Hot Consumer Service Companies To Watch In Right Now

LONDON --�There are things to love and loathe about most companies. Today, I'm going to tell you about three things to loathe about�HSBC Holdings� (LSE: HSBA  ) � (NYSE: HBC  ) .

I'll also be asking whether these negative factors make this FTSE 100 banking giant a poor investment today.

Money laundering
Of all the banking scandals of recent years, the HSBC money-laundering affair -- which led to a record $1.9 billion fine for the bank -- is perhaps the most odious. A U.S. Senate investigation alleged that a�"pervasively polluted"�culture at HSBC allowed the bank to act as a financier and conduit for organized crime, drugs cartels, and rogue terror regimes.

The U.S. probe found that not only were HSBC's anti-money laundering controls woefully inadequate, but also that the bank ignored red flags, deliberately circumvented money-transfer regulations, and actively concealed billions of dollars of suspicious transactions to Iran over many years.

Hot Consumer Service Companies To Watch In Right Now: Canadian Quantum Energy Corpora (CQM.V)

Canadian Quantum Energy Corporation engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of petroleum and natural gas reserves primarily in eastern Canada. It holds interests in 800 gross acres at Turin prospect in southern Alberta; and 17,280 gross acres / 27 sections on the Alexander First Nation lands in central Alberta, as well as in 4 permits covering approximately 174,000 gross acres in the Utica Shale Play located in the St. Lawrence Lowlands, Quebec. The company was incorporated in 1991 and is based in Calgary, Canada.

Hot Consumer Service Companies To Watch In Right Now: Kier Group(KIE.L)

Kier Group plc engages in the provision of construction services in the United Kingdom and internationally. The company operates in four divisions: Construction, Services, Property, and Homes. The Construction division engages in regional contracting, civil engineering, and overseas businesses that construct a range of building projects, including power, waste, nuclear, infrastructure facilities, and rail and mining projects. This division also offers design engineering and building information modeling services, and mechanical and electrical design and delivery services; and interiors and refurbishments. The Services division provides support services comprising reactive and planned maintenance services to local authorities and housing associations; facilities management services to public and private sector clients; domestic and commercial waste collection services; and street scene and grounds maintenance services, as well as manages and operates recycling facility. Thi s division also offers asset and insurance management service, as well as is involved in the photovoltaic design, production, and installation business. The Property division engages in the commercial, industrial, retail, and mixed-use property development activities; and the provision of structured property financing services. The Homes division offers mixed-tenure and affordable houses. The company is headquartered in Sandy, the United Kingdom.

Hot Diversified Bank Stocks To Invest In 2014: High Liner Foods Com Npv(HLF.TO)

High Liner Foods Incorporated engages in manufacturing and marketing prepared and packaged frozen seafood products in North America. It provides breaded and battered fish and other seafood products; raw fillets and shellfish; cooked shellfish; and value-added products, such as sauced, glazed, breaded, and battered seafood, as well as breaded cheese sticks, entrees, and breaded chicken. High Liner Foods Incorporated offers its products under High Liner, FPI, Mirabel, Royal Sea, Sea Cuisine, Fisher Boy, Viking, Icelandic Seafood, Samband of Iceland, Seastar, and Seaside names, as well as under private labels. The company sells its products directly and through distributors to retail stores, club stores, hotels, restaurants, and health care and educational organizations. High Liner Foods Incorporated was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Lunenburg, Canada.

Hot Consumer Service Companies To Watch In Right Now: Pope Resources(POPE)

Pope Resources, a Delaware Limited Partnership, engages in the management of timber resources. It operates in three segments: Fee Timber, Timberland Management & Consulting, and Real Estate. The Fee Timber segment involves in growing, harvesting, and marketing timber to domestic and the Pacific Rim markets from its 175,000 acres of tree farms. The Timberland Management & Consulting segment provides investment management, disposition, and technical forestry services to the timberland owners. The Real Estate segment engages in securing permits, entitlements, and installing infrastructure for raw land development; and selling the land to buyers, who sell it to home buyers, operators, or lessors of commercial property. This segment also engages in the rental of residential and commercial properties in Port Gamble and Kingston, Washington. Pope Resources sells its logs to lumber mills and other wood fiber processors located in western Washington and northwest Oregon. As of Dece mber 31, 2010, it owned 114,000 acres of timberland in western Washington; 61,000 acres of timberland for the funds in Washington and Oregon; and 2,800 acres of real estate held for sale or development. Pope MGP, Inc. and Pope EGP, Inc. operate as the general partners of the company. The company was founded in 1985 and is based in Poulsbo, Washington.

Hot Consumer Service Companies To Watch In Right Now: UFP Technologies Inc.(UFPT)

UFP Technologies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the design and manufacture of engineered packaging solutions for medical and scientific, automotive, aerospace and defense, computer and electronics, industrial, and consumer markets. The company offers packaging products primarily using polyethylene, polyurethane, cross-linked polyethylene foams, and rigid plastics. Its packaging products include end-cap packs for computers, corner blocks for telecommunications consoles, anti-static foam packs for printed circuit boards, die-cut or routed inserts for cases, molded foam enclosures for orthopedic products, and plastic trays for medical devices and components. UFP Technologies also fabricates and molds component products made from cross-linked polyethylene foam and other materials, as well as engages in laminating fabrics and other materials to cross-linked polyethylene foams, polyurethane foams, and other substrates. The company?s component products include automo tive interior trim, athletic padding, industrial safety belts, medical device components, air filtration, high-temperature insulation, abrasive nail files and other beauty aids, anti-fatigue mats, and shock absorbing inserts used in athletic and leisure footwear. It sells its products primarily under United Foam, Simco Automotive, and Molded Fiber brand names through direct sales force, independent manufacturer representatives, and distributors. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Georgetown, Massachusetts.

Hot Consumer Service Companies To Watch In Right Now: RealD Inc(RLD)

RealD Inc., together with its subsidiaries, licenses stereoscopic 3D technologies in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company designs, manufactures, licenses, and markets its RealD Cinema Systems that enable digital cinema projectors to show 3D motion pictures and alternative 3D content to consumers wearing the company?s RealD eyewear. It also offers RealD Display, active and passive eyewear ,and RealD Format technologies to consumer electronics manufacturers, and content producers and distributors to enable the delivery and viewing of 3D content on high definition televisions, laptops, and other displays. In addition, the company sells CrystalEyes eyewear, monitors, digital light processing television kits, polarizer films, emitters, and linear polarizing systems to companies, government agencies, academic institutions, and research and development organizations for applications in piloting the Mars Rover and in theme park installations. RealD Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.