Top 5 Financial Companies To Buy Right Now

China, Shutdown, Evans Contribute To Dollar's Pain

Global trade has an enormous impact on both the financial markets and worldwide economy. Therefore, when the currency that serves as the guidepost for valuing assets drops 1%, it impacts investor decisions across all asset classes. Thursday's tone was set in the currency pits as the U.S. Dollar Index (UUP) dropped more than 1%, which is a big move for a currency (see upper right corner in chart below). This week UUP was also turned back at a logical point of resistance (see line A), which provided further support for a weak-dollar friendly allocation.

Bad News Means More Stimulus

The Federal Reserve respects the impact of the dollar's value on emerging economies. An economic warning from China not only increased the odds of additional Chinese stimulus, but it also increased the odds of a Fed taper "push back." Stocks like the idea of postponing the tapering process. From Reuters:

Top 5 Financial Companies To Buy Right Now: First Citizens Banc Corp.(FCZA)

First Citizens Banc Corp operates as the holding company for The Citizens Banking Company, which provides various banking products and services in Ohio. It accepts various deposit products that include non interest-bearing and interest-bearing demand deposits; savings accounts comprising money market deposit accounts; and certificates of deposit, such as individual retirement accounts. The company?s loan portfolio comprises commercial and agricultural loans, commercial real estate loans, residential real estate loans, real estate construction loans, consumer loans, leases, and credit card and other loans. First Citizens also provides trust services, item-processing services for financial institutions, and third party insurance services. It operates in Erie, Crawford, Champaign, Franklin, Logan, Summit, Huron, Ottawa, Union, and Richland Counties, Ohio. The company was founded in 1884 and is based in Sandusky, Ohio.

Top 5 Financial Companies To Buy Right Now: Southside Bancshares Inc.(SBSI)

Southside Bancshares, Inc. operates as the holding company for Southside Bank that provides financial products and services to individuals, businesses, municipal entities, and non-profit organizations. Its deposit products include savings, money market, interest and noninterest bearing checking accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company?s consumer loan services consists of 1-4 family residential mortgage, home equity, home improvement, automobile, and other installment loans; and commercial loan services comprise short-term working capital loans for inventory and accounts receivable, short and medium-term loans for equipment or other business capital expansion, commercial real estate loans, and municipal loans. It also offers construction loans for 1-4 family residential and commercial real estate. In addition, Southside Bancshares provides trust services that include investment, management, administration, and advisory services; safe deposit services; brokerage s ervices; and automated telephone, Internet, and electronic banking services. The company, through its subsidiary, Southside Financial Group, LLC engages in the purchase of automobile loan portfolios from lenders in the United States. Southside Bancshares operates 48 banking centers in Tyler, Longview, Lindale, Gresham, Jacksonville, Bullard, Chandler, Hawkins, Seven Points, Palestine, Forney, Gun Barrel City, Athens, Whitehouse, Fort Worth, Arlington, and Austin, of which 19 are located in grocery stores; 12 motor bank facilities; and 50 automated teller machines. The company was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Tyler, Texas.

Top 10 China Stocks To Invest In 2014: Kansas City Life Insurance Company(KCLI)

Kansas City Life Insurance Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a financial services company that focuses on underwriting, selling, and administrating life and annuity insurance products in the United States. It offers individual insurance products, which include traditional insurance products, such as term insurance, whole life insurance, life disability, and accident and health products, as well as immediate annuity products, including various supplementary contract options; and interest sensitive insurance products that comprise universal life, variable universal life, fixed deferred annuities, variable annuities, and supplementary contracts without life contingencies. The company also provides group insurance products, such as life, dental, vision, and long-term and short-term disability products. In addition, it offers investment and broker-dealer services for proprietary and non-proprietary variable insurance products, mutual funds, and other securiti es. Kansas City Life Insurance Company markets its products through a sales force of independent general agents, agents, group brokers, and third-party marketing arrangements in 48 states and the District of Columbia. The company was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

Top 5 Financial Companies To Buy Right Now: Alleghany Corporation(Y)

Alleghany Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the property and casualty, and surety insurance business in the United States. It underwrites specialty insurance coverages in the property, umbrella/excess, general liability, directors and officers liability, professional liability lines of business, and homeowners insurance. The company also writes surety products, such as commercial surety bonds and contract surety bonds. In addition, Alleghany Corporation owns and manages improved and unimproved commercial land, and residential lots in the Sacramento, California. As of December 31, 2010, the company owned approximately 320 acres of property in various land use categories. Further, it engages in the oil and gas exploration and production business. The company was founded in 1929 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Hill]

  Which investors are worth following? In this installment of MarketFoolery, our analysts talk about why they're following Cook and Bynum's Richard Cook and Dowe Bynum, Martin Capital's Frank Martin, Alleghany's (NYSE: Y  ) CEO Weston Hicks, and T. Rowe Price's (NASDAQ: TROW  ) �Preston Athey.�

• [By Matthew Argersinger]

  Matching a stable of strong insurance businesses with intelligent investing is one of the key formulas Warren Buffett used to turn Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A  ) (NYSE: BRK-B  ) into one of the greatest investments of the past half-century. Fortunately for investors who weren't able to ride Buffett's market-crushing train, there are several smaller companies that have embraced Berkshire's formula with great success. One of those is Alleghany (NYSE: Y  ) , a multi-line insurance company whose objective�is "to create value through owning and managing operating subsidiaries and investments, anchored by a core position in property and casualty reinsurance and insurance." Sound familiar?

Top 5 Financial Companies To Buy Right Now: Blackrock Health Sciences Trust (BME)

BlackRock Health Sciences Trust is a close ended equity mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc. The fund is managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. It invests in the public equity markets across the globe. The fund invests in the stocks of companies operating in the healthcare sector which includes businesses involved in researching, developing, producing, distributing or delivering medical, dental, optical, pharmaceutical or biotechnology products, supplies, equipment or services or that provide support services to these companies. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Russell 3000 Healthcare Index. BlackRock Health Sciences Trust was formed on March 31, 2005 and is domiciled in the United States.