africa and the Americas. Its advanced exploration and development projects include the Westwood project in Canada; and the Quimsacocha project, which consists of 3 mining concessions covering an aggregate area of approximately 8,030 hectares in Ecuador. The company was formerly known as IAMGOLD International African Mining Gold Corporation and changed its name to IAMGOLD Corporation in June 1997. IAMGOLD Corporation was founded in 1990 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

  HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), Europe�� largest bank, slid 2.1 percent. International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) declined 2 percent as it canceled some of its flights following a disruption caused by one of its planes at Heathrow airport. Next Plc (NXT) retreated 2.4 percent as Morgan Stanley cut its recommendation on the shares.

• [By Tom Stoukas]

  Air France led airlines lower, falling 4 percent to 7.30 euros. International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) lost 1.9 percent to 270.7 pence while Deutsche Lufthansa AG slid 2.1 percent to 15.75 euros.

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc sank 3.3 percent after reporting results and naming the head of its U.K. consumer unit as chief executive officer. William Hill Plc (WMH) dropped the most in four years after the bookmaker posted earnings that missed analysts��projections. International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) rose to a five-year high as the parent of British Airways reported an operating profit in the second quarter.

Top 10 Gold Companies To Own In Right Now: First Majestic Silver Corp.(AG)

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the production, development, exploration, and acquisition of mineral properties with a focus on silver in Mexico. The company owns interests in La Encantada Silver Mine comprising 4,076 hectares of mining rights and 1,343 hectares of surface land located in Coahuila; La Parrilla Silver Mine consisting of mining concessions covering an area of 69,867 hectares; and San Martin Silver Mine comprising approximately 7,841 hectares of mineral rights and approximately 1,300 hectares of surface land rights located in Jalisco. It also holds interests in Del Toro Silver Mine consisting of 393 contiguous hectares of mining claims and an additional 129 hectares of surface rights located in Zacatecas; Real de Catorce Silver Project comprising 22 mining concessions covering 6,327 hectares located in San Luis Potosi state; and Jalisco Group of Properties consisting of mining claims totalling 5,240 hectares located in Jalisco. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Related AG Morning Market Losers First Majestic Silver (AG) in Focus: Stock Rises 5.9% - Tale of the Tape Related ARCI Top 4 Stocks In The Electronics Stores Industry With The Highest ROE Morning Market Movers

  The Dow jumped 0.77% to 17,074.40, while the NASDAQ composite index rose 0.47% to 4,436.25. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.53% to 1,978.08.

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Tuesday

  Earnings Expected: Fossil Group (NASDAQ: FOSL), CST Brands (NYSE: CST), First Majestic Silver (NYSE: AG) Economic Releases Expected: US retail sales, US redbook, German ZEW economic sentiment, Chinese retail sales, Chinese industrial production

  Wednesday